While bugs and spiders often generate the creepy crawly effect, rats also create immense fear for many, the sounds they emit can send shivers up one’s back, the little eyes staring at you with the wanton need to feed, knowing their ready to breed and create an enormous colony at an unrelenting pace. That alone is why so many horror films feature them as the primary star with Willard [1971] and Ben [1972] holding solidly onto the 70s while Deadly Eyes [1982] and Graveyard Shift [1990] kept the trend heading in the right direction before a surge in the 2000s; however, in 1984 an Italian horror flick written and directed by Bruno Mattei aka Vincent Dawn (Hell of the Living Dead [1980]) tossed the rats into a post-apocalyptic world and forgot some basic humanity traits as well as logic, yet generated enough grotesque moments for a few to enjoy. One should note that some individuals were listed to help with directorial duties and the screenplay although several sources also dispute the claims they assisted, therefore IMDb lists them as uncredited; nevertheless, one confirmed additional writer was Hervé Piccini (Devil Fish [1984]).
In 2015 there was a nuclear holocaust, and 225-years later there are two distinct survivor groups those who live comfortably underground and others are travelers known as the New Primitives, a punk-like gang who drive Mad Max versions of automobiles, and motorcycles nice to know we still have petroleum in the future. One day this band of eleven, led by their leader Kurt (Richard Raymond (Zombie 3) [1988])), arrive in a mysterious abandoned village, with ghastly disfigured rotting corpses lying about, they decide to stay as they locate an immense amount of well-preserved food and fresh water. None of them question why the scarce resources remain, and computerized machine seems to holds answers by Video (Richard Cross (The Wax Mask [1997])) cannot work it, strangely he is named after video games, but what games exist after a nuclear war hundreds of years later especially with so much death and destruction presented, alas do not attempt to figure it out, would hurt your mind. Later that night the group is bed down for the night though kickout Lucifer (Cristoph Bretner) and Lilith (Moune Duvivier) for the excessive loud love-making (in front of others); after the marathon love-fest Lucifer is intoxicated and heavily obnoxious and attacked by rats causing him to fall to death in a sewer. Thanks to a bit of foreshadowing, we witness Lilith’s death devoured from within, which later because an exciting thrill for viewers and disgust for the travelers. Honesty this pack of marauders aren’t the brightest group ever committed to the screen.
Lilith (Moune Duvivier)
It is all just the start of this nightmare of hundreds of rats attacking these intruders, with Noah (Chris Fremont), who was considered by them as a genius nearly bitten to death, but a dance with a flamethrower ends that misery. Diana (Cindy Leadbetter) suffers from numerous bites as they work to barricade themselves until morning, while Chocolate tends to her wounds. Some men venture out for supplies, though Tarus (Alex McBride (The Last Shark [1981])) suffers his own fate; all this causes Duke (Henry Luciani) to lose his marbles and takes scream-obsessed Myrna (Ann-Gisel Glass) prisoner and encounters a series of painful screams. The sheer horror of the gathering rats force, the mystic Deus (Fausto Lombardi (Terror Express [1980])) and Kurt to make bold maneuvers and finally Video and Chocolate (Janna Ryann) come face to face with the terror of meeting the under dwellers to begin a new unity that said was told in the Bible.
Noah (Christian Fremont)
There are some serious problems with the film, most come from the bizarre dialogue aided by horrendous acting skill sets and that is attributed to the very disrespectful treatment of the only black actress who is called Chocolate in fact there’s the line she utters after covering herself with flour, “Look, I’m whiter than all of you!” a prideful moment for her. Oh please, shameful. There a few solid gore effects, some of rats do their best to please the director, even at the disgust of their human co-stars, although women are presented as slutty rejects and with nudity being an equal opportunity for all. Speaking of rats, some were imposters, as they were guinea pigs and painted to be more of larger stand-in critters, while the ultra-low budget kept the prop assistants busy using dead ones to toss at the cast during attack sequences. One major plus is the sets, as they used the leftovers of director Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984) creates creepy crypt that is ready to welcome animal attacks movie to inhibit its confines and prepared to seal their fates.
Simply let the species of rats do what they do best, creep folks out, however this story takes a wrong turn it thoroughly goes to some very ridiculous portions in creating horror with a bizarre conclusion that frankly makes no sense, as it could never occur with cross breeding unless there is untold portion of the tale involving governmental experiments. All one needed to do was to look back at the history of horror films and design the story around these predators.
TAGLINES:
- Tonight they will rise from the darkness beneath the city… to feed!!
- Mutants of a nuclear disaster
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086176/
IMDb Rating: 4.7/10
Baron’s Rating: 4.5/10