Nightmare Honeymoon (1974)

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The luridly titled Nightmare Honeymoon is a cut above the typical "made for TV" (type of drama. Newlyweds, Jill and David, take a wrong turn and run into sadistic killers, on their way to their honeymoon in New Orleans.What might have been just another predictable story of action and violence is instead a more interesting exploration into the couple's grappling with the aftermath of their emotions. Dack Rambo, as David, and Rebecca Dianna Smith, as Jill, give insightful performances dealing with the tensions of the need for protection and revenge. (Possible spoiler follows.)After surviving being caught and beaten when they accidentally witness a criminal execution, the couple seem barely surprised when the local sheriff seems hardly interested. Their subsequent decision to proceed on to New Orleans, instead of immediately returning to Jill's nearby, next state home and the love and support of her father and large clan family with roots of over 100 years in the area, seems a bit implausible at first. Then, one must remember the film, released in 1973, was during a time when rape victims often feared the shame and humiliation almost as much as the rapists.In spite of saying they cannot pretend the rape did not happen, they proceed to New Orleans checking into their honeymoon suite. The visual beauty and sumptuousness of the honeymoon suite (David says, "I didn't know there were still places like this.,) can barely be taken in, let alone enjoyed, given the shock of their experience.Realizing they cannot go forward with their lives, and choosing not to go back to involve her father, the recently returned Vietnam Veteran, David, decides that he is going to find the killers. Production values are definitely a cut above. The scenes in New Orleans bring nostalgia for the "Grand Lady."The film is filled with a great cast of well seasoned character actors and the strong experience of the cast is evident. I'm not sure why the credits list the female lead of Rebecca Dianna Smith last, under "other cast"! Especially given her accurate, thoughtful performance.

Nightmare Honeymoon (1973) Starring Dack Rambo, Rebecca Diana Smith, John Beck, Jim Boles, Dennis Burkley, Dennis Patrick, Pat Hingle, David Huddleston, Richard 0'Brien...Director Elliot Silverstein, Music by Elmer BernsteinReleased in 1973, this dark film was based on the novel by Lawrence Block and filmed on location entirely in Franklin, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana. The premise: A couple, David and Jill (Dack Rambo and Rebecca Diana Smith) run out of their own wedding reception, held in Jill's Southern plantation-style estate. Her father is understandably upset and sends his sons after them. Jill has already defied her father by getting romantically involved with a "Yankee". They are on their way to New Orleans to spend their honeymoon but they encounter two crazed criminals who murder an bayou inn-keeper. Jill and David witness the murder but intend to run away from the evil-doers. The leader of the men (John Beck) rapes Jill and knocks David unconscious. Jill and David escape to New Orleans but the rape incident has traumatized Jill so much that she is unable to continue with the honeymoon. David and Jill eventually get into a heated argument. Before long, Jill's rapist has her in his clutches again. This time David is ready to fight and extract revenge....successfully. This type of movie was one of the many "violent/sex-ploitation/"men's films" that would bombard 70's movie theaters. It was the same in Mexican cinema at the time. I admit I've never read the novel by Lawrence Block (and anyways it's out of print) but most assuredly it's a dark, disturbing novel with a mixture of "crime thriller" and "horror", the kind that was cheap and sold mostly in paperback. This film is highly disturbing, even if it times some issues are raised that ought to be taken seriously. In the post-Civil Rights South, crime continued to thrive. In sleepy towns throughout the town, murders, rapes and other felonies were rampant. But when we look at Jon Beck's psychotic eyes and intensely evil face, we realize he is right in his repeated mantra: "Nobody cares". This is a social commentary on the corruption and lackadaisical attitudes of some small-town authorities. No one would wish this type of honeymoon on their worst enemy This is the first I've seen of actor Dack Rambo. He has a long credits/resume list on the IMDb. He appeared in several films, was a regular on 70's soap operas. He has a twin brother. Dack didn't hide the fact he was bi-sexual and engaged in unprotected sex, thus he died of AIDS sometime in the early 90's. He was nevertheless a talented, charismatic and handsome actor. This film is not his best work, and most of his films don't look good (bordering on B-budget) but I'm definitely taking an interest in this actor. The film has a soundtrack by Elmer Bernstein and sounds jazzy, dramatic, dark and brooding. But quite frankly, it's a guy's film and it's really not very good. It seems to be shocking for the sake of shock. I can only give it 6 stars. It was on TV late at night and thats' where it belongs.

With the current UK trend of showing old so-called horror movies that were banned at the time I was just hoping that this one might be shown on TV here. I saw it in Kuwait in 1975 (well you have to do something on a Saturday night in a dry country)and don't remember when I've laughed so much. From the squealing southern belle bride and oh-so-clean-cut groom to guys really called Bubba this film just made my day. The accents are straight out of Gone with the Wind, but with stars sadly lacking Clark Gable's looks or charm. Since I laughed just as hard at Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Evil Dead recently I'm sure I'd bust a gut at this one. (The 5 score is for humour only).

A young groom goes on a vengeance after he witnesses a killing and then has his wife raped, by some rural thugs, on his wedding night. Pretty much loses all relevancy when he tracks down the killers by remembering the names said during the killing and then using the TELEPHONE BOOK!!! To use a exact quote by it's super hunk star Dack "It's a magic detective book filled with the names of murderers and innocent victims. All the names, all the addresses." Has anyone ever heard of UNLISTED number. Oh well somebody better go tell the police and F.B.I. this so they can quit wasting so much money on their sophisticated networking and computer systems. Actress Smith has one of those 'put on' southern accents that almost immediately becomes annoying and after she is 'violated' has a look of constipation for the rest of the time. So mind numbingly standard that it makes a episode of THE A TEAM look creative. As memorable as spending ninety minutes cleaning between your bathroom tiles.