Each week, our resident underground and obscure film expert will highlight a new film each week a little off the beaten path that you may not have heard of. These are films that he feels have not gotten enough exposure and/or appreciation among genre fans.
Movie of the week #2: Bunnyman / Bunnyman Massacre
Recommendation for the week of March 28, 2016
I just want to start out by saying happy Easter. Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, there are a lot of great holiday-related movies horror fans can watch this time of year. Some of the popular ones are Easter Bunny Bloodbath, Beaster Day: Here Comes Peter Cottonhell, and Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! Yes, those are all real movies. But my personal favorite is Bunnyman and Bunnyman 2 (Bunnyman Massacre).
Round 1: Bunnyman
Bunnyman is a 2011 movie directed by Carl Lindbergh and stars Cheryl Texiera and Matthew Albrecht. The movie is about a group of kids who piss off an angry truck driver. But little do they know that the driver is an insane, murderous, lunatic dressed in a bunny costume. They soon start getting killed of in the most brutal way possible, and they will realize that they pissed off the wrong bunny.
After watching this movie for the second time, I had to immediately take two pain relief pills for the massive headache I endured. That is how bad this movie was. I remember seeing the trailer for the premiere of this movie on the Chiller network and being so exited to watch it. After missing the premiere, I instantly forgot about it until I stumbled across it online a couple years later.
I don’t even know where to begin with this movie. The acting is atrocious, the cinematography is horrible, the (not so) special effects are bad, the audio is horrid, and the whole movie itself is just plain awful and quite literally pain inducing. So why on earth would I be putting this in my movie of the week segment?
I’m recommending this movie for a couple of reasons. It will create a nice setup for the much better sequel, and in my opinion, the Bunnyman himself is pretty cool and quite terrifying.
Bunnyman is one of those “What were they thinking?” movies. With that said, if you’re a fan of “so bad they’re good” movies, you’ll definitely get a kick out of watching it. To be completely honest, as bad as it was, I did have a lot of fun watching this movie. I also had a few good laughs, which is always a bonus.
Rating: (as a movie) .5 out of 10; (for enjoyment) 4 out of 10
Round 2: Bunnyman Massacre
Bunnyman Massacre is a 2014 movie directed by Carl Lindbergh and stars David Scott and Joshua Lang. The movie is about Bunnyman and the murderous hillbilly, Joe, who murder anyone or anything that crosses their path. This soon becomes a problem for two sisters who come into contact with the deranged duo while out hiking.
Right off the bat, we are introduced to the Bunnyman as he steps onto a school bus filled with dozens of kids and starts butchering them all with a chainsaw. The audience will instantly recognize the change in tone between the two movies. This movie has improved on almost every flaw of the first film, such as the acting, cinematography, makeup/effects, and writing. This was actually a legitimately good horror movie. Another awesome thing this movie improved on is the kills. While I wont spoil any of them, I will say that the creative kills alone in this film make it worth a watch.
That’s not to say that this movie isn’t overly flawed. One thing in particular I noticed in this movie (and also Bunnyman) is the pacing. While this movie had a lot of exiting moments, it also has a lot of dull ones. And although the acting is far superior in this movie than the last, it also adds to the dullness of the movie. The more effective scenes would’ve been so much better and possibly more disturbing if the acting was handled better.
Bunnyman Massacre is far better than the first installment in the Bunnyman series. Although flawed, it makes up for it in kills, good cinematography, and pure enjoyment.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Both Bunnyman and Bunnyman Massacre serve as the first two segments in a planned trilogy. Bunnyman 3 has been announced, and you can watch the epic trailer below. I am very exited for the new movie, and I will definitely check it out and review it for the website.
Follow Us!