SECOND OPINION: EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! (DVD)

Film: Easter Bunny Kill! Kill!
UK Release date: 22^nd August 2011
Year: 2006
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Chad Ferrin
Starring: Timothy Muskatel, Ricardo Grey, Charlotte Marie, Trent Haaga, David Z. Stamp, Wolf Dangler
Genre: Horror
Format: DVDCountry: USA

Reviewer: Adam Wing

With a tagline that reads “Don’t expect Easter eggs”, Chad Ferrin makes it pretty clear what to expect from his holiday horror Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! Chad cut his teeth on films like Unspeakable, The Ghouls and most recently, Someone’s Knocking at the Door. Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! is his fifth full-length feature, blessed with bloodthirsty killings and more crazies than a George A. Romero movie. There’s a good chance Elmer Fudd won’t be chasing down this particular wascally rabbit, but you can buy it on DVD courtesy of Cine du Monde.

A murderous grifter (Timothy Muskatell) cons his way into a mother’s heart, unaware that he’ll have to make ‘nice’ with her treasured son, Nicholas (Ricardo Gray). Mindy (Charlotte Marie) has always had a penchant for ill-fitting boyfriends, unlike the little black dress she wears at the start of the movie. A brutal opening introduces us to would-be psychopath Remington - a dangerous man in need of an all over wax - and his hatred for Nicholas is made abundantly clear from the get-go.

He does have a soft spot for Mindy though, and plans to move into the family home as soon as possible, which is probably why he broaches the subject of Nicholas’ mental health so tactfully, choosing to go with the line, “How retarded is he?” Not the best way to start a new relationship, I can tell you. As soon as she leaves the house for work he makes his true intentions clear, and the mild mannered Nicholas is subject to torrents of unnecessary abuse.

Easter Sunday is Nicholas’ favourite holiday, and when a kindly drifter offers him a rabbit in exchange for tin cans, Nicholas convinces himself that it’s the real Easter bunny. Remington is happy to go along with it, just so long as he stays out the way. He’s planning a party you see, complete with fun-loving prostitutes and a drug dealing child molester, who’s already taken a shine to Nicholas. Not entirely convinced by the evening’s activities, Nicholas locks himself away in his room with only the rabbit for company, the rabbit and the bunny mask-wearing psychopath already on the rampage that is - on hand to deliver a blood-splattered night of unspeakable terror.

Putting the bunny back in the box is out of the question, especially when it comes equipped with a range of weapons that would put even Batman to shame. Hammers, drills, guns, flashlights and cleansing products - no household item is safe from barbaric bunnies with murder in mind. The rest of the characters don’t fair too well either, but we wont lose any sleep over that, Easter Bunny’s cast list reads like a State Prison football team. Spanish burglars, titillating prostitutes and drug pushing paedophiles don’t exactly evoke sympathy, so there’s a good chance you’ll be rooting for Roger all the way.

If you’re only in it for the carnage (it’s called Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! for Christ’s sake) you’re in for an agonising wait. Ferrin’s fifth feature is slower out the blocks than a talented tortoise, and it’s not until the final act that the screen turns a sinister shade of red. The first act is surprisingly effective, performances are stronger than you might expect from a low budget horror movie, and the bunny’s bonnet is choc-full of twisted humour and worthwhile exchanges. The second act drags its heels like a hare in need of a hose down, for some reason Ferrin feels the need to bolster his slender running time with fruitless diversions that add nothing to the eventual outcome.

It’s not until David Z. Stamp’s Ray Mann arrives on the scene that events take a turn for the clinically depraved. His drug dealing child molester is genuinely creepy, even if his ‘pocket full of goodies’ aren’t afforded the screen time they truly deserve. It’s Timothy Muskatell’s Remington that holds the film together though, and despite the despicable nature of his character, there’s something oddly affecting about his performance - he comes on like a cross between Ron Jeremy and Joe Spinell’s Maniac.

Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! makes its mark in the final act, despite Remington’s insistence that “It’s Easter, not fucking Halloween!”. I tell you, it’s enough to put Dawn French off chocolate for life. Chad Ferrin knows how to deliver an entertaining set piece, and from here on in Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! comes alive with the sound of screaming. Ferrin nails it - quite literally in fact - and the last half hour is choc-full of milky goodness and tasty treats. For some inexplicable reason I didn’t see the ending coming, which is rare in this day and age, and all the more obvious when I choose to reflect. That said, the warped final reel smacks of family sitcom, not to mention the promise of a sequel or two.

Raw, uncompromising and darkly comic, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! ends on a high note - buoyantly bouncing away with my will. It sure takes its time to get there, but clearly this bunny has learnt a thing or two - Chad Ferrin’s gut-punching gore fest stands out as a low budget horror movie worth its weight in gold-en foil.

Images Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! © 2006 Crappy World Films © 2011 Cine du Monde