Night of the Lepus - Lisa's Review

SHOCKTOBER SPECIAL: BEST WORST MOVIES

In honour of Halloween, we're taking a special "Shocktober" break from the Time-Out 100 Best Horror films, to focus on some of the worst...

Sooooo, Killer Bunnies, what can I say?  Yes, seriously!  I spent most of the movie with those few words going around and around in my head.

With an idea of the premise and as I started to watch this movie, I was sure it had to be a comedy, tongue-in-cheek at least, but would you believe, they were serious about the killer bunnies.

I have to be honest before I give you an opinion, as I write this, I am very hungry and on an enforced diet, so grouchiness may affect the humour segment of my brain.  That said, the movie did make the corners of my mouth twitch a few times (and that is no mean feat!).

Sooooo, we have a scientist with this wife and impossibly annoying daughter (who has black eyebrows and white/blonde hair... what's up with that?) who are attempting to lessen the rabbit population.  How do they do this?  By injecting them with HORMONES to make them infertile??? Hmmmm, potential problem there guys!  Anyways, a test rabbit is injected with a serum and coincidentally from a lab full of the damn things, this is daughter-dearests favourite.  She swaps the injected rabbit with another bunny and it is released back to the population with dire consequences.

The consequences are giant, killer rabbits.  Yup, I shit you not!  We are also intended to take this seriously!  Would you believe they managed to convince Janet Leigh to star in the movie?

Sooo, what more can I say really... the 'kill' scenes were ridiculous.  The rabbits at no point looked menacing, frightening or even particularly hungry.  They were all cute twitchy noses and floppy ears... allbeit giant ones.

Did they attempt the man-in-a-bunny-suit for the effects?  Did they hell... instead we have real, cute, fluffy bunnies hopping through tiny sets.  We never see a bunny and person in the same scene and what is supposed to be terrifying before any person is jumped upon by the giant beasts, in in actual fact most amusing (at least it would have been had I not been imagining rabbit steaks and tomato sauce).

I felt myself feel a little sorry for the poor bunnies with matted fur full of face blood.... I found myself wondering did it taste nice for the bunnies as it was smeared around their mushes.

Another mildly amusing scene in the movie occurs when a policeman makes an announcement on a speaker at an drive-in movie theater breaking the news of killer rabbits.  He advises drivers to wind up their windows and drive away.  Was a titter raised?  Was there a heckle to be heard?  Nope... cue every motorists lights coming on at exactly the same time and everyone driving away.

Of course we have the inevitable 'rabbits running amock' (or rampant rabbits if you will.. mwahahaha) scene leading up to the mass execution by the coppers.  Did we feel sorry for the rabbits?  Nope... Did we fear the rabbits?  Nope... Were we amused by the rabbits?  Somewhat...

In conclusion, had I been in a slightly more receptive mood, had a wee drinkie, a big fat pizza and the company of some like-minded mates, I would probably have laughed my arse off at this.  Sooooo, with that said, if you want a 'so bad its good' movie to watch for a laugh with your mates, you could do much, much worse than this.  As it's not particularly my thing, I'm afraid no 'recommended' from me.