Back Night of the Lepus Catalan Night of The Lepus Welsh Rabbits (1972) German La notte della lunga paura EML Les Rongeurs de l'apocalypse French La notte della lunga paura Italian Night of the Lepus Portuguese
| Night of the Lepus | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | William F. Claxton |
| Screenplay by | Don Holliday Gene R. Kearney |
| Based on | The Year of the Angry Rabbit by Russell Braddon |
| Produced by | A.C. Lyles |
| Starring | Stuart Whitman Janet Leigh Rory Calhoun DeForest Kelley |
| Cinematography | Ted Voigtlander |
| Edited by | John McSweeney Jr. |
| Music by | Jimmie Haskell |
Production company | A.C. Lyles Productions |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Night of the Lepus (also known as Rabbits) is a 1972 American science fiction horror film directed by William F. Claxton and produced by A.C. Lyles. Based upon Russell Braddon's 1964 science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit, the plot concerns an infestation of mutated rabbits.[1][2][3]
The film was the first science fiction work for producer Lyles and for director Claxton, both of whom came from Western film backgrounds. Character actors from Westerns the pair had worked on were brought in to star, including Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun and DeForest Kelley. Shot in Arizona, including scenes filmed underground within Collosal Cave Mountain Park, Night of the Lepus used domestic rabbits filmed against miniature models and actors dressed in rabbit costumes for the attack scenes.
Widely panned by critics for its silly premise, poor direction, stilted acting and bad special effects, the film's biggest failure is considered to be the inability to make the rabbits seem scary. Night of the Lepus has since gained cult status for its laughably poor quality.