Review – Night of the Lepus

From the time of the cave painters of Lascaux until the rise of the modern age, humanity has been plagued by a thorny question: is it possible to make fuzzy bunnies look terrifying? Now, thanks to the valiant efforts of some brave filmmakers, the riddle has been solved. And apparently the answer is a resounding “no.” Not even if they’re supposed to be the size of Winnebagos and have for some unexplained reason developed a taste for meat. Of course, it didn’t help that the rabbit wranglers decided to use an abundance of the fluffiest pet store veterans they could find. I guess the thing I find most astounding about this amazing piece of bad cinema is that MGM actually put up the bucks for it. Usually you need the likes of American International for garbage like this. As a result of the apparent cash surplus, they were able to get some semi-famous talent, including Rory Calhoun, Janet Leigh and DeForest Kelley. There’s even a scene in which Leigh is rescued from a bunny-surrounded RV by a helicopter; all they needed to make this nonsense complete was Elmer Fudd singing “Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit!” Oh, and quotable quote: “It’s okay, Jack. Don’t be afraid. The rabbit’s gone.” And to top it all off, the production also includes some of the most amazingly dreadful matte work in film history. Though the movie features more than its share of camp value and unintentional humor, somehow in the end it fails to justify the seemingly endless parade of rabbit death. Wish I’d skipped it