Cute Little Buggers (2017)

  • Directed by Tony Jopia
  • Written by Garry Charles, Andy Davie, Kristofer Dane, Tony Jopia
  • Stars Caroline Munro, Dani Thompson, Gary Martin, Honey Homes
  • Run Time: 1 Hour, 48 Minutes
  • Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLfyu4FBJrM

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

This one has a touch of science fiction with aliens being the real source of the trouble. The cute little buggers are ugly big trouble, and the aliens and monsters and how people dealt with them were a lot of fun. The weakness of the movie came from some serious relationship issues that they mixed in with the madness. That only made it hit and miss, and we both felt they should have consistently gone with the horror silliness.

Spoilery Synopsis

Way out in outer space, an alien ship arrives at Earth. The aliens inside, Brian and Ernest, are here for our women. The human DNA is compatible with theirs, so mating will be… bearable. They must save their race by reproducing. “Launch the penetration units!” 

Becca and her boyfriend Mark are out camping with other people, and she sees lights in the sky. Probes come down and land next to some rabbits. Becca sees a cute rabbit that grows tentacles and pulls her into the woods. Marc has a run-in as well. Credits roll. 

Brian explains to Ernest that he’s infiltrated a being well known for being able to procreate like there’s no tomorrow. 

The police arrive to investigate Becca and Marc’s death. The policemen argue about whether it was a murder or an animal attack or just some drunk who died of exposure. The chief refuses to cancel the summer ball, because that’s the kind of movie this is going to be. 

The land developer, Richard, threatens farmer Burt to take over his farm. Burt’s son, Mel, has just come home to deliver a letter from his dead mother and also to run Richard off. When Rose spots Mel, she’s surprised. She’s engaged to Charles, who doesn’t like Mel. 

There’s some drama between Mike, Alexis, and Phyllis. Apparently, he’s sleeping with both of them. 

Ernest has Brian set up a communications blackout for the infiltration units. A man in the woods spots a cute little bunny, who cuts his throat. Yes, the “infiltration units” are spreading widely in the area. 

Mel and Rose talk about love, loss, and drama. It’s all very serious. 

Barry goes to see Mystic Mary, and she comments on the rabbit’s foot he’s wearing. She has him do the tarot card thing and she doesn’t like what she sees. She tells him to avoid something small out in the woods that’s “out of this world.” Somehow he interprets this to there being treasure in the woods that he needs to seek out.

In the woods a couple of hikers are eaten by another rabbit. PC James goes to investigate one of the deaths. Still on the ship, Brian wakes up a bunch of sleeping women they’ve captured for test specimens. They remotely activate their penetration units. 

Charles and Alexis run over a rabbit on the road. Another rabbit shows up on the screen, and he’s not nearly as cute as they expect. Barry finds golden balls out in the woods, and the rabbits come running. It goes badly for Barry after that. 

Back in town, the spring celebration has started and everyone dances. Randy Rocksoff is playing. PC James runs into Barry’s friends, who tell him what they saw. Charles walks up, and he’s seen the rabbits too. Meanwhile, more sex-crazed young people die. A whole bunch of rabbits approach the group, “We’re gonna get Barry’d.” They soon figure out that the rabbits explode when urinated upon. Yeah, really. 

Rabbits have infiltrated the big spring party, and mayhem ensues. The aliens do an EMP which makes all the cars, phones, and everything stop working. PC Hitchens comes to the deserted party, finds out what happened, and gets ready for battle. 

Phyllis wakes up in a barn with other alien-abducted women. She gets out and heads through the woods. She beats off a herd of rabbits with a stick. 

The old professor tells Mel that this must be a new species of rabbits. Phyllis finds them and tells them about the kidnapped girls. They come to the conclusion that they’re dealing with aliens and they start getting organized. They fill water guns and pump sprayers with urine. 

On the ship, Ernest and Brian get ready for war. The rabbits attack en masse, but they are easily defeated with only a few human losses. The humans know where the captives are, and they make plans to storm the barn. Ernest complains about the humans’ use of “weapons of mass piss-truction.” They redirect all units to defend the birthing chamber. 

Burt and Mel get into the birthing barn. Mel and Rose get out, but Burt decides to stay with Alexis and die together. He’s mortally wounded and she’s been impregnated. All the bunnies move into the barn to stop Burt, who has explosives. He detonates the whole barn, killing all the murderbunnies. 

“We’re screwed, Brian,” roars Ernest. The aliens leave orbit, returning home as failures. 

Mel and Rose are together. James and Hitchens are together. Even Charles and Mel make up. The professor tries to explain the urine thing, but that just starts another round of jokes. 

Commentary

All these people who supposedly grew up together all have different accents. One guy is Scottish, one is Middle Eastern, and Rose is French, except they all grew up in the same small town. One of the characters even mocks Mel’s accent at one point. 

The serious melodrama with Mel’s return and his reunification with Rose are very dramatic and serious. Far too serious to be in the same film as Brian and Ernest and the killer bunnies. Every time they’re on the screen, the momentum just grinds to a halt. The bunnies and the aliens are funny, but damn, those humans are dull. The drama subsides after the first 45 minutes, but it’s too late. 

The animations are cheesy but hilarious. The deaths are cheesy but hilarious. If only it weren’t for the interpersonal drama parts this would be great, but no, it’s overall pretty mediocre.