In the world of horror films, nothing is really sacred... In 1984 Silent Night, Deadly Night gave Santa a bad name. In 1972 Blood Freak gave us all second thoughts about having turkey for Thanksgiving and in 1978 John Carpenter brought the boogeyman to life in Halloween. So is it really that hard to imagine that the Easter Bunny could be turned? Now, before you get the wrong idea, I'm not talking about films with real ravenous bunnies or giant mutant bunnies that invade podunk towns and eat everyone. I'm talking about a story that revolves around the Easter holiday and has a slasher dressed in a bunny suit. I know this isn't the first one to do it and I'm certain it won't be the last but it is the subject of this particular post so......
Remington (Timothy Muskatell), a murderous grifter cons his way into a mother's heart, putting on a fatherly facade to her cherished son, Nicholas (Ricardo Gray). But the second she leaves for work, a torrent of abuse rains upon the gentle boy. Remington heads out for some hookers and invites his dilettante-child molester-drug-dealer buddy over to abuse Nicholas. In the meantime, the only comfort the boy gets is in confiding with his new pet bunny. Debauchery is at hand but Nicholas is nowhere to be found but someone wearing the mask of the beloved holiday hopper shows up ready to deliver a blood-splattered night of unspeakable carnage.
The only problem I had with the acting in this film came from Charlotte Marie, it seemed a little wooden to me. BUT, it could've been intentional given the character she was embodying. Muskatell does a fabulous job. as usual and Gray was pretty awesome as the simple minded Nicholas. His character was endearing and believable. Trent Haaga, for the amount of screen time he received, also did a great job. I'm still trying to figure out who it is he reminds me of. At any rate, turns out he's not only a helluva director (Chop) but he's also good actor as well. The rest of the cast had pretty short roles but all played a part in moving the story forward. Stamp was effectively disgusting as the handicapped pedophile. Szychowski and Ward worked well together as the duo of hookers Remington picks up.
This is the kind of film a gore hound will love. I know it's weird to hear, hell it's actually kind of weird to say, but it's appropriately gory. I've seen so many films that were gory just for the sake of being gory but this is definitely not one of them and the effects were done really well. When you can do a close up of someone getting their guts ripped into by a skill saw and make it look believable, you've nailed it. Trust me, that wasn't the only blood you get out of this one. There's brain matter and guts and tons and tons of bloody goodness. As an amateur special effects makeup artist, I have to say that after seeing this film... Margaux Frankel is the SHIT!
The biggest problem I had with this one is that it was just too dark. As the story progresses and night falls, it gets so dark that at times, all I could do was listen to what was going on. That's a big no-no for me. I get it that it's night and the power was cut but it was just way too dark. That said, I thought writer/director Chad Ferrin did a good job setting the atmosphere and tone of the film. There is also a nice twist at the end that I didn't see coming, which is a plus for any film of this type. If I can figure it out within the first five minutes, it's a waste of time for me but he got me with this one. I would recommend this film to any "true" horror fan because it is a really fun film. It's well paced and will definitely give the viewer a new outlook on the Easter Bunny. Afterward, you'll be looking up the rest of Ferrin's work to watch, I know I did. HINT: Someone's Knocking at the Door is available on Netflix as I type.
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