''The Rats'' (working title: ''The Colony'') is a 2002 American

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

written by Frank Deasy and directed by

John Lafia John Lafia (April 2, 1957 – April 29, 2020) was an American film director and screenwriter. He was best known for co-writing the slasher film '' Child's Play'' (1988) with Don Mancini and Tom Holland. Career Lafia's first feature film was '' ...

, loosely based on the

novel of the same name A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of '' ...

by James Herbert. The plot follows a clan of

rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

transformed, as part of a DNA research trial, into man-eating killers who take over a Manhattan department store and threaten to overrun

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Originally intended to air on September 17, 2001, its release was delayed after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

to remove shots of the World Trade Center towers. The film premiered on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

on September 17, 2002.

Plot

In Manhattan, when a client is bitten by a rat in the dressing room of Garsons Department Store and contracts Weil's disease, the manager Susan Costello is assigned to hire and help the best exterminator in New York, Jack Carver. Jack and his assistant Ty find a colony of mutant rats in New York City and try to convince the health department administrator and former partner of Jack, Ray Jarrett, how serious the infestation is. But the politician Ray is interested only in covering up the problem to protect the economic interests of powerful groups.

Cast

Mädchen Amick Mädchen Amick ( ; born December 12, 1970) is an American actress and television director. She is known for her starring role as Shelly Johnson on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991), its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk wi ...

as Susan Costello *

Vincent Spano Vincent M. Spano Jr. (born October 18, 1962) is an American film, stage, and television actor, and a film director and producer. Early life Spano was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Italian-American parents Vincent Sr. and Theresa. Career ...

as Jack Carver * Shawn Michael Howard as Ty *

Daveigh Chase Daveigh Elizabeth Chase ( ; née Chase-Schwallier; born July 24, 1990) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in minor television roles before being cast as Samantha Darko in Richard Kelly's cult film ''Donnie Darko''. She would ...

as Amy Costello * David Wolos-Fonteno as Ray Jarrett *

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an AC ...

as Miss Paige *

Kim Poirier Kim Jacinthe Poirier (born February 6, 1980) is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host. Biography Personal life Poirier is fluent in both French and English. Professionally trained in yoga, she has studied numerology, ...

as Jay * Elisa Moolecherry as Nyla *

Joe Pingue Joe Pingue is a Canadian actor and film maker. His roles include Captain McDowell in the Prime sci-fi series ''The Expanse (TV series), The Expanse'', Aloznzo Bunker in the Netflix Western limited series ''Godless (miniseries), Godless'', Whiff in ...

as Karl *

Kathryn Winslow Kathryn Winslow (born 1973, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian actress. She is most noted as a two-time Gemini Award nominee, receiving nods for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 21st Gemini Awards in 2006 for her role as crown ...

as Queen

Reception

Andy Webb from ''The Movie Scene'' gave the film three out of five stars, stating: "What this all boils down to is that ''The Rats'' is some old-fashioned horror fun which plays on people's own fears of rats. Of course, if you think rats are cute and adorable then this isn't going to work and you might even be offended at the portrayal of rats or the ridiculous climax. But if you do have a fear of the furry icrodents, this movie is not one to watch before you go to sleep." Rod Lott from ''Flick Attack'' wrote: "Come up with a cliché, and sooner or later, ''The Rats'' gets to it, right down to the ever-predictable it-ain’t-really-over final shot. ''Child’s Play 2'' and ''Man’s Best Friend'' director John Lafia does a decent job, having experience with all sorts of beasts, like killer dolls, robot dogs and Ally Sheedy." Florita A. from ''Hell Horror'' scored the film 4 out of 10, writing: "''The Rats'' was made simple, and that was not an ideal thing as the movie flopped although it was a TV movie. I like the idea of rats playing on someone’s fear, but it came down to the film not being executed in the right manner to send frights across to its audience, amongst other things."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rats 2002 television films 2002 horror films American natural horror films Films about mice and rats Films directed by John Lafia Films postponed due to the September 11 attacks 2002 films Films scored by Elia Cmíral American horror television films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language horror films