I went into Rats completely blind having never seen the 1984 Italian post apocalyptic horror movie. Directed by Bruno Mattei (Hell Of The Living Dead) set in an era dubbed “after the bomb” centred around a group of rogue survivors. The movie mainly takes place in an abandoned building where the group take refuge. They think they have hit the jackpot finding water purification equipment, beds & booze.
Unfortunately it isn’t long before the premises’ rat infestation problem rears its ugly rodent head in a night of sheer terror! The group must fight for survival against an onslaught of contaminated vermin. There’s bloodshed, screaming ladies and rats bursting from inside corpses. One of the guys in the band of survivors is even called “Lucifer”. I thought the female cast did an awesome job in demonstrating their fear and expressing their terror when the rats attack. Wide fearful eyes and loud shrill screams done to perfection. The acting is fun to watch although it does come across as a little silly and goofy. That can be forgiven as this is a low-budget Italian B-movie. With an abundance of crazy Rat attacks as they overwhelm and smother their victims, the film serves up an enjoyable viewing experience for its duration. We know it’s kind of bad but it’s the good kind of bad.
The new limited edition curtsey of 88 Films is pretty stacked. With its shiny stunningly colourful new artwork from artist “Uncle Frank” and it’s lovely slip box with black 4K amaray case. Which holds the UHD & the Blu-ray disks. There’s a perfect bound book and a two sided big art card. No poster which is a slight disappointment considering how great the newly commissioned artwork is.
Overall I thought the restoration looked superb and I didn’t even use my best 4K OLED TV for the new set’s viewing. I used an older 4K television and it still looked vibrant and damn good.
Final Notes:
Another banger release from 88 Films who are doing no wrong in 2025. They’re bringing the physical media goods! They have New films debuting in general and long out of print titles getting a new lease on life. I personally cannot get enough of these 4K Italian collection editions.
Movie Score: 3/5
Release Score: 4/5