Silent Hill: Revelation 3D Celebrates Film’s Most Frightening Rabbits

Steve Barton |

Oct 23, 2012

We’ve got a shitload of lists on this website. Top 10 most brutal women in horror, top buggy movies, top animal attacks; we even recently had top supermarket horror films. But we may have reached another level with this one… Film’s Most Frightening Rabbits!

Bunnies are generally cute and cuddly so you’d think that “evil” ones would be a pretty rare find, right? Well, think again, my friend! Bunnies aren’t always as cute as Anna Farris and Angela Bettis in May. Sometimes those flop-eared bastards are downright nasty. Sinister rabbits have made their presence known in all types of movies.

We celebrate this list in conjunction with the release of Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the long anticipated sequel to Silent Hill, which hits theaters on Friday, October 26.

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D Celebrates Film's Most Frightening Rabbits

There have been plenty of disturbing rabbits in film. One of the most disturbing that immediately comes to mind is Eminem’s character, Jimmy “Rabbit” Smith in 8 Mile. Well, okay, maybe that one can’t really make the list, but how about the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland? He obviously had something wrong with him… You’re late. We get it. He totally could have used Ritalin or some kind of sedative. But he’s not really scary. It does seem that addictive personalities are a bunny thing, as you can see from the Trix Rabbit and the Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs Bunny. It’s just cereal guys, goddamn.

However, if you want scary, General Woundwort from Watership Down is about as off-putting as a cartoon bunny can get and certainly deserves an honorable mention. And perhaps the scariest bunny, although already dead, was boiling in a pot on the stove thanks to Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. How many men’s zippers were stowed in the upright and locked position after seeing that little tantrum? Yikes!

Now, on to the bunnies!

Night of the Lepus (1972)

Based on a 1964 science-fiction novel entitled Night of the Angry Rabbits, Night of the Lepus was originally entitled Rabbits and tells the story of an Arizona town besieged by mutated, carnivorous rabbits. Now that’s exactly what we’re talking about. The film starred some heavyweight talent like Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun and DeForest Kelly. The bunny effects were done by using domestic rabbits set against miniature backgrounds (how fun is that?!) as well as actors in bunny suits for some of the attack scenes. Beautiful. The film was released on October 4, 1972, and would go on to be crucified by critics. However, due to the sheer campiness of it, Night of the Lepus has gained cult status and remains alive in the hearts of horror fans today.

MORE Horror’s Most Frightening Rabbits on the NEXT page!

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