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.
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.