EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL!
DVD region 0. Cine du Monde.

The first release from new cult movie label Cine du Monde sets out the company stall rather nicely, with an unrestrained trip into the squalid that is rather better than the somewhat catchpenny title might suggest.

Remington (Timothy Muskatel) arrives at his girlfriend’s house fresh from a violent convenience store robbery, and meets her mentally handicapped teenage son Nicholas (Ricardo Gray). While he charms single mother Mindy (Charlotte Marie), Nicholas sees his true nature, and when Mindy is called to work a nightshift, Rem is left in charge – and immediately calls his child-molesting drug dealer to trade Nicholas for cocaine, before heading out to pick up a couple of hookers. But things don’t go according to plan, as a mysterious rabbit-masked killer is stalking the house and offing the bad guys.

This has all the making of a rather nasty, grubby little film, but thankfully director Chad Ferrin (who’s Someone's Knocking at the Door still has me undecided years after seeing it) avoids the kind of cynical bad taste you might find in, say, a film from Ferrin's former employers Troma – imagine what they’d do with the story of a kid like Nicholas (actually, you don’t have to – just watch Toxic Avenger). While more sensitive viewers might cringe while Rem verbally abuses the poor kid and continually refers to him as ‘the retard’, this is more an indictment of the character rather than the filmmaker pandering to the worst audience elements, and at no point is he shown to be anything less than a scumbag. It’s to Muskatel’s credit, therefore, that he brings a certain charisma to his unsavoury character – you’ll hate him, but he’s always interesting to watch.

The first thirty minutes or so of the film are a slow build up, but once the action starts, it comes thick and fast. The gore is nasty and painful and the sleaze factor is cranked right. Admittedly, sometimes things feel a bit too much – this will definitely offend a lot of people. But the excesses are countered by interesting touches, an old-school home invasion feel and a neat twist where the killer is unmasked. The ending is a little hokey and pointless, but you can’t have everything.

Coming complete with a surprisingly raw and honest making-off, this is an impressive effort from one of America’s more out-there indie directors. If the idea of a film about a kid with cerebral palsy being abused by a psychopath and fed to a paedophile doesn’t put you off – and let’s be honest, it’ll be too much for many people, no matter how things work out - Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! Has a lot to offer..

DAVID FLINT

BUY IT NOW (UK)

BUY IT NOW (USA)