Rats - Notte di Terrore |
Italy / France • 1984 • 97m •
   • Directed by: Bruno Mattei, Claudio Fragasso. • Starring: Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Geretta Geretta, Massimo Vanni, Gianni Franco, Ann-Gisel Glass, Jean-Christophe Brétigniere, Fausto Lombardi, Henry Luciani, Cindy Leadbetter, Christian Fremont, Moune Duvivier, John Gayford, Steven Luotto. • Music by: Luigi Ceccarelli.     One hundred years after a nuclear war has devastated the planet, society has been reborn into two factions; the underground society and the scavangers above in the wastelands. A group of scavangers on bikes come across a town infested with flesh eating rats, and soon the gore is spilling everywhere.
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**SPOILERS**
Hundreds of years after a nuclear war has ravaged the planet, Kurt, (Ottaviano Dell'Acqua) and his biker gang, Chocolate, (Gerretta Gerretta) Video, (Richard Cross) Torres, (Massimo Vanni) Myrna, (Ann-Gisel Glass) Duke, (Henry Luciani) Lucifer, (Jean-Christophe Bretigniere) Diana, (Cindy Leadbetter) Noah, (Christian Fremont) and Lilith, (Moune Duvivier) happen upon an abandoned building out in the countryside. After splitting up to investigate the building, they find that it is littered with scientific equipment and plenty of corpses. Deciding to stay anyway, they stay the night only to find themselves under attack by giant rats. Cut off and forced to stay in the building, they put up a fight against the creatures to survive.
The Good News: This is no doubt an incredibly cheesy film, and it reveals in it. From the outlandish dialog that is simply laugh-out-loud to the clothing and setting, to the general premise itself, this is one cheesy film. That alone gives it its most powerful plus, as it's not something that needs to be taken seriously at all, and the tone it sets up is what makes this work. By keeping it light and fun, the edge is taken out and it can be enjoyed for what it is, a simple tale of rats attacking people. Had this been made in a serious manner with the intention of doing a serious film, then it wouldn't work all that well as it does now. The pacing is also a pleasant surprise, as it starts out fast and doesn't really slow down all that much. Within the first five minutes, the gang has arrived at the house and the first attack comes shortly after that. From there on, it's non-stop and does an excellent job of keeping the interest on the screen. Whether it's the intense action scenes or the cheese on display, it never fails to entertain. The attacks themselves are quite nice and brutal, and result in some nice scenes. The sleeping bag death is a prime example, being enormously cheesy and providing the movie with some gore as well. The outcome is a great one, and gets the attacks going nicely. The scenes where the rats fall from the ceiling or the walls and overwhelm the victims are some of the most suspenseful attacks ever, being full of spectacle and action. The other sequences in here are just as action-packed, including some flame-thrower use and some grenade attacks, coupled with some bashing and running around, move the film along with the action make it a fully action-packed film. The ending comes out of nowhere and is a true twist in the best sense of the word. It's a truly cheesy ending that fits in so perfectly with the rest of the film. This film really surprised me with how good it was.
The Bad News: Yes, this is a cheesy film and it makes no bones about it, and that itself is the film's biggest turnoff. It's not a movie for those who enjoy a film to be taken seriously and follow a consistent path of creativity, as this is pretty much a series of rip-offs and imitations from elsewhere. That leads into the fact that the film is at times simply just a copy, and while the premise is exactly like several other films thrown together, there's enough remnants present to give that feel. The second half is exactly like any number of zombie films, the opening evokes many different post-nuclear war road films, and the final five minutes is pretty much like every virus-containment film around. It's an eclectic grouping that really doesn't do much to hide itself under the influences. The other big problem is that the film really doesn't make too much sense, as the explanations are so vague and out-there that it's hard to really get a sense of what's going on. Otherwise, this isn't all that bad.
The Final Verdict: Hilariously cheesy from start to finish, this is a perfect example of that kind of film. This in no way should be taken seriously and is instead a perfect mocking movie. Only the most experienced cheese-fests lovers will find a lot to like here, everyone else is advised caution.
Review by Rautus [IMDB 30 March 2007] from the Internet Movie Database.
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