Gene Wilder's Haunted Honeymoon is an honourable failure. The film is written and directed by Wilder and it contains a-lot of the same visual and comedic motifs associated with his earlier collaborations with Mel Brooks. Whilst I understood what Wilder was going for I felt the film missed the mark both in its comedy and plot. The film was incredibly dull, after watching the film I can barely remember any genuinely hilarious scenes.Gene Wilder plays Larry Abbot a neurotic horror radio presenter, who returns to his family castle where he grew up after getting engaged. He decides to take his fiancée Vickie Pearle (Gilda Radner) back home for the marriage. To cure Larry of his neuroticism his uncle decides to scare the irrational fear he has, out of him. There's also a badly underutilised murder mystery plot that's going on in the background, as someone wants to murder Larry.Gene Wilder is as always his charming self, he carries this movie, and I would hate to of seen this without him, because it would of been a total disaster. The rest of the cast is pretty forgettable. Dom DeLuise seemed like he wasn't interested in the film and that came off in his performance. Terence Stamp was wasted in the film, he had very little screen-time. Gilda Radner had a decent amount of chemistry with Wilder but nothing noteworthy.In the end this film, has many scripting issues, it's a film that want's to be its own film, whilst having the same comedic tone as a Mel Brooks film. The plot barely makes any sense and even when it does it's not interesting, and to be brutally honest this film felt like the unfunny b- roll material left out of Young Frankenstein. The only reason I would recommend this film is for Gene Wilder who shows again why he was an incredible on-screen talent.

Haunted Honeymoon (1986) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Radio vocalists Larry Abbot (Gene Wilder) and Vickie (Gilda Radner) wants to get married so he takes her back to a castle where he grew up as a child. Also in the castle are a strange collection of relatives and Aunt Kate (Dom DeLuise) says that she thinks one person there is a werewolf.When you see that Wilder is working on a horror-comedy you can't help but think back to YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. This film here was pretty much ripped apart by critics and fans stayed away from it and when viewing it today you can't help but think that it not being like that earlier Mel Brooks film is the reason why. It should go without saying that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was a classic comedy and this here is no where in the same league but at the same time there are enough funny moments to make it worth sitting through.The biggest problem with the film is the screenplay, which just doesn't have enough jokes that work. I say this because I'd say that only twenty percent of the jokes actually manage to get laughs so there are just way too many scenes that either don't go anywhere or they don't end with a laugh. When you've got talent such as Wilder and Radner you expect a lot more laughs but sadly it just doesn't happen. There are some funny moments every once in a while including a great scene with Wilder trying to hide a body from the police and having to use the legs as a prop. This same type of thing was seen in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and it's still funny here.Wilder and Radner are both good in their roles and there's no question that they had a nice chemistry together. DeLuise gets a few nice laughs in drag and we get supporting performances by the likes of Jonathan Pryce, Bryan Pringle and Paul L. Smith. The horror elements follow the "old dark house" sort of laughs and the werewolf is a nice little bonus. Wilder, as the director, keeps the film moving at a nice pace but there's no question that this film falls well short of being an "A" picture.

"Haunted Honeymooon" is the type of movie that you sit down to watch because of the cast that were starring in the movie. I mean, with the likes of Gene Wilder and Dom DeLuise at the helm, you know that you will be in for a good time and a fun movie. Or so it would appear......However, "Haunted Honeymooon" turned out to be a mere mediocre movie, weighed down by a very generic and bland storyline that just seemed to be too random at times. It was as if they had filmed various things independently of each other and just cut it together for making a single movie.Now, it is true about the cast, as they function as great bait to lure in the audience. And true to what we have previous seen from Gene Wilder and Dom DeLuise, then they perform exactly as to be expected, and they do so with their normal flair and showmanship. But they alone did not carry the movie just between the two, as the rest of the cast also really did great jobs in bringing their characters and role to life on the screen.While this is a comedy, there was surprisingly little throughout the entire movie that will actually make you laugh out loud. Smirks and small chuckles is what is mustered most of the time.This is not the best of Gene Wilder movies as both actor and director, not by a long shot. Sure, it is worth a watch, but just don't expect to be blown away by anything you see here.

Gene Wilder is a bit quirky. For sometimes, some far times, he's funny. But for most of the times he's not. And when he supposes whatever he does as comedic, then it is pretty annoying and nasty. Goggling by his eyes, among other trademark stuff, can't be considered a reason for Ha Ha in my book, rather Boo Hoo ! So when I read that he managed to be one of the most lovable comedians, then naturally it means "In America", and when he's chosen as one of the most important 50 actors in history, by Empire Magazine, then it's not a favorite issue ! His work as a director tried to be different. Great or laughable are things to argue about achieving them there. Now, I don't want to weigh him as a director by this movie, because – obviously – it's nobody's feat.It has ambition which couldn't hold a candle to. The movie is possibly a parody of some themes in the horror genre, mostly related to the hunted house. Yet nothing is interesting further than its first scene !There is an assured emptiness. While it doesn't want to build itself on borrowing certain scenes from older movies to imitate ironically it doesn't find something to show. Even the characters are less than catchy. And the whole cast was wasted, doing nothing memorable at best.So Wilder, as a writer and director, didn't find a lot to be made. In any genre that's disappointing, however in comedy; it's ultra disappointing ! In that era, the horror spoof was in fashion. Saturday the 14th (1981), National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982), Pandemonium (1982), Dead End (1985) and Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988). Well, Haunted Honeymoon (1986) falls in the end of the list. It's poor, freakily usual, long TV sketch. It makes bad movie like Nothing But Trouble (1991) more vital, surprising, and full !P.S : I still remember this due to the fact that I watched it through a try to set a record in watching many movies in just couple of days. So in 13 and 14 / 7 / 2000 I watched : Forrest Gump, Jungle Fever, Ghosts of Mississippi, Haunted Honeymoon, The Trigger Effect, and Sherlock Holmes Returns. How Haunted was I !