Bad Rabbit is an independent horror/comedy short film about a woman named Elspeth. She takes care of her unappreciative, extremely verbally and mentally abusive elderly mother. One night she’s visited by a deranged talking rabbit who tries convincing her to do evil deeds. How much abuse can the immensely timid woman take before she snaps?

Written and directed by Rebekka Johnson and Kate Nash, it’s got an irreverent silly tone peppered with twisted dark humour. It’s a well-balanced blend of horror and humour, which is tricky to manage. The evil deeds range from irritating things to exasperate her mother to outright mean-spirited acts. Some of them are cringe-worthy too.

Kate Nash plays Elspeth. She’s good at playing a downtrodden caretaker at her wit’s end on the brink of delirium. She carries the film with her compelling performance.

Rebekka Johnson plays the titular Bad Rabbit. Her gleefully demented, unhinged performance adds another level of absurdity to the mix. Together the pair have tremendous chemistry as they develop their twisted relationship.

Melinda deKay plays Mother with antagonistic wickedness so vile it makes siding with Elspeth justifiably open to speculation. It begs the question: how far can you bend a branch before it breaks? Her performance is a great example of a villain you love to hate.

Overall, the maniacal short film is a highly enjoyable, delightfully dark revenge tale of a descension into the rabbit hole of madness. Bad Rabbit written with a thought-provoking premise with a fantastic blend of horror and humour. The brisk pace doesn’t feel rushed despite the incredibly short runtime. The main protagonist has a complete story arc with fully developed character growth. Although it’s not for everyone I’d recommend it to anyone with a twisted dark sense of humour. And remember, I bet dollars to carrots that you’ve never seen anything like this.

8 out of 10