"Nightmare Honeymoon" tells the story of the honeymooning couple who decide to consummate their marriage in the woods.Unfortunately the couple witnesses a murder and when they try to run two rural killers knock the husband unconscious and rape the wife.After dealing with his wife's trauma the husband finally decides to find and kill rapists..."Nightmare Honeyoon" is pretty tame in comparison to Silverstein's "A Man Called Horse".The rape scene is off-screen and there is only a little bit of violence.The script lacks punch and tension too.Admittedly the climax is pretty tense and there is an aura of heart-breaking despair,so I wasn't completely disappointed.7 rapists out of 10.

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.

A newlywed couple sneaks out of their wedding reception to get a head start on their honeymoon. On their way to the hotel they witness a murder and get held at gunpoint by the two killers, one of whom rapes the wife while the husband is unconscious. The man and wife are unable to return to normal and so set out to seek revenge.This is a psychological horror film in every sense of the word- no blood and guts here, just pain and shame and emotional scars. The tone turns rapidly from Joy to Impending Dread, and never switches gears again. I love late-night horror films and almost any B-movie made, but this is a surprising disappointment in which all of the right ingredients fail to gel.Why the opening sequence about the bride's father "hunting" the newlyweds? What was the point of David being a Vietnam vet? Why does Pat Hingle as Paw give a sunset monologue about how deeply he loves his daughter- and then disappear from the film? Extended sequences in which Jill expresses her emotional trauma by howling in anguish and weeping in agony (mascara tends to run) were only aggravating and depressing- nowhere near scary or thrilling. I suspect these scenes were left in only to pad out the film, which still clocks in at a lean 95 mins.I would love to recommend this movie to you- on any level. I would love to say there's something to see here beside the beautiful Southern locations and towering Gothic willows. "Nightmare Honeymoon" doesn't really work on any level. When you wake up at 3 AM from a deeply disturbing nightmare you get a glass of water... and go back to sleep.GRADE: C-

I liked this gritty and harsh exploitation/revenge feature, and don't quite understand why it's so unknown and forgotten (and the people who do know it don't even seem to like it). True, the script somewhat moves too slow and quite a few sequences easily could have been cut, but the main premise is fascinating, the two main characters are likable and the pivot scenes are often so full of tension you have any nails left to bite by the time they're finished. David and Jill couldn't be happier on their wedding day. Finally reunited after David spent two years in the hell of Vietnam and they even escaped Jill's family traditional wedding ritual where they "hunt" the newlyweds and hope to ruin their first night together. Whilst hiding in a sleazy Cajun motel, David and Jill witness the execution of a corrupt businessman by hired hit men. The crazed killers knock David KO and viciously rape Jill. After this tragedy they attempt to pick up their lives again, but Jill is an emotional wreck and David has exclusively set his mind on retribution. They embark on a search to find out the rapists identities, which leads them all the way to New Orleans. One of the great things about "Nightmare Honeymoon" – in my humble opinion at least – is that the character drawings are more realistic and identifiable. The reason why the film doesn't contain that much violent action or rancid sleaze is because Elliot Silverstein largely puts the emphasis on the series of emotions the newlyweds go through, together as well as separately. David becomes so increasingly obsessed with the idea of revenge, he's often frightening himself and Jill suddenly questions her marriage, her feelings and even her own femininity. The final confrontation with the deranged rapist Lee (excellent performance by John Beck) is rather overlong but atmospheric and you genuinely pray for the couple to walk out of the showdown alive. The performances are great with very convincing roles for Dack Rambo (awesome name, dude) as David and the cherubic Rebecca Dianna Smith as Jill. Elliot Silverstein's direction is tight and solid. He completed this little 70's gem in between directing his two most famous and much more publicly acclaimed achievements, namely the western drama (and predecessor of "Dances with Wolves") "A Man Called Horse" and horror-favorite "The Car", about a satanically possessed vehicle terrorizing the inhabitants of a small desert town.