In the bizarre short The Groundhog’s Shadow, there’s a sequence where the titular groundhog encounters a rabbit. This scene is quick and then both creatures are off on their respective journeys. In Randy Wolff’s dark, uncomfortable The Rabbit’s Foot, we see where that rabbit was coming from and where it was going.

Whereas Groundhog focused on man’s environmental impacts on the world around the groundhog, Rabbit is a purely psychedelic experience with a touch of religion thrown in for good measure. The film begins with a crudely-animated segment where the viewer finds themselves flying through a dark sky as stars streak by. The darkness falls away as the ground rushes closer and we enter a hole. The film then switches to live action and we meet our rabbit protagonist. He hops from the hole and scurries through a field and into a forest. As he enters the forest, we see more crude animation, with snakes slithering up tress and towering creatures with glowing yellow eyes trudging through the brush. There’s no explanation for this and the rabbit continues on his path through the forest.

As he exits the forest, he meets the groundhog and then is on his way. This is where the film jumps the rails and takes a trip into Terror Town. The rabbit is caught in a trap and ends up losing his foot. It’s unclear how they were able to achieve this effect, whether they got a rabbit with only three feet or actually chopped one off during the production. Everyone who knew Wolff said he was incredibly gentle to the animals in his films, which makes what happened after the film wrapped even more unsettling.

As the rabbit hops along, losing blood and getting weaker and weaker, we start seeing the rabbit’s hallucinations. There’s more crude animation as swirly, colorful lines fill the screen. There’s a giant hovering crucifix and a shot of a Catholic mass. Then Wolff inserts stock footage of rabbits being shot and skinned by hunters. The rabbits yelp in pain over the sounds of a prayer service. There’s also the same shot from Groundhog, of Wolff’s face staring at the screen, smiling oddly. The film ends with the rabbit finally stopping and lying on the ground. The screen fades to black and the film ends.

Shortly after the film was completed, Randy Wolff walked into his apartment building and murdered five people with a shotgun. He was killed by police less than twenty minutes later. No one who was questioned could determine why it happened, and most people said Wolff was in a particularly good mood when he left for the day.

It’s unclear what sort of impact Wolff would’ve had on the world of cinema if he hadn’t died. It’s at least interesting to go back and watch this film and The Groundhog’s Shadow to see a truly disturbed talent at work.