Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Sam Panico Thanks to Paperbacks from Hell, I've learned all about James Herbert, the British horror author whose four The Rats novels pretty much defined the evil rats against man genre. Imagine my surprise in finding this Canadian horror film that pretty much takes Herbert's story and runs away with it (or gets away with it).Paul Harris is a divorced high school teacher and basketball coach who is dealing with rats the sizes of small dogs that have been found living in buildings containing steroid-rich grain (ripped from today's headlines!) that the health department orders burned. Now that the rats are homeless, they're looking for a new home and new eats, too.First, they surround a baby in a high chair and make him a snack. Then, they get a senior citizen. Soon, they're chasing down Scatman Crothers and eating him, too! Oh no, Scatman!Even spraying the rats with gas does nothing. Nope, instead they attack a bowling alley and a movie theater showing a Bruce Lee movie (director Robert Clouse also directed Lee's Enter the Dragon and Game of Death). None will be spared as the rats feed. Not Trudy (Lisa Langlois, Happy Birthday to Me), the cheerleader in love with Paul. Not her best friend Martha (Lesleh Donaldson, Curtains, Funeral Home, Happy Birthday to Me). And certainly not the mayor who acts like he's in the Canadian version of Jaws and then has a party on a subway train that gets infested by rats. Finally, Paul, his love interest Kelly and his son make it through the rats' nest only to get on the same train as the mayor's dead body.So how did they get the rats for this movie? By putting dachshunds in fur suits, a The Killer Shrews plan if I ever heard one. Sadly, one of the dogs died during shooting as it was suffocated by its suit.Herbert referred to this film as "absolute rubbish." Sadly, we've yet to see the definite adaption of his work. We'll have to make due with this, I guess. Where I disconnect with the film is that I could see it happening in New York, but Toronto? That's the cleanest city I've ever been in. I bet the rats could do much better elsewhere.

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) Having a rodent problem is no walk in the park. But when they ingest something in huge amounts, that's when the nightmare begins. It all starts with a grainery storage where the corn feed is not just unsafe for sale, but it contains a steroid that it's a violation of profiting purposes. Once the rats got a hold of the grain, the feeding frenzy starts to take place. High school students are always doing stuff. Sports, homework, going out, etc. However, this will be one night, no one will ever forget. The student and toddler are the starting course of the rats' carnivorous casualties. Then the old man after his date. With all those attacks, how will it end? A brave coach and his son joins with a city official against the madness. Even Though this is an early 1980's horror movie, it was fun though. Showing snippets of one of Bruce Lee's film, it was very nice. I have seen rats the size of cats. Having a gun or a big knife or sword can nip it in the bud. This movie can also make exterminators cringe. Have your guns ready for this film, at least bugs aren't involved. 2 out of 5 stars

Scott LeBrun Rats in Toronto become a ravenous, deadly strain after feasting on grain that had been contaminated with steroids. When all of the grain is burned up, the rats head for the sewers, periodically coming out to start feasting on many unlucky human victims. The unlikely heroes of the piece are science teacher & basketball coach Paul Harris (Sam Groom) and health inspector Kelly Leonard (Sara Botsford), who realize what they're dealing with and try to save the people occupying a new subway line.Author James Herbert was none too pleased with this not particularly faithful film version of his novel. As directed by Robert Clouse, a man better known for martial arts classics like "Enter the Dragon" and "Game of Death" (the latter is seen on a theatre screen here), it's adequate entertainment. At least this viewer can say that its pacing is quite effective. The rats do claim a fairly high body count, including an infant. Clouse creates some decent atmosphere in some of the shots and underground sequences, although there's never really very much tension throughout the thing. Most genre buffs already know that the rodent menaces were actually played by dachshunds wearing costumes and rather crude rat faces. Some viewers may well wish there was a lot more gore. One good touch is to have this story take place in the wintertime, which does add to the atmosphere. The cast is rather nondescript but certainly likable; Groom and Botsford are reasonably engaging leads. Lovely Canadian scream queens of the time Lisa Langlois and Lesleh Donaldson co-star (Langlois plays a student of Grooms' who in a subplot develops an infatuation with him), but the one person who is really worth watching here is ever lovable Scatman Crothers, who you really miss when he's gone.Unfortunately, the climax isn't all that exciting, and the ending is quite unsatisfying. Overall the movie is quite amusing if not exactly very good.Five out of 10.

stompy Yeah the movie sucks but we had a great time making it. I got thrown through a glass window, hurled down a flight of stairs, and had dog food and corn syrup plastered on my face so the dogs would "eat" me...I gotta tell ya, the dogs were treated like kings. Each dog could only work 2 hours and they could only shoot for 5 minutes at a time. They all had air conditioned kennels.The humans on the other hand... well we just had to fend for ourselves...George "Stompy" Hollo