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Night of the Lepus |  | Director: William F. Claxton
Actors: Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley, Paul Fix
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $5.75
as of 11/28/2009 03:06 CST details
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New (14) Used (3) from $4.97
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Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 5618
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D67597D
ISBN: 1419814362
UPC: 012569675971
EAN: 9781419814365
ASIN: B000A0GOGE
Theatrical Release Date: October 4, 1972
Release Date: October 4, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Whoever persuaded MGM to make a movie about giant, bloodthirsty bunnies must have been some kind of mad genius. Night of the Lepus features Stuart Whitman (star of such classics as Omega Cop and Demonoid, Messenger of Death) and Janet Leigh (whose career had taken a downturn from Psycho) as a pair of scientists who say things like "I wish I knew what the effects of this serum would be--let's hope it works" as they inject test rabbits with hormones that turn them into slavering, carnivorous giant bunnies. That's the plot; the rest of the movie is scenes of giant bunnies attacking horses, giant bunnies jumping through windows to attack people, giant bunnies running in herds down the freeway...lots and lots of giant bunnies, sometimes with blood smeared across their ferocious jaws as they rear up to attack. The special effects are breathtakingly cheap; the bloody corpses are actors with red syrup splashed over them. But what makes Night of the Lepus even more astonishing is that the dvd features dubbing in French, presumably for European viewers bored with their usual diet of Truffaut and Rohmer. In fact, the movie makes more sense in French (assuming you don't actually speak the language); you can pretend it was created by an inspired Surrealist, and that Janet Leigh says things like "My bicycle has wheels of cheese" or "Beauty kisses my savage earlobe," instead of "Rabbits aren't exactly Roy's bag." Also starring Rory Calhoun (Roller Blade Warriors: Taken by Force) and DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy on the original Star Trek), who wears several colorful turtlenecks. A camp classic. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Okay movie fans. To all of you who like nothing better than to nuke some corn dim the lights and settle in with cinematic mutations like gargantuan 'gators fearsome frogs awesome ants and monstrous moths we quote this film: "Ladies and gentlemen attention! There is a herd of killer rabbits headed this way!" A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning ranchlands instead turns them into flesh-eating 150-pound monsters in Night of the Lepus. Stuart Whitman Janet Leigh Rory Calhoun and DeForest Kelley are among the intrepid humans facing the behemoth bunnies. They use guns flames and dynamite to subtract them. But the rampaging rabbits know how to multiply. Can anything stop these hare-y scary monsters?Running Time: 88 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 012569675971
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 Rabbit transit goes amuck April 6, 2009
bernie (Arlington, Texas)
Cute furry bunnies are overrunning a rancher's land. He enlists the help of a researcher to keep the bunnies from multiplying like rabbits. To save a test rabbit from its demise the researcher's young, already blond, daughter Amanda (Melanie Fullerton) exchanges the rabbit with a control group rabbit. You guessed it , now we have giant mutant fuzballs. What is worse is that they come from the wrong side of the railroad tracks and cannot be allowed to mingle with the people on the other side of the tracks. I will not say what becomes of them but it is a shocking ending.
This 1972 quasi-sci-fi film based on a book by Russell Brandon "The Year of the Angry Rabbit", has all the skill and pathos of a 50's sci-fi. They even throw in a flamethrower; you know the kind they use to fry giant ants and overgrown mantises. They took the time to put it on DVD but no effort to remaster or at least clean it up a bit for the large screens.
The film contains some pretty big names for the time; this includes DeForest Kelley; you may remember him as Bones in the original Star Trek series, Janet Leigh from the "Psycho"- shower scene, and Stuart Whitman from "When Worlds Collide" - as man by bank during riot instigation. Did I forget to mention Rory Calhoun; he needs no introduction.
Them!
Rory Calhoun: Wabbit Killer October 29, 2008
J. Combs (USA)
Without question, the best giant killer rabbit movie DeForest Kelley ever made. "Look at them, standing on their hind legs, like a bunch of Rory Calhouns!" Very much in the "so bad, its good" category.
These Rabbits Are Hopping Mad October 9, 2008
Stanley Runk (Camp North Pines)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Figured I'd might as well put in my two cents on the terrifying Night of the Lepus. The "Nature Strikes Back" subgenre of the 70s is one of the most entertaining in all of horror. It's almost never scary(Jaws being the exception to this), but it's so much damn fun. Night of the Lepus is one of those that almost every horror fan is aware of and is usually the punchline of a lot of jokes. Though it's always joked about, I think for the most part the movie is well liked. As you already know, it concerns giant flesh eating rabbits(a hormone experiment gone awry) terrorizing the Arizona countryside. This is a movie that'll be right at home next to your copies of Food of the Gods and Empire of the Ants.
Yes, it's a good time. The silly concept alone will have you giddy from the getgo, but seeing all of this in action will definitely cause you to laugh out loud.
The visuals on the rabbits are both funny and impressive. Footage of live stampeding rabbits are used and mixed with minatures, blue screen and rear projection photography(the type Bert I. Gordon uses for his giant monster opuses). This approach, while funny, really doesn't look all that bad, not nearly as bad as you would expect. Some shots are rather impressive. Especially when you consider the budget and year in which this was made. And hey, I don't care what anyone says, using real live rabbits adds a realism that you'd never get with an army of CGI rabbits. As much realism as you can get with a concept like this, that is. To make these rabbits seem more ferocious, close up shots have some of the rabbit's faces smeared with blood and/or drool. They're also given a sinister growling type of sound. The idea may have been to make them seem threatening, but it works the totally opposite way and makes it rather hilarious. When you get down to it, I guess there really isn't a way to make rabbits scary or threatening.
My good friend Dave K. brought up a good point in his review. The point being, was this film made to scare audiences? That's a good question. Common sense would tell you that there's no way to make this scary. How did they pitch this idea to the producers? I realize that this type of film was hot at the time, but someone had to say something! How many takes did the actors have to do because they were bursting out laughing? Unless director Claxton has a bizarre sense of humor, the intent definitely seems to be that this film was supposed to be suspenseful and scary. The tone is straight faced from beginning to end. This makes the movie all the more fun. If it were made today, it'd be tongue in cheek like Black Sheep or something. And how did Janet Leigh get suckered into this??
All in all, Night of the Lepus is a fun example of a fun genre(The Sci-Fi channel's "Maneater" series, which tries to revitalize the genre just doesn't come anywhere close. This is a 70s genre, plain and simple.). It's the type of film we just do not see anymore, so enjoy it while we have it.
And thanks, Dave K. for reminding me of it.
Bugs Bunny has gone insane. More like Bugs Bunny on crack October 2, 2008
Dave. K (Staten Island, Ny)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Just when I've thought that I have seen it all I come across Night of the Lepus, which features hordes of killer rabbits. Yes you read that correctly killer rabbits. Movies like Night of the Lepus just wouldn't work with today's audience this is something that could only work in the pre-90s.
I've seen movies with all types of killer animals, but I can't say I have ever seen anything to feature killer rabbits. The concept of the movie is just flat out silly, but it's actually played straight, which is what makes this movie such a fun time. The rabbits are mutated and well it sure as hell ain't the Easter Bunny coming for a visit. These rabbits are out for blood!
The screenplay was written by Don Holliday & Gene R. Kearney, which was based off the novel Year of the Angry Rabbit written by Russell Braddon; having not read the novel I have no idea if the movie strays or not. The script by Holliday & Kearney isn't as bad as one might think. I mean the characters never really have anything smart to say at all, but they don't have the silly dialogue that most movies like this are known for. The script will never go down in history as one of the greats, but it's very much entertaining.
Director William F. Claxton keeps the pace moving at a pretty good pace there are a few slow moments, but Claxton always manages to keep the movie from getting boring. His scenes are actually played straight and make the movie so much fun. Shots of the rabbits on the attack and hopping along to kill are damn hysterical. Again the fact the movie is played straight really adds to the camp factor.
I often wonder when people make movies like this if they actually think it will scare the audience. I can't see anyone thinking mutated killer rabbits would make for a scary movie, but it does make for an entertaining one. Cult fan thought will surely love the movie for the campy and silly tone. The cast is surprisingly decent with DeForest Kelley and Janet Leigh who was far removed from Psycho.
Night of the Lepus is a movie that could only work in another era and fans of silly Drive-In flicks this movie is for you. Mutated killer rabbits should sell the movie to fans of cult cinema. This movie delivers on the fun. Like I stated shots of the rabbits hopping down the street killing people is damn hysterical and will entertain those who get these types of movies.
Great Low Budget Film June 18, 2008
B. Howe
OK maybe not so great. It is a funny movie if you like rabbits. Really sad at the end though. It is amusing how they did the camera work.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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