Hatchet for the Honeymoon

The story centers on a spacious villa outside Paris where John runs his late mother’s bridal dress factory. The surrounding grounds include a greenhouse where he disposes of bodies by burning them, blending opulence with a chilling secrecy. The villa, factory, and greenhouse create a claustrophobic backdrop that mirrors John’s fractured psyche. The occasional interruption by the airport hints at a life that borders on normality but is haunted by violence.

🧠 Memory

John’s murders are driven by a buried childhood trauma, and each kill reveals a sharper image of the past. The acts of violence become attempts to piece together a memory that refuses to stay buried. Burning the remains ties memory to the present, suggesting the past continuously shapes the killer’s actions. The plot uses memory as the engine behind his motive and unraveling reality.

🎭 Identity

Everyone around John perceives Mildred as alive, while he cannot hear or see her, highlighting a fracture between perception and reality. Helen’s arrival and the ensuing sting operation blur what is real and what exists only in John's mind. The bridal imagery reinforces a manufactured, performative identity he cannot escape. The film explores how identity can fracture under psychological strain.

🔪 Obsession

John’s compulsion to murder brides is fed by a relentless fixation on memory and ritual. The wedding gown, the greenhouse, and the cleaver become instruments of a growing obsession that chews through morality. As his target shifts from Mildred to Helen, the fixation deepens and accelerates toward a tragic confrontation. The story implies obsession can become an all-consuming pattern with deadly consequences.