The Man in the Rabbit Mask is an eerie and disturbing new take on urban-legend style horror.
The premise of the film is simple. Two young girls, Cara (Holly Burr) and Lucy (Iris Truong), are having a sleepover. Cara is an adventurous girl and wants to play a game that her older sister told her about, but Lucy is not quite ready to grow up and just wants to safely watch Disney movies. After some bullying, Cara convinces Lucy to overcome her fear and play. The girls sit on the floor in a dark room, with only a candle between them. Lucy plays the game first by reciting the poem:
“I dare you to laugh. I will get you to scream. I may show up to take you, or just in a dream. I trade sweets for souls, that is part of my game. Read this poem by candle, and three times speak my name.”
This of course, followed by saying “Mister Rabbity” three times, summons the titular character, who offers the children a sweet in exchange for their souls. What follows next is extremely creepy, as Mister Rabbity (Chris Walters) has a presence that envelops the room in darkness and puts the children into a state of stupor. Despite this being a five minute short, there is some room for surprise, and I think the ending will satisfy anyone who gives it a shot.
I was thoroughly impressed with the effective use of light and shadow in the film. Mister Rabbity seems to fill the entire room with his shadow, which creates a sense of encroaching dread, not only for the characters, but also for the audience. Both young actresses did an outstanding and believable job. There were several moments in the film where I took note of the real fear expressed on their faces. That does a lot to draw you into Mister Rabbity’s world. Another thing that succeeds in drawing you in is the score. It’s somewhat standard ominous tones, but with a creepy jack-in-the-box style overlay that gets progressively creepier as the film goes on.
Overall, I enjoyed The Man in the Rabbit Mask quite a bit. It was written by Joel H. Brewster and directed by Ariel Hansen, and it was created as a proof of concept in hopes of spawning a full-length film. I for one would love to see that happen.
