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Highly Overrated But Still Good

good back-story, and good acting

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

An early prototype for things to come? I know it was completely different to what I was originally expecting. A rural shocker in something of a survival mode, but in the end it was a stormy drama of horrific elements and sombre tones. David (who just came back from spending two years in Vietnam) and Jill have just been married, and on that day they flee the reception at her family's plantation to escape from her father's protective leash and his displeasure of her marrying a 'Yankee'. On their way to New Orleans for their honeymoon, they stop off at bayou motel where they witness a murder. While trying to flee, they're discovered by the hit men, as David is knocked out and Jill pleading for his life is raped. They arrive in New Orleans, but the scarring ordeal has really hit Jill hard, and causes an uncomfortable rift between the couple. So David goes about trying to track down the killers. Rather than being a straight-forward low-budget revenge film magnifying the violence and profanity like plenty of grindhouse exploitation features of this ilk accustomed themselves in the mid to latter end of this decade, director Elliot Silverstein's late-night, southern slice while remaining gristly durable and still lingering on a sadistic front, chooses to rather imply it, letting the dark, moody atmospherics of the character's genuine transformations infuse the uneasy emotions and confronting tension in very slow-measured style that has a worthwhile pay-off. This works because of the carefully laid out script of the gloomy social commentary ("No one cares") and examining the unremitting affects and pain that go to trouble and engulf the newly wedded couple (the husband angrily seeking retribution and the wife being traumatically unbalanced) and secondly because of the seamless performances by a hard boiled Dack Rambo and the ravishing Rebecca Dianna Smith as David and Jill. Also a gleaming John Beck is fantastic as the aggressively unhinged hit-man / rapist and Pat Hingle is always a delight as Jill's protective father. Jay Robinson kicks in with a small, but colourful part. However the story isn't without its flaws namely that of many open ended plot ties. Director Silverstein's efficient direction is boldly compact making perfect use of the vivid locations to stage the conflicting dramas and pressured induced suspense (plenty of nocturnal sequences). Elmer Bernstein's raucously brooding score leaves a mark. Amiably effective in its shaming psychological make-up. Ps. Seeing that director Nicolas Roeg was originally tagged to the project, before leaving after only 5 days into the shoot would've made it interesting to see what he could have made of the material.

I have a strong suspicion that "Nightmare Honeymoon" was originally filmed as a made-for-television movie, but someone (for some reason) thought it would be a good idea to release it to theaters first. The tone of the movie is very tame. There's no nudity, the only bad language is the one utterance of the word "damn", a key violent scene happens completely offscreen, and the (limited amount of) violence in the second half of the movie is not that intense.Still, I have seen good made-for-TV movies from the 70s, and I possibly could have still enjoyed this despite all the censorship restrictions. But I didn't think that it worked overall. Even at around 93 minutes long, the movie feels significantly padded. If they had trimmed the movie to run 75 or so minutes (like many 70s made-for-TV movies), this would have improved the movie significantly. The other big problem is that after the climax, the concluding moment is very unsatisfying. You don't know where the characters are headed after going through what they did.I'm not saying that this is a "bad" movie - it has some moments of interest. But the execution was somewhat misguided. Perhaps a remake could fix those problems I wrote about.

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.

***SPOILERS*** Actor John Beck's performance, as psycho killer and rapist Lee, is by far the best reason to see " Nightmare Honnymoon". Without Beck being in the movie and doing his "thing" the film would come across as just your average run of the mill TV Movie crime thriller.The movie itself has newlywed couple David & Jill Webb, Dack Rambo & Rebecca Dianna Smith,witness a contract murder by Lee and his partner Sandy, Roy Jenson, of the manager of the motel that their staying at Mr. Carroll, David Huddleston. Being spotted by Lee & Sandy both David & Jill are held hostage by them with Jill, while David is knocked unconscious, being raped. It's later when David finds out what happened to Jill he goes out of his way to track down the two killers to exact revenge for what they did to his wife.It's when David finds out who contracted the two killer to murder Mr. Carroll his business partner Ruskin, Jay Robinson, he realizes that they aren't professional hit-men flown in from out out of town but local hoodlum who aren't all that professional at all. This explains the bizarre actions of Lee, and to a lesser extent Sandy, that leads David right to their doorstep at the New Orleans Royal Hotel!In him trying to finish what he started Lee goes completely wacko in not only trying to again rape Jill but force her husband David to watch the outrage! The eye popping and sneering Lee gets so caught up with his actions, in him trying to stretch them out, that he gives both David and Jill, whom he's holding hostage, all the time that they needed to finally finish him off.John Beck who usually plays a good guy in the films he's in was never better as the crazed and hyperventilating Lee the hit-man. Even Lee's partner Sandy seemed very uncomfortable being around in him nervously looking, for what seemed like, any excuse to exit the movie. In the end, after Sandy was dispatched by David, Lee was left on his own to face not only a vengeful David, a hand to hand combat Vietnam veteran, but his wife Jill who in the end turned the tables, or her choppers, on him!