Despite being among the softest and least threatening of woodland creatures, rabbits rarely get portrayed as such in movies. While most of us would be content to watch one nibble on a carrot for 90 minutes, filmmakers have routinely sought to capitalize and subvert the rabbit’s image, either by brutally murdering them or turning them creepy and cannibalistic.
With a sparkle in its eye, Fandor’s latest video essay tackles this phenomenon using examples from the likes of Basic Instinct, Harvey, Donnie Darko, and, of course, Monty Python And The Holy Grail.
Even better than the foray into the cinematic rabbit is the narrator himself, who, in a thick accent, spouts hilariously ominous spurts of analysis. Prepare to hear lines like these echoing in your head:
– “Rabbits are paradoxical creatures, symbols of both darkness and foolishness.”
– “Their biggest contradiction is that while they walk among us, they sleep down the rabbit hole.”
– “Mythology has caught on to the duality of the rabbit, making them figures of both light and darkness, a bridge between the otherworld and the heavens, the ideal beast to plague your subconscious.”
This may be true, but the evil cinematic rabbit has yet to reach its final form. Who, pray tell, will be the Black Phillip of the hare world?