Rat-people! Raoples...peots. Ratoples. I dunno.

This movie could've easily gone either way, but I honestly enjoyed myself while I was watching it.

It does in fact take from quite a few movies, but I felt like it took just enough from the movies but still managed to provide its own voice in a crowded genre.

The rat people are obviously very zombie-like, but the Night of the Living Dead influence doesn't end there. There are constant broadcasts throughout the film, detailing what's going on in the city while we focus on a few key characters. Also, most of the action takes place in one certain building - though, to be honest, the setting is more Demons 2 than NOTLD, which coupled with the rat creatures (very Demons franchise), made that influence stand out quite a bit. Also, obviously, there is Rats: Night of Terror. I could go on but you get the idea.

Well, now that I think about it, one more zombie-ish influence - 28 Days Later, at least when it comes to the camera work. The shaky action sequences and gritty, almost documentary feel to the film belie the Raged franchise. It also serves the purpose of keeping the focus off of the ratoples, which I'm sure the budget didn't allow for professionally done make-up, so it seemed to be a good choice considering.

The best part of the film is definitely the characters. Since it's a bunch of variable unknowns, if we didn't have strong personalities carrying the script, it would be lost. As it stands almost everyone we are introduced to is very distinct and identifiable, from Charlie the WW2 vet to main characters Clutch and his (impossibly cute) daughter Casey. Speaking of Casey, her scar make-up was really well done, and even holds up in close-ups.

Some really good directorial choices as well, particularly the moment when father and daughter finally meet up - the film slows down for a brief second, reveling in their joy in seeing each other again even through the terror...then immediately something awful happens and they are back to running for their lives.

Can't say there's anything particularly "new" about this - there are some shades of political messages referencing the Iraq War (Casey is a wounded vet, hence the scar), urban development (the characters are being kicked out of their homes when the rats come), but those aren't elaborated on, at least directly - but it's an intense enough ride for at least a once through. I particularly liked it enough for a possible purchase when it hits DVD with the Super Special Unrated Extended Turbo Edition.

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This was one of the more "buzzworthy" films of the After D(umb) Horrorfest and it's the only one I caught. (For good reason.) I will honestly say that this film did have a lot of things working for it. I won't dissect it too much. Mr. Fox hit most of it on the head. However, what I did enjoy was the cast and group of central characters. In fact, they were pretty much the saving grace for me. (I don't care, scar or not, Kim Blair is hot.) I don't imagine we will see any of them in anything else, but I wouldn't complain if I did. Storywise, it had it's moments and I liked how a good chunk of the "Rat-thingies" were spread out. In that, there weren't 2837835 running all over the place at once. A big group here, a few there and then the few stragglers who would be wandering about. On that note, although it took forever to get going, I like the idea that they played on the fact that NYC is a big city. It would take a bit of time and LOT of people to be infected at the same time to saturate ALL of NYC. I also imagine it would take a bit of time for a virus of said magnitude to scour throughout the more inhabited parts of the city right down to the not-so-inhabited areas.

As for the negatives? The camera/cinematography was very inconsistent. There is no reason for a camera to shake when you're looking at a wall, damnit. I understand you want to get the "feel" of pandemonium and fear, but seriously. After a while it loses its effect. There was plenty of film that could have been cut. (How many times must we look at rats running around in the sewer?! I think we get the idea of what is going on! Sheesh!) One of my biggest peeves is people's lack of intelligence. Seriously, how many people need to get mauled in a back room for you to figure out you should probably leave?! Do you really need to go investigate after someone walks towards a bloodied room, gets snatched up, mauled, screams bloody murder in the process, and doesn't come back out to tell you they're dead?! So people need to wait around until some deformed crazy person CRAWLING ON THE FLOOR MAKING RAT NOISES comes after you to get the hint that you should probably go home? Give me a damn break!

Quite frankly, this film is nothing new to me. I basically see it as an updated version of George Romero's "The Crazies" right down to the very end. Except without the "Ratoples" and a guy named "Clank". On that note, I also recommend David Croenenberg's "Rabid". I could see myself eventually joining Fox on getting the Super Special Unrated Extended Turbo Edition of the DVD when released. Good idea, not-so-good execution. Kim Blair is hot. The end.

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