When I first heard about “Easter Bloody Easter” in March and saw its red-eyed, chittering bunnies, I knew I wanted to watch it. It looked campy and silly and was pushing the music angle pretty hard in its press release, so when I was given the opportunity to screen it for review, I hopped at the opportunity to check it out.
“Easter Bloody Easter” is set in a small Texas town, where a series of violent murders has cast a shadow over the town’s annual Easter celebration, “Easter-palooza.” But like Amity Island in “JAWS” on the Fourth of July, the town can’t let a few dead bodies and missing persons spoil their fun.
The film is the directorial debut of Diane Foster, who also stars in the film as Jeanie, a Texas housewife who makes it her mission to get to the heart of the murders after her husband disappears and his truck is found abandoned, covered in blood. Enlisting the help of some of her closest friends, Jeanie sets out on the hunt for who, or what, is responsible for the recent string of murders and uncovers the town’s dark history that spawned a devilish Jackalope.
For a film labeled a horror-comedy, the bulk of the film feels more like a country melodrama with horror and comedy peppered in. The story of Jeanie and her missing husband sometimes bog down the pace. I couldn’t help but feel that this is what a horror movie would be like if it were made in the spirit of a Hallmark Christmas movie. That’s not to say that the comedy and horror doesn’t have its merits. I never thought I’d see a woman on screen with two demon rabbits clamped down on her breasts while she runs screaming, “My tits, my tits,” but “Easter Bloody Easter” delivers just that.
What works best in this film is the cast. While they dial up the Texas yokel stereotype to 11, the characters are fun, likable, and believable despite their over-the-top personalities. The chemistry between Jeanie and her long-time friend Carol, played by Kelly Grant (“SARS-29”), feels authentic, and the two have some more amusing exchanges in the film. Eugene, played by Miles Cooper (“The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus”), the awkward and submissive husband of church committee head Mary Lou (Allison Lobel, “Paralysis”), also has some chuckle-worthy lines.
Because the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, the low-budget stuffed horror rabbits created by Jesse Velez of Raptor House FX and the Jackalope made by Alexandra Bayless (daughter of Emmy-winning makeup artist John Bayless) don’t take you out of the film, and fit into the wild world of Walburg, Texas they’ve created. I only wish they had gone practical with all of the blood effects because the digital blood spatter looks a bit off.
Sadly, for a film that boasted 75 pieces of original music and 10 full songs, which were released on Spotify and as a collector’s vinyl record, I was underwhelmed by the music in the film. That’s not to say the music was bad (Seriously, check out Mark Vogel and Ally Bakst’s “Monster”), but the way it was talked about in the original press materials, I thought music was going to be a bigger part of this film. I appreciated the Time Warp-esque “Bunny Hop” scene, but it felt kind of gimmicky.
Overall, I enjoyed this film. As I said up front in the headline, it has its flaws, but the occasional laugh, solid performances, and likable characters kept me engaged for its hour and thirty-four-minute runtime. Easter horror is limited, so while this is horror light and some folks are going to hate the husband/wife drama at the heart of Jeanie’s storyline, I think it’s at least worth checking out if the trailer catches your interest. It’s watchable, which is more than I can say for some of the other lower-budget Easter horror out there.
“Easter Bloody Easter” is available now on VOD and Digital Platforms, including Amazon and Apple TV.
