RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR (1983)
Director: Bruno Mattei
Anchor Bay Entertainment

In the year 225 A.B. (After the Bomb--clever), the nuclear war-devastated planet is inhabited with a small number of scavengers, along with an underground society (that we never see until the conclusion). We witness the arrival of a gang of bikers (led by Richard Raymond) who look like they came off the set of an 80s era MTV video. They take refuge in an abandoned part of the city where they find fresh water and vegetation, but also an abundance of rats. The rat situation seems manageable at first, but it becomes apparent that these creatures are after human flesh, offing the bikers a few at a time in the most horrible ways.

Not only does RATS ineptly attempt to exhaust the success of post-apocalyptic hits like MAD MAX and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, it also employs a number of biker film clichés. Raymond's acknowledged leader is always being challenged by a selfish coward, and the names of the gang members give labels a new meaning (a techno junkie is called "Video," a black girl is called "Chocolate"). And the dialog is expectedly laughable--hear grungy bikers shout out showy phrases like, "For the sake of humanity..." and "Calmness is the virtue of the strong!"

The rats are actually guinea pigs painted black. They are shown being flung at the actors, and in one of most unconvincing monster rallies in cinema history, a conveyor belt puts them in forward motion. In one of the better scenes, a girl is eaten inside out by a rat while trapped in a sleeping bag, and it's then scene charging out of her corpse (Mattei did something similar with a cat in HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD). Basically it's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD with rats (or that's how the director terms it), but even more, it's a tolerable piece of junk with some gore, some sex and more unintentional laughs than you can imagine (and that surprise ending--well, you'll see!).

Anchor Bay has released the film letterboxed at 1.85:1 and 16x9 enhanced. Colors are strong and contrasts are good despite the dark, shadowy production values. There is minimal grain, but overall the transfer is clean and very pleasing. The mono audio track (English-dubbed only) is fine with no noticeable flaws.

Extras include a featurette entitled "Hell Rats Of The Living Dead," a video interview with Mattei that also appears on the HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD disc. If you've never seen the film before, don't watch the interview beforehand as it reveals the ending and some other stuff. Among other topics, Mattei discusses how a shoddy stunt was influenced by THE TOWERING INFERNO! Other supplements are a Mattei bio, the theatrical trailer, and a 5x7 theatrical poster replica. (George R. Reis)

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