What better way to celebrate Easter than with a review of a horror film about killer rats?  Here we have the film Mulberry Street, which is part of 2007’s After Dark Horrorfest.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with the After Dark Horrorfest, it’s an annual "festival" of eight independent horror films that are grouped together and shown in one theater that’s put together by Lionsgate.  They had their first one in 2006 and the success of their DVD sales prompted this batch of "8 Films To Die For".  As for this particular film, there was some buzz going around that it was the best of the bunch in 2007, and it even graced the cover of Rue Morgue Magazine.  Let’s see if the buzz this film has been generating has been worthwhile:

 

 

 

Before I even began watching this film, the first thing I thought to myself was "why killer rats?".  It just seemed hokey and a bit campy for a modern day horror film, but thankfully it worked out as you’ll soon see in the review.

 

 

The Plot:

 

The film opens with the film’s main character, Clutch, who is out for his morning workout (he seems to be an ex-boxer from what the viewer can tell) in the streets of a lower class section of New York.  We get several shots of this decaying part of the city, and we soon see the apartment building that Clutch inhabits which in many ways is literally decaying in and of itself.  The place is run down as you would imagine, as are the people who live there:  his neighbor Kay who is a single mother that has a crush on Clutch, Coco who is the quasi-gay neighbor and friend of Clutch, and two World War II vets that live above him. Also, Clutch’s daughter is on her way home from Iraq, and both he and his neighbor Coco are awaiting her return. From the looks of things, these folks have been through it all in their experiences living in New York, and life has visibly taken their toll on them.  However as with all horror films, things are about to get worse.

 

On the news there are a series of reports of rat bites, and soon the people are ordered to evacuate the city’s subways.  It turns out that these rats are carrying some sort of virus that is not only causing them to be extremely aggressive, but also to spread this mysterious virus to their carriers.  When the superintendent of Clutch’s apartment gets bit by a rat, he starts to turn in what can only be described as a rat-like mutant, and the rest of the city soon follows suit.  From here, the film turns into a tale of survival, as Clutch looks to protect the ones he is close to while trying to flee the chaotic, contaminated city in one piece.

 

 

The DVD:

 

•  Image
  • To say that this film was shot on a low budget would be a huge understatement, and it shows in image quality.  Here we see alot of jerky camera work and an image quality that’s someone "dirty".  However, this only helps to elevate the feeling of the dreary and empty feeling of New York that the film was trying to portray.  In this respect it works quite well, however it may not be what some people are expecting in a modern day film, low budget or otherwise:  7 out of 10

• Sound
  • The film has solid Dolby 5.1 track, and it does a great job of immersing you in the film.  Also, my subwoofer got a nice work out in a number of the opening scenes as well.  Overall, it’s a much better track than I’ve seen on previous "After Dark" films.  However, there are also some generic screams here and there that kinda take you out of the experience (they’re the "library" samples everyone has heard in a dozen of other movies), but they are few and far between :  8 out of 10
    

• Extras
  • The DVD boasts several features including storyboards, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a behind the scenes feature among other things.  However, I don’t see a commentary track listed here.  This is unfortunate, because director Jim Mickle’s interview in Rue Morgue was a very interesting look on low-budget film making and it might have transferred well to a commentary track.  Other than thought though, extras are pretty much run of the mill:      7 out of 10

 

 

The Bottom Line:

 

Before I saw this film, I heard more than a few comparisons between this and 28 Days Later, and that’s not a bad thing in my opinion.  These comparisons are very accurate, especially the way the film was shot and how the rat-mutant creatures are similar to the "infected" in 28 Days Later.  However, there are more than a few differences between the films as well.  Mulberry Street takes a good portion of the film to build up it’s characters, which is rarely seen in horror films of any kind.  We learn of each character’s past, and we begin to sympathize with them in their situation of border-line poverty and the hard times of living in a city like New York. When the virus breaks out across the city and these characters are forces to fight for their lives, you actually begin to care about the outcome. 

 

In all actuality, this film is only half about "mutant rat monsters" and people fighting for their life, while the other half is the modern day struggle that Clutch and his friends have to go through.  There are numerous political and social references throughout the film as well.  Some are subtle, and others kind of beat you over the head, but it all pertains to the plot and it works out well.  Such topics as the War in Iraq, the government’s treatment of veterans, Hurricane Katrina,  and government distrust/betrayal are all here in healthy quantities, yet it still never gets preachy.   It’s tough to balance such commentary well, especially in a horror film of this kind, but Mulberry Street is able to pull it off very well.

 

On the horror side of things, the monster’s are a bit creepy.  Thankfully, my original idea of "killer rats" wasn’t the case here, as the rats are just the catalysts of the virus outbreak.  The special effects of this film are also done remarkably well considering the budget was very slim.  Overall, I haven’t seen a modern horror film in some time that’s able to pull off solid character development, good horror elements, and social commentary successfully.  Mulberry Street is indeed a gem in the genre, and it sure beats the hell out of another PG-13 Japanese remake.  The DVD is about what you would expect, but the film is exceptional.  I give the entire package an:

 

8 out of 10

 

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