WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
As Easter is fast approaching (well, it’s happening in the next few days to be exact) I thought it would be an interesting idea to take a look at what Easter horror films are floating around out there and giving them the same treatment as those for Christmas. Please be warned, not a lot of what is about to follow is exactly positive… but as I always say, make your own opinions if you choose to watch them…
Nightmare Beach
I think the only reason this film is considered as being remotely Easter is that it’s referenced a couple of times in the space of the 91 minute run time. Also, I feel like the word ‘horror’ is used rather loosely as very little actually happens other than a few people being electrocuted or strangled! The most horrifying thing about it is how stereotypically 80s it is in places. The film seems to centre on the wrongful conviction of Diablo and what seems to be the subsequent revenge killings but as far as I can see there is no connection between anyone that gets killed and Diablo! And it’s not until nearly an hour in that the masked assailant starts going after Diablo’s accuser! Or at least that what you think is happening hence why the murders seem random. In all honesty, when the reveal happens – you realise that the opening scenes really have no bearing on the rest of the film!
Easter Bunny Massacre
I’ll be honest, The Easter Bunny may become a little bit of a theme for this article. For all the weak acting and awful Easter Bunny mask, the idea behind this film isn’t too bad. It’s almost an I Know What You Did Last Summer style of story, just none of the group know that they killed Heather, if any of them actually did. Unfortunately, following Heather’s murder nothing happens for a long time or at least that’s how it feels! So much so, that I actually jumped when Maria gets shot. Then again, that’s also because I had a suspicion after Neil’s death that there were two bunnies and she was one of them. Unfortunately I had figured the other murderer out correctly. The moment Marty mentioned that he was invisible – he made himself suspicious. I guess if you looked at this like I have previously with Christmas– this would be a Category B Easter film…set at Easter but that isn’t the main subject of the film.
Bunny the Killer Thing
So, I tried to watch this film previously for my Scandinavian Horror article BUT it had no subtitles and no dubbing…and I don’t understand Finnish! From the opening, I thought I was in luck but unfortunately after 7 minutes it was no longer in English but thankfully that didn’t last too long. It also helped that we see how “Bunny” is created right at the beginning so any later explanation isn’t necessary. I’ll be honest, I was expecting something cheesy like Beaster Bunny which I’ve talked about before (and will never watch again!) but this was so much better. Now, that doesn’t mean that the villain looks any better and there isn’t moments of cheese but the acting and more structured plot definitely makes this film better! Expect blood and gore from the outset – as someone having their head blown off pretty early definitely sets you up for the rest of the film.
Easter Holocaust
I’ll be honest, this was a painful 2 hour watch! The Easter Bunny is quite clearly a man in a costume because it just looks like one you could get from any fancy-dress shop and the acting was awful from the outset. The thing is, I actually think it’s a genius plot idea – the Easter Bunny trying to bring about the apocalypse but it was just portrayed TERRIBLY! I’m not sure why this needed to be 2 hours long, especially as following the opening scene – very little happens, maybe because all the Easter Bunny needed to start the apocalypse was the little baby. Truthfully, it seems they wanted to focus more on Natalia finding who she is than stopping the monster. Actually, the thing that makes it an Easter horror film is that the killer is an Easter Bunny – but there’s no direct reference to Easter itself. I think at one point the director or writer was inspired by Rob Zombie’s Firefly family.
Bunnyman Massacre
You know a film is going to pretty brutal when the opening scene is the killing of a bunch of children! Yes, I said children! Thankfully, unlike Easter Holocaust, this is supposed to be a man in a bunny costume instead of just looking like one. I actually didn’t realise till I looked it up that this was actually the sequel! However, with the flashbacks, you don’t really need to watch the first film to understand the plot. Again, there’s no reference to this film being set at Easter only that the main character is dressed as the Easter Bunny – but you know what, I don’t mind because this actually isn’t that bad a film. I also love the fact that the mask does come off, but we still never see Bunnyman’s face.
The Night Before Easter
I did warn you the Easter Bunny was going to become a theme of these films! 5 out of the 6 in fact include it but this is only the 3rd in the article set around Easter. I’ll be honest, this felt a little bit like a college project – based on where I viewed it, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case. Being only 1hr and 5 minutes long, I think they spent a little bit too much time building up the characters. There’s a murder right at the beginning, OK we don’t see it happen, but that’s it until half an hour in! Now normally that doesn’t seem like a big deal but in something so short, 30 minutes is a lot of time. What I do love about this though, is the little twist at the end. The whole time you’re wondering why Syke is going after the teenagers when in fact, it’s not him at all – the real killer has been right underneath your nose the whole time!
