Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)

Original title: Il Rosso Segno Della Follia

Director: Mario Bava

Writers: Santiago Moncada, Mario Bava

Composer: Sante Maria Romitelli

Starring: Stephen Forsyth, Dagmar Lassander, Laura Betti, Jesus Puente, Femi Benussi, Antonia Mas, Luciano Pigozzi

More info: IMDb

Tagline: When you chop, aim well! Don't slip! And just make sure She doesn't drip!

Plot: A bridal design shop owner kills various young brides-to-be in an attempt to unlock a repressed childhood trauma that's causing him to commit murder.



My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I'm not a huge fan of the Giallo (70s Italian murder thrillers) genre although I've seen some I dig.  A problem that plagues many is the slow pacing.  This one could stand to lose a few minutes overall but it's still a pretty good thriller.  It takes a while to get into this one as the first hour drags but once you get to the point where John (Forsyth) starts to lose his shit and sees things, it gets much, much better and it's got a great ending, too.  Forsyth's performance grows on you.  I really dig how fucking ballsy this character is in coming right out and telling people (who always think he's kidding) that he kills people.  The music feels awkward sometimes as if the cues were written either for another film or without the composer watching the scene before writing the music like the director just gave him an idea of what the scene is or something.  If you digs you some psychological thrillers of the old school then give this one a shot.  It's currently on Netflix streaming and I also noticed the full film on YouTube.




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