PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Holiday horror has been a fun treat for genre fans ever since the themed movies came into popularity with 1978’s Halloween. We’ve seen nearly every special day get a gory namesake over the years, but it feels like Easter has been a bit underrepresented. That’s no longer the case with the 2021 genre-bender, Bad Hare Day. Part slasher, part body horror, and part comedy, this movie takes a bite out of the proverbial carrot cake and keeps on biting.
Bad Hare Day is written and directed by (S)aint Nick’s Jonathan Patrick Hughes (our interview) and stars David E. McMahon (13 Slays Till X-Mas 2020 – our review, Rose Blood: A Friday The 13th Fan Film 2021, see our interview with director Peter Anthony here), Samantha A. Camp (Enough 2020), and Jessica Kessler (The Bronze Cult 2021). McMahon shines as Ben Devlin, a demure pushover who’s constantly trounced by his demonstrative wife and brooding daughter. The doormat of the Devlin family soon becomes thirsty for blood as he’s bitten by a bunny and begins to exhibit the traits of an angry killer rabbit.
Right away, there are aesthetics that shine throughout Bad Hare Day. The text overlays are written in a seasonal pastel-colored font, and the scene transitions are done with funky comic book renderings of the images that end each scene. This film is a clear love-letter to the original Creepshow, as pioneer George Romero is accredited many times. But the smooth transitions aren’t the only things that draw you in visually. With any good creature feature, the transformation of the antagonist often makes or breaks the film. In this case, we see the slow deterioration of Ben Devlin, from man into monster. The SFX are truly gruesome, just as the kills are, but the makeup never strays too far away from realism to take you out of the moments it creates.
One of the charms of Bad Hare Day is that Jonathan Patrick Hughes isn’t afraid to poke fun at the genre. He doesn’t take himself overly seriously, or try to force too many layers into the background. The only character who truly experiences an evolution is Ben, so it’s easy for the audience to cheer for him as he gets justified revenge on his unappreciative family. This film isn’t 8K quality, and the characters are playing into stereotypes. But the way in which the cast leans into those stereotypes creates a fun and fast paced environment that allows you to turn your brain off and chuckle.
There’s no real background cast here. While every character’s time on screen is all too brief, each person has their moment to shine. The score lends a rocking soundtrack to the slaughter, and at just a half an hour, there’s no time for the pace to lag. Bad Hare Day falls right in line with those classic drive-in spoofs, and leaves the viewers wanting more. This film will have you thinking twice about inviting the Easter Bunny into your home, because you never know what kind of mood he’ll be in.
