Lagomorpha-Thon : 5 Flicks for Rabbit Day

I usually watch zombie movies on Easter. Since, for some, it's a religious day dedicated to an extra special undead dude, it always seemed fitting enough. This Easter, however, I decided to switch it up and have prepared a marathon theme more in line with the outward (sellable) appearances of the holiday--the bunny. There is actually a shit ton of movies involving the fluffy creature in some way, but after careful deliberation, I landed on five features for a healthy Sunday lineup of rabbit involved cinematic madness. I call this year's watchlist:

Lagomorpha-Thon: 5 (fucked up) Flicks for Rabbit Day

Bunnyman (2011)

Carl Lindbergh’s ode to the back-roads slasher is essentially a bargain bin Texas Chain Saw Massacre clone with a fursuit. It's not a super intelligent, original, or good film (actually it is fucking terrible by most standards), but it does have murderous rednecks, lost tourists, and juvenile violence--which I dig. It was followed by two sequels in kind: The Bunnyman Massacre (2014), Bunnyman Vengeance (2017). Also, It’s incredible how much a disturbed man-child killer can emote through a dirty bunny costume.
IMDB/WIKI/On Amazon

Night of the Lepus (1972)

The notoriously inept piece of seventies cheese pits southwestern good ol’ boys against the rampant forces of superscience, man-eating rabbits and dated cinema magic. It also features an all-star cast of legends at some of their corniest including Rory Calhoun, Stuart Whitman and fucking Bones (DeForest Kelley) from the original Star Trek. In this age of remakes, if Hollywood had any guts at all, it would try rehashing the giant, killer-rabbit trope before re-re-doing another horror classic.
IMDB/WIKI/On Amazon

Peter Rottentail (2004)

A bullied magician comes back to life wearing one-third of a rabbit costume and begins a quest for revenge, killing anyone who gets in his way. The endearing, bottom-level shlock, from John and Mark Polonia (Feeders, Splatter Farm, etc.), looks like a cable access kids show from the late 90s, only with blood and half the budget. I enjoy the shit out of it, but no one will watch it with me, even when it is topical.
IMDB/On Amazon

Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! (2006)

In this twisted, low budget holiday tale from Chad Ferrin, a mysterious killer, sporting a plastic bunny mask, doles out bloody retribution for the abuse suffered by a handicapped child. Along with being a spiritual tribute to the tasteless trash of old, It's a good dose of offbeat, fucked up splatter, surprisingly capped off with a heartwarming conclusion that brings a tear to my eye.
IMDB/WIKI/On Amazon

Watership Down (1978)

Unlike a lot of people in my age group, I didn't catch this one until much later in life, which from what I hear, may have avoided me some childhood trauma. Based on the book by Richard Adams, it's a grim adventure depicting a forsaken society on the brink of extinction, as performed by cartoon rabbits. Technically, it's the only non-horror movie on this year’s list, but it's probably the most effective, and I have heard it called worse things than scary. There was a recent remake on Netflix that doesn't quite live up, so make sure to scar your kids with the OG version.
IMDB/WIKI/On Amazon

Zombie movie days are frequent (if you count Dead Heat, I had one on Tuesday). It can't hurt to set time out for the bunnies every year to hold a marathon in their honor. Long before I had heard of Fulci, Jesus or even Romero, I was paying a yearly tribute to a long-eared deity through egg hunts and chocolate gluttony. Plus, the fact that I have written out an itinerary of some kind (for a weekend no less) is making me feel remarkably grown up.

What movies would you include for Rabbit Day? Do you have something special that you watch on Easter weekend? What connection do egg-laying bunnies have to an undead demigod rising from his grave? Have you ever put a peep in the microwave? Let me know in the comments below.

by:

RevTerry