Easter Bloody Easter (2024) Review

Films about Easter are few and far between, and you can probably count the number of Easter-related movies you have seen on one hand. Which is why it comes as such a surprise whenever a film like Easter Bloody Easter comes along. This is a movie which reminds viewers why they love Easter so much while also offering plenty of gore-soaked mayhem along with the chocolate-filled delights we usually associate with the holiday.

Diane Foster stars as Jeanie Cooper, a woman from a small town in Texas who struggles to cope after her husband disappears. To make matters worse, Diane soon learns that killer rabbits will descend upon the town over the Easter period, so she teams up with her best friend, Carol (Kelly Grant), to stop the carnage. And while it was ultimately a film about killer bunny rabbits, the scenes where Diane reminisces about her lost husband were surprisingly deep and poignant, with Foster’s performance at times making you feel like you are watching an awards season drama as opposed to a killer rabbit movie.

The town’s other inhabitants include the no-nonsense, churchgoing Mary Lou (played by Allison Lobel, who also wrote the script), a crazed conspiracy theorist known as Sam (Zach Kanner), who literally wears a tinfoil hat, and the sleazy Mayor Lou (Adam Slemon). Each of the actors knew how absurd the project they were involved with sounded, and so they amplified the absurdities of their performances, making each character memorable in their own way.

On the other hand, the killer rabbits were depicted by animatronic models, and their glowing red eyes will probably haunt the dreams of anyone who adores actual rabbits for their cuteness. These bunnies were about the same size as regular rabbits, but that did not stop them from ripping people to shreds. And while the practical gore effects were a fun and welcome addition, the same cannot be said for the occasional CGI gore, which looked awkward and unconvincing. It also seemed strange to see the CGI being mixed with the practical effects, and after witnessing obvious CGI blood spraying from surprisingly convincing prosthetic wounds, you really will wish that the filmmakers had just stuck with the more satisfying practical effects.

While the primary antagonist was a human who regularly transforms into a gigantic, bloodthirsty rabbit, in the same way that one would expect someone to transform into a werewolf. And the rabbit costume the actor wore throughout the scenes in which he appears was so ridiculous that your only option will be to laugh when you see it for the first time. Needless to say, the makers of Easter Bloody Easter clearly knew their film was going to be gloriously ridiculous, and so they embraced the more absurd elements of the story whenever they could.

Because it takes place in Texas, Easter Bloody Easter also features plenty of action sequences involving firearms. And the climactic action scene, in which the ladies of the town arm themselves with an assortment of military-grade weapons and go to war against the vicious rabbits, proved to be exhilarating and hugely fun to watch. You really do have to give the filmmakers credit for creating such thrilling action scenes despite the limited budget they were working with.

If you are feeling in the mood for something brutal and darkly comical to keep your mind of all the fluffy cuteness which is usually associated with the Easter season, you will probably enjoy Easter Bloody Easter. After all, how many other movies feature sequences where people have their throats torn out by killer rabbits? It may not be the most subtle film you will ever see, but Easter Bloody Easter might just be one of the best Easter-themed horror movies ever made.

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