James Herbert is a great horror writer, and The Rats; the first in a trilogy of rodent-infested horror stories, is surely one of his finest works. However, Herbert seems to suffer from an even more severe case of the same affliction that haunts Stephen King when it comes to movies; and that is that his work never gets the respect that it deserves. Aside from a few character names and the basic central theme, Deadly Eyes has little in common with its source material. The sluggish way that the plot plods out in this film is nothing like the exciting and engrossing way that Herbert wrote the story, and the principal problem here is that it takes far too long to get round to the actual rat attack; and the scenes in-between the horror aren't very interesting. The film focuses on Harris; a gym teacher who teams up with a woman named Kelly from the local health authority when a bunch of rats eat some infected corn and become monsters. It takes a while, but our lead character eventually realises what's going on; and it comes to a head on the subway where the rats have nested.
Director Robert Clouse is no stranger to 'when animals attack' films, as he directed the decent 'The Pack' back in the seventies. He seems to not be too bothered about tension and suspense, however, and this is shown throughout as there's a distinct lack of it. We do get treated to some rat attack scenes throughout the film, but nothing too devastating until the ending when the film lets rip as much as the budget would allow. The major problem with the ending is that it's such a missed opportunity! The climax was a real highlight in the book and gave the story more weight than a novel about giant rats had any right to have; but here it's just the standard 'wipe them all out with fire' conclusion. To say this isn't a good film would be a huge understatement, but despite its short comings in just about every department; there's something that is easy to like about this film. Maybe it's the amazingly rubbish acting, or the fact that the rats are simply small dogs dressed up. It's probably best not to think about the book too much and just enjoy the film for what it is; namely, a below average slice of eighties tosh.
Director Robert Clouse is no stranger to 'when animals attack' films, as he directed the decent 'The Pack' back in the seventies. He seems to not be too bothered about tension and suspense, however, and this is shown throughout as there's a distinct lack of it. We do get treated to some rat attack scenes throughout the film, but nothing too devastating until the ending when the film lets rip as much as the budget would allow. The major problem with the ending is that it's such a missed opportunity! The climax was a real highlight in the book and gave the story more weight than a novel about giant rats had any right to have; but here it's just the standard 'wipe them all out with fire' conclusion. To say this isn't a good film would be a huge understatement, but despite its short comings in just about every department; there's something that is easy to like about this film. Maybe it's the amazingly rubbish acting, or the fact that the rats are simply small dogs dressed up. It's probably best not to think about the book too much and just enjoy the film for what it is; namely, a below average slice of eighties tosh.