My Review Of “The Bunnyman Massacre”

“The Bunnyman Massacre” is the sequel to indie slasher horror “Bunnyman”. In this second installment Joe and the Bunnyman continue their brutal, emotionless slaughter. The film once again sees Carl Lindberg returning to the director’s chair which is appropriate since he created this modern horror franchise. “The Bunnyman Massacre” stars David Scott, Julianne Dowler, Jennifer June Ross, Joshua Lang, Marshal Hilton, Heather Daley, Maria Olsen, Kate Bowen and Jamie Bernadette.

The story follows Joe and the Bunnyman as they continue their ploy of carnage, adding to their body count in a small rural community hanging on the outskirts of a ghost town. It is a very simple concept with no real depth, which basically puts female’s and the occasional male in the psycho killer’s path for a visceral, bloody death. “The Bunnyman Massacre” doesn’t really focus much on dialog, just quick quips and profane banter that creates the cruel personas of Joe and the Bunnyman. It works for the purpose of gritty, grindhouse horror, but the writing is two dimensional and gives us no real protagonist to root for through most of the film. Their is one present but very weakly represented. The point of view seems to be a celebratory embrace of the killer as the star of the show. That is fine for a small select audience but with no way to emotionally connect the victims or “protagonist” in the film, “The Bunnyman Massacre” falls a little flat.

Now as far as special effects are concerned, “The Bunnyman Massacre” continues the raw, gorefest that the first film provided. There are a couple of moments when CGI blood is added to the kills for splatter, however it seems acceptable because there is still plenty of practical fluid drenching the screen and victim. Creative angles and gimmicks make most of the kill scenes work well with minimal flaw. That is crucial for this film because with the lack of real story or heart shown in “The Bunnyman Massacre” you need some clean, kill effects that are organic and visceral. The overall special effects component to this film creates a traditional grindhouse feel to the horror elements.

The sound effects and soundtrack are your expected, atmospheric redundancy that can be heard in any number of horror films, both classic and modern. Some of the sound effects have been taken from other horror films. Not sure if it works as tribute or rip-off in “The Bunnyman Massacre”, the creepy sound effects work here but they are reminiscent of other classics. The soundtrack overall fails to create any real suspense or chill factor in the film, but that just adds to the fact that the story is emotionally void and the point-of-view is that of the killers. The cold, brutality on top of a lack of heart doesn’t allow you to connect with the victims or the story enough to feel anything real. It is just a “set ‘em up, knock ‘em down” situation. Plus so many scenes in “The Bunnyman Massacre” are straight from other horror icon’s stories that at times the originality seems questionable. See it if you want but you’re not really missing much if you decide to pass on this one.