Hatchet For The Honeymoon

Hatchet for the Honeymoon (Il Rosso Segno Della Follia) (1970)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Mario Bava

Starring: Stephen Forsyth, Dagmar Lassander, Laura Betti, Jesus Puente, Femi Benussi

From: Pan Latina Films/Mercury Films

In the past week I have had more free time than usual-that'll be ending real soon-thus, me sometimes watching more than one film a day. In addition, I have had the Shudder streaming service on Amazon since I am a Prime member. It's fine but that month expires tomorrow and I'll at least do week-long trials of other streaming sites that are on Prime, for the sake of variety. Anyhow, my last Shudder review will arrive tomorrow night but I figured I should continue on my journey of watching giallo by checking out this Bava picture. It's not his best but that doesn't mean this is not fine.

The story is not the type where there's a mysterious black-gloved killer and several people have to band together to try and solve the mystery. Instead, we know that the killer is John Harrington, a man in his 30's who we sometimes hear narration from as well. John has an Oedipus complex and because it's a movie, he needs to kill women dressed in bridal gowns so he can help remember a traumatic event from his past he has suppressed. In addition, he has a pretty awful wife, a shrew harpy-hey, that's how the movie portrayed here-and I'd probably be driven mad to the point of murder just from dealing with her. Anyhow, there is a new woman who comes to model for his job at a factory which makes wedding dresses. Who will Say Yes to the Dress next?


The movie did not quite turn out like I expected, but I am not saying that as a bad thing. It is full of macabre moments and is always interesting as we follow Harrington and wonder how often we'll see him kill. While the murders-yes, the weapon is more a cleaver than a hatchet, but maybe things are different over in Italy-are of an arty style and thus aren't blood-drenched, we do still see some claret and at times things become quite colorful, both literally and figuratively. Thus, even though it's not the best giallo, it may still be worth seeing, especially if you enjoy psychosexual films.