Easter Bloody Easter is a passion project for Diane Foster and Allison Lobel. In addition to directing and writing, respectively, the duo starred in and produced the comedic creature feature. The credits reveal that the cast and crew held several different jobs on this production, such as Paca Thomas, who was the sound designer and visual effects artist, alongside producer/editor Nancy Foster. Does this labor of love translate to a fun viewing experience, or did the filmmakers need some critical distance?
Well, if the opening is anything to go by, critical distance should’ve been used. In the first scene, two teens break into the church basement to get it on. The over-the-top twang in their awful accents is less amusing and more lousy community theater. Admittedly, their deaths at the hands of the evil Jackalope and his demonic bunny horde are amusing. So does that mean Foster and Lobel have made a so-bad-it’s-good film or just a bad one?
“…the Jackalope seeks victims as retribution this Easter.”
Thankfully, after that, Easter Bloody Easter finds the proper groove to become a camp classic. Jeanie (Diane Foster) is the pariah of her small Christian town. She’s a (barely) functioning alcoholic who finds about as much solace in religion as a bunny does in a fox. This puts her at odds with Mary Lou (Allison Lobel), who uses her influence and status to flaunt how much holier she is than her peers. This is most apparent in the way she and Annie Sue (Faye Viviana) call each other unspeakably awful things in the friendliest way possible.
But Jeanie is not alone, as her best friend Carol (Kelly Grant) sticks by her through thick and thin. Then there’s Jeanie’s beloved husband, Lance (D’Andre Noiré), who unfortunately has disappeared. As the sheriff searches for him, he discovers a pile of mutilated bodies that recall a town legend from the 1800s about selling one’s soul to get everything they want. Unbeknownst to these people, it is more than a myth, as the Jackalope seeks victims as retribution this Easter. Who summoned the monster, and why now? Will Jeanie survive and find Lance, or is it too late to save anyone?
"…in the pantheon of Easter horror films, this is a good one to rewatch every spring."
