Carol Lynley-Stuart Whitman "Tratamiento de choque" (Shock treatment) 1964, de Denis Sanders.
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«2-1-80, Chicago - The release of Guyana Cult of the Damned possibly furthered the Apocalypse Culture interest in Jim Jones, but in 1980 it was just a super shocker that played theaters to a mass of dropped jaws. Directed by Rene Cardona, Jr. with Stuart Whitman in the lead role, this turned into the many Dogs of the Week on Sneak Previews which some of us took note like a "must see" list (Gene Siskel walked out).»
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Joanne Woodward-Stuart Whitman "Signpost to murder" 1964, de George Englund.
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Night of the Lepus (1972)
If you seek out bad movies, you’ve probably heard of Night of the Lepus. This means - I’m sorry to say it - the best part of the movie has already been spoiled for you. Even if you don’t know why this movie was doomed from the start, it’s only good for so many laughs. While you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ridicule what’s happening on-screen, I doubt this film will become a new favorite.
To humanely reduce the rabbit population ravaging rancher Cole Hillman's fields, scientists Roy and Gerry Bennet (Stuart Whitman and Janey Leigh, as compelling as a couple of lettuce heads) genetically modify the animals to make them less fertile. When their daughter, Amanda (Melanie Fullerton) releases a test subject into the wild, the state is soon overrun by giant Lepus timidus.
When rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1859, no one could’ve foreseen the damage they would cause to the continent's flora and fauna. The incident inspired the horror-comedy novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit, whose tone was completely lost upon screenplay writers Don Holliday and Gene R. Kearney. With the help of director William F. Claxton, they are trying to scare us using giant bunnies. You’d think someone would’ve raised their hands and questioned the decision. Maybe someone did at some point and to show them who's boss, this film takes the premise as if it were gospel. When the army calls for all residents to roll up their windows for fear of the giant, mutated rabbits stampeding their way, they should be laughing their eyebrows off. Instead, the people in this movie take it completely seriously, following every order to the letter without fail.
Incompetently directed, Night of the Lepus doesn’t appear to know how it could frighten audiences even if its life depended on it. Every time you see the titular monsters bounding through the tiny streets, all you can do is “awww” or laugh. There are never any ominous or moody shots. The tension is non-existent. When the film ends, you’ll be shocked. Was that it? There’s no way that was the climax. It was so easy!
Not helping the picture are the weak special effects. I can give a pass to the miniatures - how else would they have made the creatures look big? But you can clearly see the seams in several of the composite shots and whenever we get a close-up of someone fighting for their life as a giant rabbit attempts to chew their arms off, you think you’re watching a tussle between a drunken fan and the baseball team’s mascot. It’s pathetic. The actors underreact as they are about to die and when they’re calm and collected, the performances are awful.
This is one of the dullest horror movies I’ve ever seen - or it would be if it weren’t for the hugely misguided and idiotic premise. Actually, it is still fairly boring because what’s wrong about it is obvious and consistent. A true bad movie classic like Plan 9 From Outer Space keeps finding new ways to be bad. It surprises you. This movie? Not so much. After about 15 minutes, you’ve seen the range all the major actors have and after a couple of shots of the beasts chowing down on people (well, we don’t really see it, but we see the attacks and aftermath), you fully understand why this film isn't going to work. Night of the Lepus is worth seeing once so you can say you’re part of the club but don’t expect to return to this movie over and over. (On DVD, August 16, 2019)
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