Bunny Rabbit (2025) Review

Bunny (Kate Wilson) lives alone in a shack she once shared with her father (Andy Golledge) and spends much of her time scavenging what she needs to survive in a 2030s Australia ravaged by lethal climatic events. Supplies are dwindling and food, in particular, is critically short. The dearth of animals to hunt means that humans are now on the menu and this is something which is not lost on those who are left alive, including Bunny herself…

Writer/director James Branson takes inspiration from a number of sources but influence of post-apocalyptic movies of the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s is writ large. The Mad Max trilogy stood out as key titles of the subgenre and the scorched, sparse Antipodean landscape adds as much flavour here as it did in George Miller’s road wars. However, Bunny Rabbit leans into the doomier, more philosophical aspects of those stories and eschews the blazing action sequences, allowing the audience to ponder the potential futility of existing in a world that’s been on borrowed time for a long while.

There’s an unidentified voice over at the beginning which talks about the meaning of “terroir” and how a number of factors produces a particularly special type of grape. Numerous factors have also shaped Bunny into a unique sort and we shadow her during the opening act as she roams the area. She picks up a hitchhiker (Saxon Cook) whose dangerous level of naivety will lead somewhere not entirely unexpected. Bunny steals fuel from a man called Jimmy, who has recruited followers and his own harem by means unexplained. Bunny was always warned by her father never to deal with Jimmy.

At this point, having set up Bunny and Jimmy as likely enemies, most futuristic thrillers would change gear into chase and shootout mode as both sides fight for control of whatever resources are left but Bunny Rabbit is interested in something entirely different, delving into the history of this young woman and investigating how she became such a quietly formidable force. There is a constant air of threat, there are moments of shockingly brutal violence, but all of this is dealt with in a far from straightforward manner. Even characters who appear to be initially obvious villains are given the space to develop, showing them to be lost, desperate and wondering what sort of prize there’s left to win even if they do triumph.

The cast is a small one but all of the players are uniformly excellent. As a late in the day intruder into Bunny’s world, Ôntrei  – and behaves – like a cross between Bruce Spence and a War Boy from Fury Road, his propensity for violence contrasting with Bunny’s thoughtful intensity. Again, Branson steers away from what we would expect, the battle of wills transforming into a different type of confrontation which introduces a horrible inevitability as to the fate of both protagonists.

In the lead, Kate Wilson commands attention with her taciturn presence, only having to shoot someone a look to signal that they may be in the deepest of trouble. Bunny has been raised on a diet of VHS tapes, the boxes of which are stacked around the television and gives us insight into not only her cultural foundations but also Branson’s, I suspect. There are Australian staples such as Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert, Muriel’s Wedding and Strictly Ballroom existing side by side with 2020 Texas Gladiators, the first Bronx Warriors movie and Wheels Of Fire.

If you’re expecting extended chases, twisted metal and bodies strewn across the outback, this is not the Aussie end of the world movie you’re looking for. Bunny Rabbit is considered, deliberately paced and its darkness takes time to envelop the viewer. The uncompromising resolution may leave a hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach and there’s little sense of closure to cling to but this isn’t here to mollycoddle. Branson has crafted a brilliantly jarring debut with a beautiful, unsettling visual style and an unwillingness to settle for anything approaching neat, whether it’s the relationships portrayed or how the tale unfolds. Those Texas Gladiators wouldn’t have known how to cope with Bunny.

Movie Rating:

Bunny Rabbit trailer