Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Night of the Lepus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 2, 2018

1972’s “Night of the Lepus” is best described as the “Killer Rabbit Movie,” and that’s pretty much the viewing experience director William F. Claxton provides. While based on a novel by Russell Braddon, the picture generally goes its own way with an animal attack premise, playing into ecological fears and cinematic history by pitting runaway rabbits against a small town of understandably panicked people. “Night of the Lepus” isn’t refined entertainment, and once it sets up the central crisis, drama fades away, with Claxton clearing the way for lengthy rampage sequences that utilize crude special effects and bizarre creative choices, watching the production work to make rabbits the most fearsome villains of the film year.

In a small Arizona town, rabbits have become a major problem. Multiplying in great numbers, the pests are starting to clear entire farmlands, panicking the locals, including rancher Cole (Rory Calhoun), who turns to pal Elgin (DeForest Kelley), a college president, for help. Fearful that the farmers will turn to drastic means to get rid of the rabbits, Elgin reaches out to scientists Roy (Stuart Whitman) and Gerry (Janet Leigh), who acquire a new hormonal serum intended to disrupt the rabbit breeding cycle. During the monitoring process, one test subject is released into the wild, creating a major problem for the community, with the serum causing the rabbits to grow to an enormous size, instilling them with a lust to kill. As the giant rabbit population grows, chaos ensues, with the town overrun by hopping creatures, leaving it up to Roy and Cole to figure out a way to defeat the rabbits and restore order to the land.

“Night of the Lepus” strives to root itself in a real world problem, opening with a faux newscast explaining the history of rabbit infestation, including imagery from newsreels from long ago, when Australia was overrun with pests, showcasing locals using fencing and brute force to prevent additional damage to the local environment. 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 details of the uprising. It’s somewhat refreshing to watch the picture refuse camp, and there’s certainly a little creepiness in the idea of thousands of rabbits racing for their lives, creating a swarm of panic and hunger that clears any vegetation in sight. But Claxton isn’t making a nature documentary. He’s making a movie where character actors are asked to pretend that house-sized rabbits are coming after them, reacting with an understandable blend of professional shame and cinematic horror.

The big draw here are the rabbits, which start off small and frenzied before they grow to sci-fi proportions. Weird science is used to commence their development, with the serum aiming to break the breeding cycle, but manages to increase their capacity for violence instead, with the pests holing up inside a local mine to grow in numbers, setting up the first conflict between man and rabbit. Special effects aren’t advanced by any means, but Claxton tries his best to sell the enormity of the threat, using miniatures to create scale, setting the furry stars of the show loose on tiny farmlands and town roads, shooting them in slow motion to help achieve a monstrous hop. Also in the helmer’s arsenal is a man-in-suit, which helps to achieve close-up attack sequences where the rabbits tear locals apart. Visual might is lacking, as “Night of the Lepus” resembles an offering of Atomic Age cinema from the 1950s, with camerawork trying to sell the illusion of average rabbits as unconquerable murderers, keeping humans on the run as they work out plans to fight back. Splashing ketchup on animal faces and bodies helps the gore factor, but “Night of the Lepus” isn’t out to sicken viewers. It’s primarily interested in cheap thrills, giving lengthy periods of screen time to rabbit events, tracking their progress through town.

It's an impossible acting job, but pros like Whitman, Calhoun, and Leigh do what they can with the material, which asks them to remain perfectly upset about an absurd situation. That nobody breaks character or winks at the camera is pretty amazing, offering pure commitment to the weirdness, which helps to buy into the fantasy. And for fun, Kelley brings his professionalism to the endeavor, adding some concerned glares to the thespian movement. Claxton doesn’t do a precise job blending actors with giant rabbits, but the talent sell the stuffing out of the uprising, doing a fine job grounding “Night of the Lepus,” gifting it a chance to become something slightly more than it was meant to be.

Night of the Lepus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Night of the Lepus" is sourced from a "New 2K scan from the interpositive," and the results are very impressive for a nearly forgotten B-movie (which, bizarrely, skipped a VHS release). Detail is the big draw here, with clarity reaching as far as the original cinematography permits, delivering an open look at the rabbit rampage, which involves various miniature sets and slo-mo tricks to bring to life. Artifice is easy to spot, but that's part of the fun, while location distances are dimensional and facial particulars are defined. Colors are vibrant, embracing period fashion that emphasizes blues and oranges, greenery is bright, delivering a full sense of Arizona desert and farm life. Skintones are natural. Delineation is secure, keeping the frame communicative. Grain is fine and filmic. Source is in good shape, with no significant elements of damage.

Night of the Lepus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix secures most of what "Night of the Lepus" has to offer sonically, with dialogue exchanges a defined mix of ADR work and rough sound work. Hiss carries throughout the listening event, but performances aren't threatened, emerging with all the proper emphasis and panic necessary to enjoy the film. Scoring needs are met, with strange rabbit noises offering deeper rumble, blended with more traditional instrumentation. Sound effects are acceptable, highlighting rabbit screeches and property destruction.

Night of the Lepus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features author Lee Gambin.

• Commentary #2 features pop culture historian Russell Dyball.

• Image Gallery (4:46) includes publicity shots, newspaper ads, lobby cards, and poster art.

• Radio Spot (:34) is offered.

• T.V. Spot (:22, HD) is supplied.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:45, HD) is included.

Night of the Lepus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Night of the Lepus" has a fair amount of death and child endangerment to keep it edgy, also focusing on rabbit travel time, which sends the movie into loops of animal action shots to help pad the run time and create the illusion of an unholy takeover. Again, it's all so goofy, but Claxton doesn't give up before the film is over, straining to make something exciting and possibly terrifying along the way, especially for anyone who has some type of rabbit phobia. "Night of the Lepus" is amusing with its hustle and attempts to pull off complicated special effects with low-budget tools, but there's charm in its failures and minor delight in its ambition. There's a reason it's one of the few monster rabbit features, showing immense genre bravery as it tries to make cuddly-wuddly animals into a pure horror show.