The Honeymoon Killers (1970)

A stark, bleak and utterly fascinating film that introduces viewers to one of cinema’s most intriguing romantic couples – a conniving, thieving, murdering con man, Ray Fernandez, and his girlfriend, the dowdy, podgy siren of a nurse-cum-psycho, Martha Beck.

The two cross paths through a seedy lonely-hearts service and begin an intense relationship after months of letter writing. Ray is a slimy, charismatic Latino charmer who uses his considerable gifts to prey upon vulnerable, if willing, widows and lonely spinsters, charming them with his Casanova style and good looks before leaving them floundering as he cleans them out and moves on to his next victim. Martha, meanwhile, dumps her own batty mother into a home for the elderly, marries Ray, and together the two embark on a murderous spree, ravaging the lives of several helpless women along the way.

Martha pretends to be Ray’s sister as he prowls the lonely-hearts columns for fresh victims. Their scam works well enough to begin with, but gradually Martha’s all-consuming jealousy begins to create difficulties. Though she quite enjoys playing the role of Ray’s “sister” while her husband swindles lonely widows, the flames of jealousy slowly begin to consume her and she finds herself increasingly unable to tolerate Ray spending time with another woman, even though it is all part of the game.

The film was produced on a minuscule budget and shot in grainy but wonderfully effective black and white. Director Leonard Kastle brilliantly evokes a bleak, seedy atmosphere that hangs over the entire film, one of simmering menace and quiet evil. The murder scenes are staged with an almost documentary-like detachment that makes them all the more shocking, particularly when one remembers that these events are rooted in fact. The film is slightly reminiscent of another cult classic shot in similarly stark monochrome, Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls, sharing the same unsettling ability to linger long after it has ended.

The Honeymoon Killers is a potent, exceptionally acted gem of a thriller. Amidst all the horror, greed and moral decay runs a wonderfully twisted streak of dark humour as the ghastly events unfold to the strains of Mahler and amid endless boxes of chocolates. Martin Scorsese was originally hired to direct but departed the production after only a few days, leaving Leonard Kastle to complete the film. Whatever the circumstances, cinematographer Oliver Wood deserves enormous credit for the film’s unforgettable visual style and oppressive atmosphere.

The two principal performances are extraordinary. Tony Lo Bianco exudes sleazy charm as the calculating Ray Fernandez, while Shirley Stoler is utterly riveting as Martha Beck, slowly consumed by her possessiveness, insecurity and murderous jealousy. Stoler’s grotesque, strangely pitiable Martha remains one of the most unforgettable creations in American cult cinema.