Happy F@ckin' Easter!

Horrorphilia's Much of Madness/More of Sin #12:
'The Killer Bunny Easter Special'

Let's be honest. The only thing better than a blood-thirsty psychopath is a blood-thirsty psychopath in a bunny suit. What better way to celebrate the resurrection than joining us as we run down every 'killer rabbit' movie that we could get our hands on ...just like the good Lord intended.

Jeff and Rich bring you reviews of the 1972 so-bad-it's-good classic 'Night of The Lepus', The Polonia Bros' 'Peter Rottentail' from 2004, Chad Ferrin's 'Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill!' from 2006, Carl Lindbergh's 'Bunnyman' from 2009, Adam Rehmeier's 'The Bunny Game' from 2010

...plus the short films 'The Easter Bunny is Eating My Candy' from fewdio.com and the incredible 'Bunny the Killer Thing' from Finnish director Joonas Makkonen.

Also, Horrorphilia Jason covers Tony Urban's 2007 film 'Kottentail' from Brain Damage Films and Canadian director Richard Moog's 'Easter Bunny Bloodbath' from 2010.

Music by: some British chick from youtube, 'Ozzy Fudd' and 'The Cramps'

Contact us: theotherpodcast@yahoo.com

 

Click here to listen to Episode #12 at Horrorphilia.com

 

Check out the trailers...

 

Mother's Day (2010)

"Don't Misbehave..."

Synopsis: After a bank robbery gone wrong, three brothers head for home, hoping their Mother (Rebecca De Mornay) can provide them with a getaway. The youngest brother, Johnny (Matt O'Leary), has been shot, and their back-stabbing former partner has gotten away with all the cash. But when the brothers get home, they find that all their stuff is gone and Mother is nowhere to be found: She lost the house months ago in a foreclosure. The new owners, Beth and Daniel Sohapi (Jaime King and Frank Grillo), and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers' unwitting hostages. Not long after, Mother arrives, along with the boys' sister Lydia (Deborah Ann Woll), and it soon becomes clear that Mother will do absolutely anything to protect her children. In one terrifying evening she brilliantly takes control of the situation and masterminds her sons' escape from the law. Sides will be taken, secrets revealed, and sins punished as the hostages struggle to make it through the night alive.

My Thoughts: Anyone who has been lucky enough to have discovered the b-movie masterpiece that is "Mother's Day" will tell you that they love it as much for it's absurdity than they do for it's violence and gore. So how does Darren Bousman's ("Saw 2-4", "Repo! The Genetic Opera") updated version compare to it's predecessor, even without nearly as much of the original's silliness and WTF moments? Well, pretty damn good actually.

The cast is incredible, especially Rebecca DeMornay as Mother. I gotta be honest, when I heard that she was chosen for this role all I could do was shake my head. I'll be the first one to say, she fuckin' nailed it. She's definitely a lot more demented than I gave her credit for, but I'm sorry I still can't get those "Risky Business" thoughts outta my head. Also, there's nothin' wrong with seeing Jaime King or Briana Evigan in another horror flick. But seriously, all of the acting was way better than I would have expected.

Darren Bousman did an amazing job telling the story with a good pace and never lost my attention (which is pretty easy to do). The kills and even some of the non-kills were pretty creative and really brutal. I mean, who doesn't wanna see a shotgun blast to the head ...so thumbs up on the gore. I think making this movie on an 11 million dollar budget is remarkable, especially with this cast. If they had to cut corners during production it certainly didn't show up on screen.

My Rating: 9 / 10




The 2010 version replaces all of the original's Troma weirdness with a more involved script, an experienced horror director and a great cast. You would think that taking out 90% of what made the original "Mother's Day" what it is would squash any chances of making this movie a worthy remake. I guess most of the time that would be true, but believe me this is an exception. They don't make'em much better, so when you get the chance, See it, Buy it!

BTW ...is it me or does anyone else wonder why everybody cheats on Jaime King in horror flicks. I just don't get it???

"click here to see the trailer"

Treevenge (2008)

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Synopsis: Foul-mouthed lumberjacks descend on a hillside of trees, cutting them down and trucking them to Christmas tree lots where families paw them, pick one out, take it home, stick it in a stand, and decorate it. The trees experience terror throughout the ordeal: we hear their squeals of pain when axed or sawn, the emotion of separation from family and friends, the fear of the unknown, and the despair they feel during the strange and bizarre rituals of families at Christmas. On Christmas morning, the trees strike back. Man, woman, child, and pet may be in for a grisly end.

My Thoughts: What can I say about this soon-to-be Christmas classic? It's definitely gonna be a fixture in my holiday horror rotation for years to come. The baby's head squashing scene is one of the greatest kills of all-time.

Writer/director Jason Eisener took a totally fucked up idea, an idea that Troma probably wishes they thought of first, and made an amazing short film. Let's be honest, if this was turned into a feature there's a pretty good chance it would be crap. I doubt killer trees could hold my attention for 90 minutes. I guess we'll see if a "Hobo with a Shotgun" could when Eisener's Grindhouse mock-trailer gets turned into a full-length film later this year.

Okay, a Christmas themed horror/comedy about tree revenge might not be what most people look for on St. Patrick's Day, but I can't think of anything better to watch after downing a bunch of green beers.

My Rating: 8.25 / 10





Well worth 16 minutes of your time. Watch it here.

Halloween (1978)

"The Night He Came Home!"

Synopsis: The year is 1963, the night; Halloween. Police are called to 43 Lampkin Ln. only to discover that a 17 year Judith Myers had been stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother. After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out just days before Halloween. No one knows nor would wish to find out what would happen on October 31st 1978, besides Myer's physciatrist Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence). He knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realizes it, it'll be to late for many people.

My Thoughts: John Carpenter is the greatest horror/sci-fi director of all-time. No offense to the Wes Craven fans out there, but I will never even argue that fact. All you would have to do for proof of that is check out his resume. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Slasher films are by far my favorite of the horror genre, so naturally this would be my favorite Carpenter flick (although "The Thing" and "The Fog" are damn close). As a slasher, this film is as good as it gets. It's got a great back-story, a perfect cast, Carpenter's incredible score and of course, the legendary Mr. Michael Myers.

As you probably know, this plays over & over on cable every Halloween. I've easily watched this movie over 50 times. You would think I'd be sick of it by now. I mean, I love "Friday the 13th", but I doubt I would love it as much if I'd seen it nearly that many times. What's the difference you ask? It's gotta be the music. Not only does it add to the suspense of the film, it also makes you feel like it's Halloween night. By now I know this movie almost line for line, so I can walk away from the t.v. and come back without missing a beat and when I do this movie makes for great background music. Kinda like putting on one of your favorite CD's when you're doing shit around the house. Now I ask you, what other horror flick can do that?

My Rating: 10 / 10






If you don't already own this one, you should be ashamed of yourself.

"click to see the trailer"

Bloody Birthday (1981)

"The nightmare begins with the kids next door"

Synopsis: In 1970, three children are born at the height of a total eclipse. Due to the sun and moon blocking Saturn, which controls emotions, they have become heartless killers ten years later, and are able to escape detection because of their youthful and innocent facades. A boy and his teenage sister become endangered when they stumble onto the bloody truth.

My Thoughts: It being my birthday on Thursday of course I had to watch my favorite 80's horror flick. For a lot of people, the over-rated "Happy Birthday to Me" would have come to mind. I think for that one the poster (which is cool as hell) has given it a reputation of being a cult classic, because I wouldn't even say the actual film has a real cult following. I think most people either haven't seen it or don't really remember how long and drawn out it is. It's not the worst 80's slasher, but it does get way too much credit.

Anyway, this is supposed to be about "Bloody Birthday", which is very under-rated. I admit the premise isn't very original (a bunch a kids are born at the same time during an eclipse and they turn out fucked up when they're older), but the story never gets too slow and the kills are really creative. Though what really carries this film is the mean-ass little kids, led by Billy Jayne (Just One of the Guys, Parker Lewis). They are just such dirty little pricks, but in a fun way.

As if just killing people wasn't enough, they also like to get under their skin and terrorize them mentally ...and if you thought that being only 10 years old would stop them from being fuckin' perverts, you'd be wrong. At one point, the little girl (Elizabeth Hoy, Hospital Massacre) uses a hole in her older sister's (Julie Brown, The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun) closet for a peepshow charging her friends a quarter each, that is before shooting an arrow through her eye. [Tip: never look through a strange hole in your wall!]

My Rating: 8.25 / 10







I saw this at the drive-in when it came out 30 years ago. I was just about the same age as the kids back then, so I probably rooted them on. Nowadays all I keep thinking to myself throughout the movie is, "get those little fuckers". A sure sign of gettin' old, siding with the grown-ups.

Definitely recommended! Queue it up on Netflix for your next B'day ...and 80's horror fans, add it to your collection.

"click here to see the trailer"