Idiot-Deluxe
Yep.... this sure is some goofy, rabbity, rubbish all right. But let's take a moment and reflect about the sights and sounds of this super-silly schlockfest from the 70's.Night of the Lepus is a ridiculously terrible movie in virtually every aspect, though on the other hand, it certainly does have what it takes to keep you entertained - but probably not in the way that it's creators intended. It's a well known fact that Disaster flicks were popular throughout the 70's, but this movie is among the worst of it's kind. The film stars Janet Leigh, Stuart Whitman and Rory Calhoun, it was released onto the world in 1972 and was produced at just under a million dollars. The Night of the Lepus is a movie based upon the impossibly stupid idea of giant-sized rabbits running amuck out in the deserts of the western United States, hordes of them, in the form of midnight stampedes, causing vast swathes of death and destruction wherever they roam.The film starts off with an infestation of, shall we say normal rabbits, but due to some scientific misadventures (and then later through the use of lots of laughably bad special effects) the rabbits grow to giant-sized proportions and once that's happened, this awful movie rapidly blossoms into an incredibly ridiculous action/comedy of sorts. But judging by the acting seen in this movie, it's my guess that it's creators weren't thinking of it as being such; but regardless of their true intent, this movie is fantastically stupid and ham-handed to an extreme and just wait till you see the movies TERRIBLE looking special effects.Let's dig a little deeper on the matter of Night of the Lepus's special effects, firstly it's numerous effect shots are the driving force behind, not just the giant rabbits, but the movie itself and they account for the vast majority of the films action. So in other words there's a lot to mention. As it should be obvious to anyone with more then three brain-cells, this film is a first-rate showcase of second-rate special effects; and to my way of thinking the effects are the best AND the worst part of the movie. But getting to the specifics of it, the giant rabbits are brought to life through a combination of overtly fake-looking rabbit puppets of varying sizes and to go one further it appears the crew used rabbit "mittens" in some of the close-up shots, that involve giant rabbits mauling human victims. Then we have the model work to speak of which appears in the form of one unconvincing miniature set after another, there must be at least a dozen such sets used in total, of which not a single one of them fools the eye, not for even a second. But by far the most often used of all these so-called special effects, has to be the liberal use of close-up/slow-motion footage of rabbits, which somehow the idiots behind this crappy movie apparently thought that showing rabbits, which are obviously of normal-size, in slow-motion would somehow impart a sense of gigantism to them and well.... just like all the other FX in this movie, that really didn't work too well. Then at the end we have the "electrifying" finale to speak of, which is truly a grand send-off to a terrible, terrible, movie. Is that burnt "hare" I smell? The best/funniest mistake seen in this exceptionally poorly-made movie involves a shot of one of it's many miniature sets, where a guy (who was probably an animal handler) is plainly visible in the background (who not surprisingly looks like a giant himself among all the so-called giant rabbits), is seen running away trying to get out of frame - in a vain attempt to avoid being in this downright awful movie.And for those who like to experience nostalgia through movies you are definitely in for a treat with Night of the Lepus. Seeing as how this movie dates back to the early 70's, Lepus comes loaded to the gills with all sorts of visuals from a bygone era. Which without fail tends to give this film a very dated appearance. If one were to keep a checklist you'd find that all the usual culprits such as music, cars, clothes, hair-styles, facial hair, are all here in great abundance. But best of all this movie has one of those big bulky "El Dorado" truckcampers from the 60's and 70's, which is prominently featured in several scenes throughout the movie. Hell it showcases the thing. And with that being said, I don't know about you, but speaking for myself, the mere sight of a truckcamper, especially one that size is always good for a laugh. Because lets be honest, a truckcamper isn't exactly the sexiest thing on four wheels, now is it.In the end what we have here with Night of the Lepus, is a production that's based upon the most ludicrously stupid of notions (i.e. giant rabbits) and then ham-handedly put together in the most unconvincing way imaginable. The end-result is a terrible as it is funny and it ultimately makes for a hilarious accidental comedy... of error's.
Wizard-8
It's been said that there are no bad ideas for movies - just bad executions of ideas for movies. However, every so often a movie comes out that has a premise that one simply has great difficulty picturing even great filmmakers managing to pull off. The musical "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is one such movie, and "Night Of The Lepus" is another. Seriously - gigantic killer rabbits? Could ANYONE have pulled this off successfully? The idea is so silly that the movie already has been given a fatal blow. Though it certainly doesn't help that much of the movie is done in an amateurish manner. The special effects (real rabbits hopping around miniature sets) must have looked extremely shoddy even to audiences in 1972. And while the movie boasts some name actors, none of the performers look happy to be there, and give performances that show their lack of enthusiasm. (I read that Stuart Whitman was essentially forced to do the movie.) The movie does have some unintentionally laughable moments, but most of the movie is so pathetically done that you'll mostly feel embarrassment instead of amusement. This movie was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's lowest point for a long, long time.
mythd
This one is for the books! If thought of killer rabbits (No, not the ones from Monty Python's "Holy Grail") scare you, then this is your movie. Apparently, these babies go ape s*** and decide to attack people that are dumb enough to stand there and scream, while trying to keep a straight face. I don't want to ruin the ground breaking plot (yeah, right) to you, just sit back, watch and be prepared to laugh yourself off the couch. I gave this 10 out of 10 because your not sure whether to laugh, have a shocked look on your face that you are watching this mess, or are feeling sorry for the top name actors appearing in this. Trust me, a howling good/bad time!
