Night of the Lepus

Night of the Lepus

My review will be brief,here.If you are an adult viewing this film for the first time,you are sure to have a few good laughs. If you are an easily frightened 7 year old kid,such as I was when I saw it,it will give you nightmares about rabbits.I am not sure what the intent was here,whether they felt they had a legitimate horror film,or that they went out of their way to be silly,but the film is exactly that;silly.If your kids are easily frightened,keep them away until they are adults who are able to see the humor.If you are one who likes to collect bad movies for fun,or if you are genuinely frightened by the idea of giant killer rabbits,this one is for you.

At long last Night of the Lepus has been put out on DVD. After catching most of this gem on TV almost 15 years ago, I was an instant fan and recommended it to anyone who has a taste for the giant creature genre. About 3 months ago I began thinking about Night of the Lepus again and found that is would soon be released on DVD. Oh joy! Well, I just watched this beauty again, and it's everything I remembered and more. Straight off the bat, it's got Rory Calhoun. Rory Calhoun just keeps popping up in many of my favorite flicks. The true charm of the movie is in the creative ways they had to film bunnies and the absolute seriousness with which the characters treat the ridiculous disaster that has come their way. If giant rabbits appeals to you even slightly, seek out this film. You won't be disappointed.

.....but I still love this movie as it is one of my 'favorite bad films' of the 70's. It was also the first film that I recall receiving a promotional item for in the lobby ( a pin that I still have that says "Beware of the Lepus") which I thought incredibly cool. Yes, it's incredibly lame, but I have a soft spot for it...what can I say? Besides - you have Janet Leigh and DeForrest Kelly trying to be as serious as possible. You have 'giant' bunnies running around. You have generally all around poor acting. Did I mention giant bunnies? Well - rent this or buy it on eBay - do what you have to see this Great Bad movie!

Anyone who has ever worked with animals knows how difficult it can be "Rabbits" was a very difficult film to do> WE worked in tremendous heat conditions and had hundreds of rabbits to deal with It was a fun film for the trainers I think because no one has done a horror film before with rabbits> Take the silly stuff away and its a fun film.

A small western town is terrorized by rabbits that are the size of large dogs. They kill anything that gets in their way, including man. What is not to love about this film? DeForrest Kelly. check. Janet Leigh, check. You have the swagger and levelheadedness of Dr. McCoy and the original scream queen in the same film. Look, there is nothing groundbreaking here, and it is as funny as it was ever scary, but is that not the point of these movies? I found this highly enjoyable as a man versus nature film.

A jaw-droppingly stupid idea (giant carnivorous bunny rabbits on a rampage) makes for a surprisingly fun, entertaining movie. The effects are reasonably convincing, it's briskly paced, with a blast of an ending. It's all played perfectly straight, and good for many a giggle. Dumb? You bet. Fun? Abso-wootwy (as Elmer Fudd would say). Plus it stars DeForest Kelly. Bad film buffs will adore it!

This is a true classic. It has such an absurd plot that you couldn't ever think of taking it remotely seriously. Basically killer mutant rabbits go on the rampage. Or rather, harmless rabbits are photographed with miniatures or have their images enlarged and superimposed to look menacing. And do they look menacing? Well.....no, not at all. They just look like a bunch of Watership Down wannabees out on a stroll. What was DeForest Kelley thinking when he signed up to this. Or Janet Leigh for that matter. Just how did they get persuaded to star in this? It's a classic. Watch it if you like really BAD films.

One thing we didn't get in 1950's sci-fi movies was giant rabbits. This movie from 1972 certainly makes up for that. I quite liked watching this. A Rabbit that has been injected with hormones and mutated blood escapes from a laboratory and grows into a giant and others soon follow. They start to go on the rampage and eat people, horses and cattle. The military are called in and a stretch of railway line is electrified to toast them to death when they cross it. This succeeds and everything can return to normal. Despite this being his type of movie, Bert I Gordon had nothing to do with this. The movie has a good cast: Janet Leigh (Psycho, The Fog), Stuart Whitman (Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines), DeForest Kelley (Star Trek), Western star Rory Calhoun and Paul Fix. Night Of the Lepus is a must see for sci-fi/horror fans. Great fun. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Campy, hokey, and oh so hilarious B movie is an unforgettable tale of nature on the rampage. In rural New Mexico folks trying to eliminate the rabbit population create a race of huge, killer rabbits that terrorize mankind! Night of the Lepus is one of those golden B flicks that must be seen to be believe. It's wonderfully tongue-in-cheek in its premise, and builds up some good moments of spookiness despite of its silliness. For a film of its budget, this movie manages to have some pretty decent special FX, it certainly beats the likes of Food of the Gods (1976) or Empire of the Ants (1977). The veteran cast is OK in their performances. The late-great Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, and Stuard Whitman are the best of the cast. The music score is bland, but in a nicely moody way. Night of the Lepus is a classic film not to be missed by fans of the B horror genre. ** 1/2 out of ****