Review #794: 'The Honeymoon Killers' (1969)

Released in 1969 under the guise of a low-budget exploitation film, The Honeymoon Killers is in fact one of the best American real-life crime movies ever made. It tells the story of Martha (Shirley Stoler), a lonely, overweight nurse who is entered into a 'lonely hearts' club by her friend Bunny (Everybody Loves Raymond's Doris Roberts). She receives a response from Latin lothario Ray Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco), who is a con-man who preys on lonely women, shaking them down for their money. When he reveals this to Martha, she is undeterred, and insists on joining him on his quests by posing as his sister. Ray promises that he won't sleep with any of them, but Martha's overbearing jealousy soon leads to murder.

Based on the notorious case of the 'lonely hearts killers', first (and only) time director Leonard Kastle adopts a documentary-style approach, opting to use mostly hand-held photography, naturalistic lighting, and minimalistic editing. If sometimes the small budget becomes obvious, this only heightens the sense of realism running throughout the film, assisted by two astonishing performances from it's leads. Stoler is immense, evoking sympathy at first but then revealing her true motives are rooted in jealousy and bitterness as she becomes unpredictable and frightening. Bianco, who is still enjoying a prolific career, performs with a flawless Latino accent, demonstrating the charm and seduction that helped Fernandez dupe so many of his unfortunate victims in real-life

But the film is not without artistic merits as well. Lacking blood and devoid of any kind of shock tactics, the murders are cold and brutal. A hammer blow to the head has as much impact as Leatherface's notorious entrance in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), as the victim struggles and twitches while the killers struggle for finish her off. Another has the camera focus just on the panicking eyes of a sedated victim, as Martha and Ray argue off-camera about to do with her. A gun then appears at the corner of the screen and it's all over. It's shockingly blunt for it's era, but only serves to make The Honeymoon Killers one of the most invigorating and uncomfortable experiences I've had in recent memory.


Directed by: Leonard Kastle
Starring: Shirley Stoler, Tony Lo Bianco, Mary Jane Higby, Doris Roberts
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #106: 'God Told Me To' (1976)

If you're a fan of B-movie quirkiness, then you should be more than familiar with the great Larry Cohen. His films really should be bad, even awful, but Cohen's genuine talent for screenwriting and his ability to stamp his famous sense of humour onto his films makes them better than they should be. God Told Me To is his fifth film, after a few blaxploitation films (including the very entertaining Black Caesar (1973)) and the killer-mutant-baby film It's Alive (1974). Marketed as a Grindhouse picture under the title of God Told Me To Kill, Cohen's film contains little violence and after a seemingly methodical first half an hour, the film takes a sudden change of direction that, of all things, certainly keeps the film interesting.

Opening with a sniper picking off random people, he is approached by Detective Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco), a New York cop. When asked why he is doing this, the killer replies 'God told me to' and flings himself off his perch. He is told the same thing by another murderer, and when a cop (played by Andy Kaufman!) goes nuts at the St. Patrick's Parade, Nicholas realises that more powerful forces could be responsible. He begins a search for a man with long, blonde hair that was seen with the murderers at various points before the began killing, and Nicholas must battle with his own faith and the possibility that he may not be quite who he seems.

Yes, this is a mad film. By the end, after a man shows our Detective a large vagina in the side of his torso and asks him to mate, you'll wonder what the hell you've just watched. But that's the great thing about Larry Cohen, he takes something strange and mundane and turns it into something entertaining. This isn't his greatest film by all accounts - it doesn't make a lot of sense, it's overlong, the love interest has the worst glasses in film history - but I certainly quite enjoyed it. The shaky camerawork, fast-paced dialogue and simply bonkers plot devices just takes it a notch above the usual pap. But maybe it was missing Michael Moriarty.


Directed by: Larry Cohen
Starring: Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie