Haunted Honeymoon

Haunted Honeymoon (1986)

…A Comedy Chiller

Radio personalities Larry Abbot and Vickie Pearle are stars of a mystery show. Since they announced their engagement, Larry has been plagued by speech problems and, seeking out an unconventional cure, he returns to his boyhood home, a mansion in the countryside, bringing Vickie along. Larry reunites with numerous family members, but discovers that there are sinister things afoot within the walls of the creepy estate.

Date of release
1986-07-25
TMDB
5.4 / 10 (179)
Runtime
1h 22m
Genres
Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Director
Gene Wilder

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 1. Including: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress

Haunted Honeymoon is a 1986 American comedy horror film starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom DeLuise and Jonathan Pryce. Wilder also served as writer and director. The film was distributed by Orion Pictures through a deal with HBO. Upon release it was considered a commercial failure, grossing just short of its $9 million budget and receiving generally negative reviews from critics. DeLuise was awarded the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for his performance in drag. Haunted Honeymoon was both Radner's final feature film appearance and Wilder's final film as director.

Production

Gene Wilder wrote the opening scene while filming Silver Streak in 1976. He wanted to make a "comedy chiller" inspired by such films as The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Old Dark House (1932) and The Black Cat (1941), and radio shows like The Inner Sanctum.

Wilder and Gilda Radner fell in love while making Hanky Panky (1982) and he decided to revisit the project as a vehicle for them both. "I always thought that Gilda has been one of our most brilliant television comediennes, but now I think she's becoming more than very good as a comic movie actress, which is a very, very different thing", said Wilder.

Wilder rewrote the script with writing partner, Terry Marsh. "I knew that I wanted it to be not a parody and not a satire, but to re-create a comedy-chiller", said Wilder. "I don't like naturalism. I like things that are fantastical - I'm not saying necessarily fantasies, but more than reality."

Wilder was partly inspired by a song from the 1930 film Monte Carlo that he heard while watching the film in bed with Radner. "I'm always looking for some emotional spine to what I'm doing. I look over at [Radner] and tears are coming down from her eyes. It was so sweet and innocent. Like little children. And I thought that's what [Haunted Honeymoon] is about." Radner added, "I couldn't imagine him singing it with any other girl.

Wilder was also inspired by seeing Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast in the early 1980s. He commented, "I'm more comfortable when I don't have to be held down by authenticity. In this film, which is set in the '30s, I feel that I'm presenting authenticity of the heart. I'm not interested in everyday reality, but in the reality of the heart. I like fantasy, like a fairy tale.

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