Director: William F. Claxton
Year: 1972
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Nature-Run-Amok; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
While working in Southern Arizona, a group of scientists attempting to curtail the local rabbit population finds that a rabbit injected with a serum to curb their breeding cycle has turned those it has come into contact with into ravenous, gigantic rabbits devouring the countryside.
Review:
This one here was pretty good and did have a lot going for it. One of the film's better parts is in the second half, where the mystery of the unknown creatures causing the damage is handled rather well and perfectly. This one handles it by building a stream of suspense sequences that only underscore how dangerous the threat is as it slowly dawns that something is going on. These are highlighted by the early attacks on the population, and they are all done rather nicely and do their job of making the threat rather imposing and something to be taken advantage of. Once the rabbits get fully grown, there's a lot more fun to enjoy from this, as there are plenty of scenes to provide either action or suspense.
The tunnel destruction plan where the rabbits are seen interacting with the cast as they discover who's really causing it with the chase through the tunnel, the farmland attack from their initial rampage on through to overrunning the house and the diner attack where the swarm overruns the town all provide plenty of suspense since there are various tactics within them to make them feel creepy and has some fun with the story. There's also the farm swarming scene in the middle that gets really action-packed and manages to feel really big and grand due to the size of the creatures and the size of the herd. That's what makes them good villains in a creature feature such as this, since one creature bigger than a man is bad enough, but to have a herd that large at the same size is simply terrifying, and it works for the film. Alongside a rather clever and creative ending here, which is just fun, and some rather nice bloody deaths, these here are the film's best parts.
There wasn't much in the way of flaws with this one. One of the flaws is that there's a ludicrous situation causing them to get loose. The daughter will cause it, and rather than feeling sympathetic towards the situation but will instill more of a feeling of rage and hatred for doing such a thing. They're not cute, and their actions just induce outright hatred for their stupidity. The gigantic rabbits at times do look really cheesy, especially when shown in a specific feature for a close-up. It's hard to take them seriously when they're in those poses, as the oversized fangs and cute face throw up a disorienting tactic that can be cause for some concern. The last flaw in this is the use of the real-life footage at the beginning to explain the film's back-story. Basing a film on a real-life incident can work, but the real footage goes against the later scenes, and the effect it has is a little jolting, especially in such a low-rated film. Otherwise, there isn't much here against this one.
Overview: ****/5
Better than it should be as a goofy genre cheesefest, there's a lot to like here even if there's some inherently silly and cheesy material to get through which might not be too damaging regardless of its impact. Those with a tolerance or acceptance of the type of film presented here or who are fans of this era of genre fare will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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