With Easter approaching and your ‘out of office’ ready to go, there’s no better time watch a film whilst munching on a chocolate egg or five. From creepy rabbits to hilarious crucifixion parodies, Easter Bunny takedowns to scary nuns, we take a look at some of the best alternative Easter movies to check out this long weekend.
Donnie Darko (2001)
In 1988, Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), an emotionally troubled teenager, sleepwalks outside led by a mysterious figure in a rabbit costume and inadvertently escapes a bizarre accident where a jet engine crashes into his bedroom. Combining a coming-of-age film with science fiction, the story is a dark look at mental health and teen angst as Donnie tries to work out the reason for the rabbit’s appearance and its message that the world will end in 28 days. Released six weeks after 9/11 and featuring a plane accident, the film performed poorly at the box office at the time but late became a cult hit during its home entertainment release.
Life of Brian (1979)
In the Monty Python classic, Brian (Graham Chapman) is born in the stable next door to Jesus Christ and spends his life being mistaken for the messiah. With over 40 biblical characters being played by the rest of the troupe, including John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, the film is a hilarious satire of religious zealotry and classic swords & sandals cinema. After the original backers for the film pulled funding days before production due to fear around the subject matter, George Harrison – former member of The Beatles – put the money up as he “wanted to see the movie”. Terry Jones later referred to the gesture as the “world’s most expensive cinema ticket.”
Mallrats (1995)
When friends T.S and Brodie get dumped, they decide to seek refuge and distraction at the local mall. Once there, they meet friends and see acquaintances as they plot to get their girls back, but in true Kevin Smith style they end up trying to sabotage a game show, meeting Stan Lee and accidently beating up the Easter Bunny instead. The film has three different cuts, with over 100 differences between them and much like Donnie Darko, the film gained a cult following during it’s home entertainment release.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
Robert Zemeckis’ ground-breaking masterpiece which combined live-action with a wealth of classic animated characters centres on the unfortunate case of Roger Rabbit, who has been framed for murder, and private investigator Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) who must exonerate him. The film noir pastiche was produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment company and he miraculously convinced Disney, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Felix The Cat Productions, Turner Entertainment, Harvey Comics and more to “lend” their characters to the film so that all animated characters could interact together.
Immaculate (2024)
This psychological horror tells the story of Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) a young nun who is invited to join an exclusive convent in Italy that tends to dying nuns in their final days. Once there she discovers she is pregnant, despite never having relations with a man, and is treated by the convent’s inhabitants as the next Virgin Mary who proclaim the child as a blessing. She begins noticing certain oddities in her environment however, then when her health worsens and she begs to be taken to a hospital but is denied, she begins to plot her escape.
‘Immaculate’ is in cinemas now.
