Night of the Lepus

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Night of the Lepus

Theatrical poster for Night of the Lepus
Directed by William F. Claxton
Produced by A.C. Lyles
Written by Russell Braddon (novel "The Year of the Angry Rabbit")
Don Holliday (screenplay) and
Gene R. Kearney (screenplay)
Starring Stuart Whitman
Janet Leigh
Rory Calhoun
DeForest Kelley
Paul Fix
Melanie Fullerton
Music by Jimmie Haskell
Cinematography Ted Voightlander
Editing by John McSweeney Jr.
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) October 4, 1972 (USA)
Running time 88 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget Unknown
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Night of the Lepus is a 1972 B-movie horror film in which giant mutant rabbits terrorize the Southwestern United States. The film was directed by William F. Claxton, written by Don Holliday and Gene R. Kearney, and starred Stuart Whitman as the main character, as well as Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, and DeForest Kelly, best known for his performance as Dr. Leonard McCoy on Star Trek. It was adapted from the novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit written by Russell Braddon.

The film is relatively obscure, but maintains a small but devout cult following, and has even been referenced in some more mainstream, popular films. For instance, footage appears briefly in the science fiction film The Matrix, and throughout the drama film Natural Born Killers.

[edit] Plot

Rancher Cole Hillman is having problems with the rabbit population on his ranch, who are destroying his crops. College president Elgin Clark, as a favor to benefactor Cole, calls in zoologists Roy and Gerry Bennett, who create an (untested) serum for disrupting the breeding cycle of rabbits. However, their daughter Amanda has become attached to the uninjected rabbit that has become the serum's test subject, and switches it with an already-injected bunny. The injected rabbit gets away and breeds. The serum doesn't disrupt their breeding cycle, but does something worse: it causes the rabbits to become gigantic meat-eaters. When several people are slaughtered by the carnivirous carrot-munchers, Roy and Gerry attempt to find a solution before the whole of the American Southwest is overrun by giant rabbits.

[edit] External links