Dark Honeymoon offers a fun if commonplace tale of suspense.
After a brief courtship, a man (Nick Cornish) marries an enchanting woman (Lindy Booth), and then things begin to go terribly wrong. During their honeymoon on the foggy Oregon coast, he discovers her shocking secret as those around them die horrible and violent deaths - one by one. The tension increases with the body count, and he soon learns that you never really know someone... until you marry them. The late Roy Scheider, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah, and Tia Carrere costar.
Dark Honeymoon is an example of a film that gets by mostly on the imminently watchable nature of its cast. The plotline is so straightforward and otherwise run-of-the-mill throughout that a cast of lesser actors would have made it a chore to sit through. Lucky for writer-director David O'Malley that he was able to assemble a cast of this caliber. Sure, not one would be considered a big name but they are all screen veterans who know how to bring fun to their roles.
In the lead role, Nick Cornish is likable and convincing as the newlywed who slowly recognizes that his wife is a walking, talking nutball-nutcase. As the nutcase, Lindy Booth is pitch perfect. She smartly resists playing the role as a caricature. By doing so, the audience at least can somewhat understand why someone might have fallen in love with her to begin with. But when she is showing her dark side, Booth is clearly having fun, relishing her chance to go psychopathic on everyone.
Among the supporting performances, Roy Scheider is great as the manager of the motel where the couple is staying for their honeymoon. He recognizes that something is not quite right with Booth even before her husband does and calmly tries to impart this knowledge to him. Carrere and Hannah play guests at the motel who, after crossing paths with her, also notice that Booth is not playing with a full deck, so to speak. Eric Roberts is a hoot as a arrogant customer at the gas station the couple stops at on the way to the motel.
Sure, it is almost generic to a fault. Even so, Dark Honeymoon is worth a look, if only to witness one of Roy Schneider's final performances.
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