This movie was so good for the first 45 minutes, I almost wept when the second half went all to hell.
Few movies capture the seedy underbelly of New York City in as raw a way. Parts of this movie look almost like they were filmed guerrilla- style. Indeed, in that respect, "Mulberry Street" hearkens back to the glorious '80s films of Frank Hennenlotter.
Alas, this is no "Basket Case" or "Brain Damage." Because although director Jim Mickle imbues the film with the same gritty, neon-lit, back-alley feel characteristic of Hennenlotter, his failure is that while Hennenlotter expertly married the surrealism of real-life Manhattan with his bizarre stories and creations, this film, while showing that kind of promise early on, unfortunately has so little confidence in itself it devolves quickly and quite unfortunately into B-movie idiocy.
The conceit is wonderful -- a new rat-borne disease is turning New Yorkers into flesh-eating zombies.
Wouldn't a "28 Days Later" set in NYC and directed by Frank Hennenlotter be awesome?
Keep hoping. Because although it looks like it's going that way for the first half, then the rat people show up.
Yes, this rat-borne disease not only makes people zombies, it freakin' turns them into rat people.
Ridiculous, pointy-eared, pointy-toothed rat people who squeak like rats and scurry about the floor on all fours.
I wanted to weep, seriously weep, halfway through this movie, because when the first rat person showed up after 45 minutes of Hennenlotteresque gritty New York cinematography, interesting camera-work and real, untrained New Yorkers as actors, it felt like I'd found a real super-cool, smart, pretty and sassy girlfriend, and just learned too late she had the clap.
Man this one looked like it was gonna be a real good one, too. What a disappointment.
Few movies capture the seedy underbelly of New York City in as raw a way. Parts of this movie look almost like they were filmed guerrilla- style. Indeed, in that respect, "Mulberry Street" hearkens back to the glorious '80s films of Frank Hennenlotter.
Alas, this is no "Basket Case" or "Brain Damage." Because although director Jim Mickle imbues the film with the same gritty, neon-lit, back-alley feel characteristic of Hennenlotter, his failure is that while Hennenlotter expertly married the surrealism of real-life Manhattan with his bizarre stories and creations, this film, while showing that kind of promise early on, unfortunately has so little confidence in itself it devolves quickly and quite unfortunately into B-movie idiocy.
The conceit is wonderful -- a new rat-borne disease is turning New Yorkers into flesh-eating zombies.
Wouldn't a "28 Days Later" set in NYC and directed by Frank Hennenlotter be awesome?
Keep hoping. Because although it looks like it's going that way for the first half, then the rat people show up.
Yes, this rat-borne disease not only makes people zombies, it freakin' turns them into rat people.
Ridiculous, pointy-eared, pointy-toothed rat people who squeak like rats and scurry about the floor on all fours.
I wanted to weep, seriously weep, halfway through this movie, because when the first rat person showed up after 45 minutes of Hennenlotteresque gritty New York cinematography, interesting camera-work and real, untrained New Yorkers as actors, it felt like I'd found a real super-cool, smart, pretty and sassy girlfriend, and just learned too late she had the clap.
Man this one looked like it was gonna be a real good one, too. What a disappointment.