A lonely man, living with his old and infirmed mother, living in the shadow
of his successful father, and without a friend in the world, is also having
problems at work.  His father's business was sold upon his death, and the
boss (Ermey) does not care for Willard's tardiness.  When his mother
discovers a rat problem in their basement, Willard is faced with getting rid
of them.  After some failed attempts, he actually befriends one of them,
whom he names Socrates.  He then encounters scores of rats, including a very
large one he names Big Ben, and he trains the rats to do his bidding.
Finally, Willard has friends in his life.  When bad news comes his way (his
mother's death, his firing, the possible loss of his house), Willard breaks
under the strain, and uses his new friends to strike back.

It's not a bad movie, but it's not particularly moving, either.  Crispin is
great in most scenes, depicting an outcast at wit's end (I know, a difficult
role for Mr. Glover).  But there are other scenes where he overacts that
were not very effective.  The scenery and atmosphere were great.  The house
had an eerie feel to it, almost like you could smell the decay.  His mother
is one of the most decrepit people I've seen in movies.  The camera angles,
lighting and set designs were great.  The rat effects were also very
convincing, whether they were real rats, CGI, or robotic - I couldn't tell
the difference.  And there were some good scenes - certain revenge scenes,
the cat trapped by the rats.  But overall, the movie didn't do it for me.
There didn't seem to be much of a point to it all.  And if you're at all
squeamish about rats, you probably should keep your distance.  But those of
you intrigued enough to read this review should probably check it out.
 
 
 
 

Quality: 4.0  Visuals: 7.0  Intensity: 3.5
OVERALL RATING: 4.8