Movie: 3.5/5 Mario Bava has never landed a real hit in his time, but is popular with horror fans and continues to grow a fanbase. How many Bava films is also similar to "Hatchet for the Honeymoon", they were always marketed as B movies and never got the respect they deserved . However - and this is also the case with Bava - it's excellent. As you can see in this film the C-class actors that act as natural figures of the theatre, to the end because you occasionally shakes your head at one or the other script-turn with the acting, but you enjoy them because the pictures always have great atmosphere. If you are looking for splatter effects, however this is misplaced, because the murderous actions of the protagonist only lead to something (extremely bright red) fake blood stains on the white wedding dresses of the murdered women. Bava's cinema lives of the optics. Camera settings, play of color, illumination and shadow paintings tell sometimes more than the actual film selbt. As with Dario Argento, the one may call a student Bava in many ways, we are here with the search for meaning on plot plane and high expectations of the consistency of play action misplaced. Hardly any Bava makes it as clear as HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON. It's about John Harrington, the an unusual fetish makes a murderer: Fragments of memories, which he can not read, drive him to brutal murders with the cleaver to women in wedding dress's. With each murder, the puzzle deciphers more. His own marriage is on the rocks, his fashion house for bridal attire is rather poor, but the wealth of his wife leaves him after all lead a luxurious life. The police are already on the heels of him, the investigating commissioner is already long since come into his life. The film is surprisingly bloodless and in comparison to his other efforts . A year later Bava would bring us his goriest, BAY OF BLOOD, so in a way this film successfully shows that Bava could make a strong thriller without the use of gore. Criminological aspects of the plot are of interest for Bava: The murderer is from the outset whether he will be caught or not, could hardly care less. Not the "what" of action is decisive, but the "how": And here unfolds a fireworks display of subtle visual ideas and experiments of light, image design, equipment and ultimately - in fact! - Also from the great performances of the B-Cast a highly artificial poem fashionable, old-European backdrop present. But just issue may be Bava newcomers HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON can be an introduction to the wonderful world of of Mario Bava so on that note it is recommended: Only with some sense of the concept for the film as it unfolds, this film is to sum up, a great little and creepy thriller, not Bavas greatest film, but saying that he never made a bad film. Check it out if you like your Italian horror and a taste of the macabre. Video: 4.5/5 Bava's film is presented glorious HD, make note this is the only Blu-Ray release of it in the world. Shock presents to us a world first exclusive for Australians, making it a very special release. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and for a film from 1970 it looks incredible. The colours are extremely rich and vibrant, adding to atmosphere. The night scenes on the moors are a rich blue, and stun ning green lighting in the film really does stand out. There is extreme clarity and detail in the print, looking closely you will be able to see detail in the sets and characters clothing. The lighting effects are particully clear indoors and add clarity to certain scenes, this is as close as to how it looked theatrically. There is no print damage, it appears they sourced from the best master available, there are minor specs here and there but it is natural specs. The film has a thick natural layer of grain over it, this grain is obviously from the original negative. This blu ray matches all the other cinema Cult Blu ray's as they have had terrific restorations and care done to them one by one. Audio: 4.5/5 Overall we have a great audio mix presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 it is the films original mono soundtrack.. It sounds great with dialogue coming off crisp. The musical score has intense moments and the orchestral sounds really do stand out. Overall" 4/5
4 Comments
Paul
4/28/2015 09:15:45 am
Are you kidding me? The audio is atrocious. It's nothing but pops and crackles.
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Victor Wong
5/12/2015 06:14:21 pm
"Only Blu-ray release of it in the world"? Do you live under a rock? Meanwhile, 2 & 1/2 years ago...
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4/25/2017 02:01:41 am
I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year.
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