GG
Giuliano Giacomelli
•Did you know that in New York there are approximately nine rats per person? Therefore, hygiene conditions are certainly not the best, as in any other metropolis that deserves the name. But have you ever thought about what could happen if these rats, in addition to being terribly numerous and invasive, are also subject to genetic alterations that make them more resistant, aggressive, and rabid? Susan Costello, an employee in a prestigious clothing store, will find out when she faces a horde of genetically modified mice running amok in New York's sewers. It will be up to her and rat expert Jack Carter to find a remedy for the uncomfortable situation. As you can immediately guess, originality is certainly not the strong point of this "Rats: The Bite That Kills," a somewhat banal movie, produced in 2002 for television broadcast only. After all, whether it's spiders, snakes, sharks, or rats, the story is always the same: a crazy idea leading to genetics that make the animals mean, two brave young people (one of whom must always be, by rule, an expert on that type of animal species) chosen to save the situation, a final explosion, and a double ending open to a possible sequel that won't happen (but has now become a constant for this type of films). So let's set aside the "originality" department because it would be too much to expect something innovative from this type of films, especially if they are television products like in this case, and let's evaluate "Rats: The Bite That Kills" in relation to all its beast movie colleagues produced for broadcast. If we consider this harmless movie in this way, we might have the chance to notice that, all in all, the movie is certainly not trash but rather is capable of offering something good. Of course, we are not talking about a movie that reaches sufficiency with full marks because it is inevitable not to notice its limits, but overall it manages, in some way, to be appreciated. Unfortunately, the television influence is quite felt with a script, at times, a bit static and a direction, entrusted to John Lafia (frequent author of TV works), very television-like and therefore notably flat and anonymous. So there is no originality, the direction leaves much to be desired, the script could have given more... what is good in this movie? The answer is: the mice! The realization of the mice is excellent and a TV product could not offer anything better; the rodents are made in various ways, depending on the needs of the situation: sometimes (most of the time) we see real mice running through the scene, sometimes they are well-made puppets (see the scene when the guy in the condominium is attacked) and sometimes, in the fewest cases, they are made with more than sufficient computer graphics (see the final sequence in the pool), which usually leaves much to be desired in this type of movies. And so if the mice are rendered satisfactorily, it will be inevitable the presence of some decidedly successful sequences and capable of earning a plaudit for the film, such as the entire final sequence, really very successful and sufficiently memorable, which sees millions of rats crowding a public pool. The performances are also sufficient, obviously always within television limits, of Madchen Amick ("I Sonnambuli") as Susan Costello; Vincent Spano, as rat expert Jack; Kim Poirier ("Decoys" and "Dawn of the Dead"), and an odious Daveigh Chase (the little Samara of "The Ring") as the protagonist's bratty daughter. In conclusion, "Rats: The Bite That Kills" is a beast movie decidedly weak in ideas, which makes it a film not predisposed to be remembered but that, overall and in relation to its peers, turns out to be a pleasant work.