The Bunnyman Massacre

Carl Lindbergh is back with "The Bunnyman Massacre" (2014), his second entry in his "Bunnyman" franchise; and I understand that a third one is in the works. This one is a low budget fusion of "Motel Hell" (1980) and "Kiss & Tell" (1997); and yet another homage to the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974). Unfortunately, none of the female cast is remotely in the sexploitation class of "Motel Hell's" Monique St. Pierre or "Kiss & Tells" Heather Graham – in other words no viewer will be at the edge of his seat hoping to see any of them take off their tops.

Unlike Pamela Gidley's murderous "Beta Carotene" character in "Kiss & Tell", this bunny is (once again) in an actual rabbit costume with a happy face, the kind of costume commonly seen at a community Easter Egg Hunt. The incongruity gives Lindbergh tons of visual juxtapostioning opportunities, the inspiration and entire basis for the "Bunnyman" franchise.

Lindbergh seems to have taken some time to write a very humorous 26-minute black comedy segment, pitched it to some financial backers, and then shot the first one fourth of his film. During this segment the title character breaks movie conventions by attacking a school bus of children on a rural road and then eats dinner with his associate Joe. We learn (during a Mad Hatter inspired dinner scene) that Bunnyman's rage comes from his frustration at being required to stay a vegetarian, because bunnies don't eat meat.

After 26 minutes you are convinced that Lindbergh has a winner here, with it shaping up into the most original black comedy treatment the genre has ever seen. All he has to do is maintain the tension and suspense, which he could easily do by alternating quick kills and unexpected escapes, using a little misdirection to make it impossible for viewers to sort out targets from non-targets.

But by the 30 minute mark you realize that he has already shot his bolt in the initial segments and has simply cobbled together and tacked on sixty minutes of listless moronic filler to get his film up to feature length. The only exception being an inspired sequence of barrel rolling – the best of which involves emptying the barrel for reuse.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This movie, to put it simply, fails as a horror. Miserably at that. However, if you go into it expecting not something to scare you but instead a comedy, then it's actually a pretty enjoyable experience. I'd recommend bringing some friends along as laughing at it with others is just too funny an opportunity to pass on.

The actors do a decent job. They're not going to shock you with their performance (aside of the decisions their characters make during the movie, because at that point, I think it's just natural selection rather than a streak of unluckiness) but it's definitely not terrible.

The scares are nonexistent. I doubt a child would get scared much at the movie, let alone an adult! But what they lack in scary content they make up for with the utter nonsensical writing; the characters' actions will have you yelling at them to do what any normal person would, because they're kind of stupid.

Overall, this movie doesn't deserve a high rating because it's objectively not good. But even if I rated it a low score, I think it's still enjoyable if you watch it in the way I mentioned before - like a comedy, not a thriller/horror.

"The Bunnyman Massacre" is the sequel to indie slasher horror "Bunnyman". In this second installment Joe and the Bunnyman continue their brutal, emotionless slaughter. The film once again sees Carl Lindberg returning to the director's chair which is appropriate since he created this modern horror franchise. "The Bunnyman Massacre" stars David Scott, Julianne Dowler, Jennifer June Ross, Joshua Lang, Marshal Hilton, Heather Daley, Maria Olsen, Kate Bowen and Jamie Bernadette.

The story follows Joe and the Bunnyman as they continue their ploy of carnage, adding to their body count in a small rural community hanging on the outskirts of a ghost town. It is a very simple concept with no real depth, which basically puts female's and the occasional male in the psycho killer's path for a visceral, bloody death. "The Bunnyman Massacre" doesn't really focus much on dialog, just quick quips and profane banter that creates the cruel personas of Joe and the Bunnyman. It works for the purpose of gritty, grindhouse horror, but the writing is two dimensional and gives us no real protagonist to root for through most of the film. Their is one present but very weakly represented. The point of view seems to be a celebratory embrace of the killer as the star of the show. That is fine for a small select audience but with no way to emotionally connect the victims or "protagonist" in the film, "The Bunnyman Massacre" falls a little flat.

Now as far as special effects are concerned, "The Bunnyman Massacre" continues the raw, gorefest that the first film provided. There are a couple of moments when CGI blood is added to the kills for splatter, however it seems acceptable because there is still plenty of practical fluid drenching the screen and victim. Creative angles and gimmicks make most of the kill scenes work well with minimal flaw. That is crucial for this film because with the lack of real story or heart shown in "The Bunnyman Massacre" you need some clean, kill effects that are organic and visceral. The overall special effects component to this film creates a traditional grindhouse feel to the horror elements.

The sound effects and soundtrack are your expected, atmospheric redundancy that can be heard in any number of horror films, both classic and modern. Some of the sound effects have been taken from other horror films. Not sure if it works as tribute or rip-off in "The Bunnyman Massacre", the creepy sound effects work here but they are reminiscent of other classics. The soundtrack overall fails to create any real suspense or chill factor in the film, but that just adds to the fact that the story is emotionally void and the point-of-view is that of the killers. The cold, brutality on top of a lack of heart doesn't allow you to connect with the victims or the story enough to feel anything real. It is just a "set 'em up, knock 'em down" situation. Plus so many scenes in "The Bunnyman Massacre" are straight from other horror icon's stories that at times the originality seems questionable. See it if you want but you're not really missing much if you decide to pass on this one.

This movie is not unique in the slightest. It gives off vibes of the Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (who would've guessed?) and literally any other slasher you could think of. The plot is all over the place, the kills are uncreative and unnecessarily gory for shock value, and nothing makes any sense. This is what the creative team was going for, I say good job. Bad.

It's actually the worst movie I have seen and I've seen some horrible movies. My favorite scenes were the 800 moon shots and the end credits.