THE NIGHT OF THE LEPUS

US, 1972, 88 minutes, Colour.
Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, De Forest Kelly, Paul Fix.
Directed by William F. Claxton.

Night of the Lepus is an entertaining average animal menace film of the early seventies. It fits in with so many of the dramas set in local American towns with particular animals menacing eg, Bug, Squirm. This time the menace is in giant rabbits. There is a scientific background explanation as well as criticism of human exploitation. Electricity is the way the rabbits are killed - and this method was used very effectively at the end of Jaws 2, another contribution to the animal disaster trend.

1. Was this a good horror film? What were the best aspects of the horror genre? What did the trick especially of the rabbit, add to the film?

2. Did the film have an ecological message? What was it? Was it convincing?

3. Was the story plausible? The impact of the initial information about rabbits and Australia? (The documentary style of these sequences)?

4. Were the settings authentic, the locations in America? The role of pesticides and their use in America and throughout the world? What point was being made about the rabbits? And their relationship to human beings? Their growing bigger and bigger?

5. How did the film create its atmosphere, the farms, the pests, the pesticides? need for progress?

6. The atmosphere of death? the attacks of the rabbits? How menacing and frightening?

7. Was this trouble between humans and the rabbits too contrived? Or was it convincing? What value did the humans have? Were the rabbits seen as victims of the humans?

8. Were the Bennetts interesting people? Could the audience identify with them? Were they cliche characters? Was the work they were doing authentic? How valuable is experimental work with animals and pesticides? What attitude did the film offer?

9. What was the point of Amanda’s changing the rabbits? How ironic was this? Was it understandable?

10. The horror of the cave sequence, especially for Amanda? Did she deserve this fear? Was it a kind of retribution for her? How frightening was this for the audience?

11. The impact of the tunnel, the impact of the great rabbits? The atmosphere of fear? Mary and Amanda lost in the caravan? The threats? Was this plausible?

12. The pursuit of the town by the rabbits? The various killings? How horrible were these? Being besieged by the rabbits?

13. How clever was the plan to stop the rabbits? Is this plausible? How spectacularly was it filmed? The thousands of rabbits coming and the electricity

14. What was the overall impact? Was it exploiting a real situation or was it a good horror film based on plausible facts?