If Monty Python and the Holy Grail taught you anything, it was that rabbits are inherently evil little animals that cannot be trusted. Tony Jopia’s new creature feature Cute Little Buggers not only reinforces that point, it ramps it up to alien-sized proportions. While this micro budgeted B-movie does provides more than a healthy supply of boobs, blood, and laughs, it still can’t help but be dragged down by some considerably crude looking computer generated effects. Two aliens visit a British countryside town with the task of breading the human population so that they can save their own race. They mutate rabbits with their own DNA, setting them out and about to capture and impregnate all of the town’s women. With bodies piling up and rampaging rabbits running about, the remaining townsfolk must band together and fight. The story is very much a blend of camp B-movie creature features from the ‘80s and the quirky sentimentalities of a small British town, combining elements of films like Critters and Hot Fuzz. The dialogue and situations are very much R-rated, so I would suggest not letting kids watch this one. Jopia does create a rather large cast of eclectic characters, who are given enough screen time to develop before being turned into rabbit food. This character development does cause the pacing of the first act to run a little bit slow.
Aside from the CGI, the film looks really good. It has a nice crisp and clean look to it, with vibrant colors and decent shadows being cast on the actors. The camera work is first-rate, providing nice close ups, camera movement, and placement. The score didn’t offer up too much, sounding mostly like what would be considered a standard sci-fi horror score.
The acting was surprisingly terrific, something that you wouldn’t come to expect from a low budget indie horror production. Every actor should be commended, because they all did a fine job. Their believable performances improve the overall quality of this production. Caroline Munro (Maniac) and Gary Martin (Slaughter High) make minor appearances, with Martin standing out as the aging rock star Randy Rocksoff.
 |
| Welcome to the party pal! |
There is an immense amount of bloodshed and violence in this movie, which should please most horror fans that expect those types of things. Jopia attempts to make up for the low budget CGI with an extremely high body count, blood, gore, and a plethora of devious kill sequences. It’s really all going to come down to your feelings and opinions on CGI versus practical effects, with all of the effects involving the rabbits being done with CGI. Unfortunately, they look poor and outdated and didn’t mix well with the crisp and clean look of the rest of the picture. On the other hand, the practical effects that were used are outstanding. The two alien beings looked outstanding, resembling some type of fish in riot gear.
It’s a shame that Jopia wasn’t afforded the opportunity to use all practical effects for this picture, as it really could have been something special. Cute Little Buggers has its moments, but it’s too hard to ignore the bad CGI.
Share this review.
