Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released Hatchet for the Honeymoon in Italy on 2 June 1970.
Mario Bava directed the film and there is much to recommend it. But I’m not a big fan. I like my Giallo violent and explicit. But that’s me. A lot of people prefer implied violence.
Bava directed what it widely considered the first Giallo, The Girl Who Knew Too Much in 1963. He then directed Blood and Black Lace. These films are the core of 1960s Giallo — a period reasonably called the Bava Era. These films were violent but there was little of it on screen. This worked well given Bava’s stylish direction.
Hatchet for the Honeymoon disappointed producers at the box office. Tastes were changing. Earlier in 1970, Dario Argento released The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. By later standards, it isn’t much. But it was intense to viewers at the time. (This is similar to Blood and Black Lace, six years before.) And then, of course, Lucio Fulci got going with A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin and Don’t Torture a Duckling. Finally, Bava soon joined the party with A Bay of Blood.
Hatchet for the Honeymoon is more psychological horror. The main character kills to recollect childhood memories that, strangely, will explain why he kills to recollection childhood memories. It turns out he’s just a psychopath. Had he made the film a bit later, it would probably work better with more explicit violence.
But the film is supremely creepy! And the main character is not at all likeable. Sure, he is trapped in a bad marriage. But he deserves even worse.
Although I’m not a huge fan, I do think everyone interested in Giallo should watch it. Along with Five Dolls for an August Moon, it represents the end of an era.
Other 2 June Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984): Star of many Tarzan and Jungle Jim films.
- Alexander Salkind (1921-1997): Producer in various capacities of movies such as Bluebeard and The Four Musketeers.
- Sally Kellerman (1937-2022): Actor known for many things but I just love her in that amazing musical Lost Horizon.
- Jon Peters (1945-): Producer of big-budget films like The Witches of Eastwick and the Tim Burton Batman.
- Liam Cunningham (1961-): Actor who has been in many things but who I especially love in Let Us Prey.
- Justin Long (1978-): Actor known for a lot of horror including Drag Me to Hell and It’s a Wonderful Knife.
- Jewel Staite (1982-): Hard-working actor known for the TV series Firefly.
Films
- Rocketship X-M (1950): A space flight to the Moon gets blown off course to Mars.
- Son of Sinbad (1955): Middle Eastern buddy adventure with Dale Robertson and Vincent Price.
- Spook Chasers (1957): The Bowery Boys stay in a haunted house.
- Vampire’s Kiss (1989): Nicolas Cage plays a guy who thinks he is a vampire but it doesn’t make him any more horrible than he already was. Supposedly a comedy.
- Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995): A typically dorky and charming Fred Olen Ray film about a nerd who wants to be beautiful. It works but also causes her to grow really big.
- Silent Venom (2009): Snake on a sub!
- The Boogeyman (2023): A supernatural entity feeds on the suffering of sisters who just lost their mother.
Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) via Amazon under Fair Use.