Horrorthon'08: NIGHT OF THE LEPUS (1972)

Well what can I say about this "classic" 70s horror film? If I wasn't covering it as part of my Horrorthon stuff, it would almost certainly have made it in here in my Gobsmacking Cinema series of oddities. I just had to pick this one over the Irish horror film SEER which was on at the same time (and, I've heard, wasn't very good).

It's one of those nature-strikes-back films that were so popular in the 1970s, whether it be through classics like JAWS or insanely stupid (but simultaneously brilliant) trash like GRIZZLY.

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS definitely belongs in the latter category - like GRIZZLY at last year's Horrorthon, this definitely needs to be seen with a late night audience. If nothing else, the very concept is too barmy for words. Giant killer rabbits.

Yes, giant killer rabbits. This opens up the floodgates for all manner of classic exploitation moments, whether it be the rather unpleasant archive footage of a rabbit cull while a reporter tells us how much of a threat they are, or a combination of (unconvincing) trick photography and men in rabbit suits.

There's some great grizzly death-by-rabbit action but full marks must go to the human cast as well.

Boasting a cast that includes Rory Calhoun (MOTEL HELL), Janet Leigh (PSYCHO), STUART WHITMAN (lots of cult movies) and DeForest Kelley (Bones McCoy himself), it reads like a who's who of cult. What's so brilliant however is the utterly straight-faced way in which they perform despite being in the most ludicrous of movies.

The moment when NIGHT OF THE LEPUS's wonder is best summed up comes as a policeman gets out his megaphone at a packed drive-in and tells everyone to calmly drive away as there is a herd of killer rabbits heading their way. And they do it! No fuss, no argument! They just accept the fact, without question, that there is a herd of killer rabbits coming their way. Ask yourself how you would react in such a situation.

Totally mad, totally crap, and totally and undeniably a must-see cult classic.

Horrorthon coverage continues tomorrow night...