the flat staging to the snippets of Mahler on the soundtrack, unite to enhance the rawness and relentlessness of the film." A 2003 review by The A.V. Club concludes by noting that the film's "nauseous mixture of laughs and shocks, and the fact that real passion drives Kastle's characters even when they plot against each other, is what makes The Honeymoon Killers such an enduring one-off. It works, as Gary Giddins argues in the liner notes of the restored DVD edition, 'as the perfect product of the same anxious, permissive age that produced Waters, Night of the Living Dead, and blaxploitation. But it holds up just as well as a weirdly timeless love story with a body count.'" The film holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8/10, based on 19 reviews. The film was reportedly banned in Australia upon its release in 1970 until the late 1980s after being deemed "violent, indecent and obscene" by the Australian censorship board. Home media The film was issued on DVD by The Criterion Collection (under license from MGM, the owner of the AIP library) in July 2003. A newly restored Blu-ray and DVD edition was released by the Criterion Collection in 2015. Legacy In the decades following its release, The Honeymoon Killers developed a cult following. French director François Truffaut heralded it as his "favorite American film." Notes References Sources External links The Honeymoon Killers: Broken Promises an essay by Gary Giddins at the Criterion Collection 1970 films 1970 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American International Pictures films Crime films based on actual events American docudrama films 1970s English-language films Films set in Alabama Films set in Michigan Films set in New York (state) Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in New York (state) American serial killer films Biographical films about serial killers 1970s serial killer films Cinerama Releasing Corporation films 1970 directorial debut films 1970s American films