Claxton director stuart whitman roy bennett janet leigh gerry bennett. Night of the lepus boasts a heavy reliance on stock footage, yet lepuss creators couldnt even be bothered to make sure that the added scenes matched the rest of the film. Easily one of the most infamous examples of this was night of the lepus, a notorious bomb back in 1972 that has remained somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine over the years, so i strangely felt compelled to revisit it for shits and giggles. A rancher tries to stop kingsize, hoppedup carnivorous rabbits as they roar through arizona. The novel was a finalist 20 shirley jackson award and was ranked sixth on the new york times bestsellers list in september 20 following its release in august 20. The idea is that experimental hormone injections, intended to stop the rabbits breeding as an. Explicitly falls into the ecological my god what have we done subsection. Janet leigh said she took her role because it was shot near her home, and meant less time. Read the night of the lepus movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on movies. To all of you who like nothing better than to nuke some corn, dim the lights and settle in with cinematic mutations like. The trick of night of the lepus is that while it deals with a supremely silly premise, it takes everything seriously, trying to examine the rabbit apocalypse with complete concentration on the animal world ecovengeance details of the uprising. There is unintentional high camp to be had by all with this ridiculous b movie complete with roaring. Here is a film that has complete faith in its premise. Giant mutant rabbits are on the loose in the campy 70s cult classic night of the lepus for the first time on bluray on june 19, 2018 from scream factory.
Arizona rancher cole hillman rory calhoun, dealing with massive rabbit overpopulation on his land, calls on a local college president, elgin clark. Character actors from westerns the pair had worked o. Night of the lepus is ridiculous in its attempts to scare, generating nothing but laughs from start to finish. Ranchers, plagued by hungry rabbits and their livestockcrippling burrows, appeal to scientists to help them out. Night of the lepus boasts a heavy reliance on stock footage, yet lepus s creators couldnt even be bothered to make sure that the added scenes matched the rest of the film. When filming was completed mgm took a look and suddenly got cold feet. Night of the lepus, bluray, widescreen, horror, 826663187779.
Night of the lepus was don hollidays only screenplay credit. A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning arizona ranchlands instead turns them into flesheating, 150pound monsters in night of the lepus. Claxton, both of whom came from western film backgrounds. In night of the lepus filmed on location in beautiful tucson, az and surrounding areas in the old pueblo. Read the night of the lepus movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on. However 40 some years later this is an incredibly funny film. This release features a new 2k scan of the original film elements and comes complete with new audio commentaries. Night of the lepus 1972 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up. Night of the lepus 1972 letterboxd social film discovery. Jun 12, 2007 although its not at all clear from the trailer, this legendary 1972 box office disaster scifihorror movie was born of one of mankinds most primal and nagging fears. Night of the lepus follows the ageold horror tradition of taking harmless animals see them.
Shot in arizona, it follows a group of ranchers and scientists threatened by voracious mutant animals the size of pickup trucks attacking everyone in its path, leaving a trail of ravaged farm houses and. Sep 20, 2011 a hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning ranchlands instead turns them into flesheating, 150pound monsters in night of the lepus. Arizona rancher cole hillman rory calhoun, dealing with massive rabbit overpopulation on his land, calls on a local college president, elgin clark deforest kelley, to help him. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative. Panned on its release, the 1972 horror disaster, night of the lepus, featured one of film s least terrifying monsters giant bunny rabbits. Night of the lepus 1973, an ecological horror film with scifi elements, operates from a premise so absurd that its doomed from the start. Besides the usual bikiniclad cast, random singing, silly plot line, musical guests, and ridiculous chases and fight scenes, the continuity. Night of the lepus also known as rabbits is a 1972 american science fiction horror thriller film. On a damp october night, 24yearold ashley cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower manhattan. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing night of the lepus near you. The title was changed from rabbits to night of the lepus and all promotional materials were redone and had all references to giant killer rabbits redacted. The trick of night of the lepus is that while it deals with a supremely silly premise, it takes everything seriously, trying to examine the rabbit apocalypse with complete concentration on the animal. Night of the lepus 1972 approaching a movie like this can lead to all sorts of problems.
During the climax, a group of men have hidden themselves in the foliage and are shooting at the ravaging rabbits. Janet leigh said she took her role because it was shot near her home, and meant less time away from her family. Released in 1966, the film features the cast cavorting in and around a haunted house and the adjacent swimming pool. The rabbits are filmed up close in slowmotion and dripping with blood as they maul the locals, but they are only as cute as they are harmless. So i appreciate the unsentimental approach to animals that pervades the southwestern culture where night of the lepus is set. Ghost in the invisible bikini is the seventh and last of american international pictures beach party films. Night of the lepus also known as rabbits is a 1972 australianamerican science fiction horror thriller film based upon the science fiction novel the year of the angry rabbit 1964 by russell braddon. Its one of a kind and not to be missed by lovers of the weird and wonderful. A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning ranchlands instead turns them into flesheating, 150pound monsters in night of the lepus. Originally called rabbits, until the studio decided it wanted the presence of killer rabbits to be a surprise. Kearney, on the other hand, had many screenplay credits to his name, including the intriguing 1967 curtis harrington thriller games, modeled on the french film classic diabolique 1955, and tv series. Even the film s depiction of the military is a throwback.
Released during a wave of horror environmentalist movies, the studio looked ready to cash in on manmade monsters that bit the hand of their human creators. The film was shot early in 1972 and released theatrically on july 26th of that year. He criticized the primitive special effects, badly done editing and laughable dialogue, and noted that while the rabbits and actors are rarely. Claxton, stuart whitman, janet leigh, rory calhoun, horror, scifi, thriller october 28, 2015 cole hillmans arizona ranch is plagued with mongrel rabbits, and he wants to employ an ecologically sound control method. Besides the usual bikiniclad cast, random singing, silly plot line, musical guests, and ridiculous chases and fight scenes, the. When rabbits overrun a farmers land, he turns to a local scientist for a cure rather than poison them. Night of the lepus is a 1972 american science fiction horror thriller film based on the 1964 science fiction novel the. With stuart whitman, janet leigh, rory calhoun, deforest kelley.
Night of the lepus 1972 arizona rancher cole hillman rory calhoun, dealing with massive rabbit overpopulation on his land, calls on a local college. Giant mutant rabbits terrorize the southwest william f. Did a bunch of people actually sit down and think that bunnies would. Factorys invaluable scream factory arm now licenses the 1972 killer bunny epic night of the lepus for the surprise bluray release of the summer. Claxton, is the story of how doctor mccoy ok, ok, deforest kelley, but in a really orange turtleneck helped stuart whitman, janet leigh and rory calhoun save the world from a herd of giant killer bunny rabbits no, really. There is a herd of killer rabbits headed this way and we desperately need your help. In lepus, lettucemunching bunnies suddenly develop a taste for human flesh once they explode to 100 times their normal size. The film was the first science fiction work for producer a.
August 22, 2019 0 mindhunter season 2 deep breakdown. The studio was obviously counting on moviegoers not knowing what lepus means. What makes things even more absurd is just how serious the film takes itself. Local owner hop david, publisher of the copper newspaper, put up a mural of local landscape, people, animals and music riders in the sky on the front of the building. Something which the ad company spoiled by sending out rabbit. Here are reasons why you should watch night of the lepus. Believe it or not giant carnivorous bunny rabbits terrorize arizona in this silly monster movie. Night of the lepus is a 1972 american science fiction horror thriller film based upon the science fiction novel the year of the angry rabbit by russell braddon. When the scientists cure backfires, the rabbits grow to enormous size. According to the credits anyway, this is an adaptation. The film takes place within a small arizona town where the local rabbit population has a change in its hormones and changes over to carnivorous dining. There was a similar plague of rabbits getting out of. Night of the lepus is a fun flick that takes a ridiculous premise and tries to play it earnest, thus making the end result unintentionally hilarious and a joy for nature run amok film fans.
Night of the lepus 1972 full movie download full hd youtube. Night of the lepus has to be one of the most ridiculously inspired films ive seen in some time. Night of the lepus 1972 night of the lepus 1972 user. One of the kookier cult items from the warner brothers vault, shout. According to the credits anyway, this is an adaptation of year of the angry rabbit, by russell braddon. The movie opens showing a news report about how overpopulation is not just a human problem, but exists in the animal kingdom as well, using the rabbit population explosion in australia in the 1950s as an example. Ive never had a pet, and i prefer to think of rabbits as food more than anything else. Shot in arizona, it follows a group of ranchers and scientists threatened by voracious mutant animals the size of pickup trucks attacking everyone in its path, leaving a trail of ravaged farm houses and corner grocery stores, its victims bloodied. Night of the lepus main flaw is that it takes the giant killer rabbits concept seriously. Night of the lepus 1972 10041972 us horror, science fiction 1h 28m user score. After all, the infestation of rabbits takes place only because the ranchers have shot all the coyotes.
Claxton on allmovie giant flesheating rabbits ravage american. So it goes in night of the lepus latin for rabbit, as characters frequently remind each other and the audience. When it comes to unintentional humor, bmovie fans can do no better than night of the lepus. Although its not at all clear from the trailer, this legendary 1972 box office disaster scifihorror movie was born of one of mankinds most primal and nagging fears. Out here, rugged men battle the elements to raise cattle, and any creature that gets in the way is an economic hardship. Night film is a mystery thriller by marisha pessl, published by random house. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Dogs, rats, sharks, ants, bees, pigs, snakes, the list goes on and on. A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning ranchlands instead turns them into flesheating, 150pound monsters. Easily one of the most infamous examples of this was night of the lepus.
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