HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2021/RATAPALOOZA NIGHT EIGHTTEEN: Big Freaking Rat (2020)

After experiencing the crapitude that was Rat Scratch Fever, I approached today's feature with a load of trepidation.  After all, the title seemed to indicate that it was cut from the same cloth as that misbegotten movie, and the plot summary seemed to hint that it was one of those 'people wander around the woods' epics that a lot of low budget filmmakers resort to to avoid having to construct actual sets.  And when I saw the grade school CGI titles of Big Freaking Rat, my hopes got a lot lower for it to be of value.

Happily for my sanity, it's flawed and overall mediocre, but it has some things going for it.

Let's get The Ratapalooza Checklist out of the way...

1) IS CANADA SUBBING FOR AMERICA?  No.  This was shot in Acton, California.

2) DOES SOMEONE OFFSCREEN THROWS A RAT AT SOMEONE TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE IT'S ATTACKING HIM?  No.  There is only one rat in this film and it's way too ginormous to throw at somebody.

3) ARE THERE CUTE RAT PUPPETS?  The giant rat prosthetic is pretty phony looking but has its charms.

4) IS THERE A SPEECH ABOUT HOW BAD-ASS RATS ARE? No, but there is a discourse on the sizes of various rat species.

5) IS A CAT VICTIMIZED BY RATS: No, thankfully.

6) IS THERE AN EXTERMINATOR CHARACTER, AND IS HE COMIC RELIEF?  Yes...until he becomes the hero?

7) DOES THE RESEARCH RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RAT CATASTROPHE MENTION CANCER? No.  This rat comes about due to toxic waste dumping and no research is involved.

Cousins Dylan (Caleb Thomas) and Naomi (CeCe Kelly) are spending the summer with Dylan's dad Brody (Scott C. Roe).  Brody's a park ranger, and he's made it his personal project to reclaim some abandoned park lands and transform it into a campground.  Unfortunately, those abandoned park lands were used by unspecified companies to dump toxic waste, and a rat got into some of that waste...and now a Big Freaking Rat is living in the mine tunnels under the grounds, intending to chow down on as many campers as possible.

You can see why I was so wary of this film...and to be fair, writer/director Thomas J. Churchill isn't really planning on giving us a story with any nuance here.  And the flaws I found in this film stem primarily from his efforts.  For a straightforward monster movie, Churchill has a weird stutter-step style in both writing and directing; one of the reasons I almost bailed before the film won me over in because the first ten minutes contains some tedious and meant-to-be-funny-but-isn't banter between characters.  There are some scenes where Churchill makes choices, especially in regards to those involving Dem Komedy Gangsters (we'll get to them in a moment), in terms of choosing shots that take me out of the film whole.  And the choice Churchill makes to Janet Leigh his main characters well into the third act in favor of making the comic relief exterminator the Bruce Campbell-esque hero is...odd.

But...

...those missteps are outweighed but what the film gets right.  For one thing, there are actual characters in this movie to care about that are sketchily scripted out but are brought to life by some likeable actors.  Once I got past the rough introductory scene between Brody and Dylan, I quickly learned to like Brody thanks to an earnest, genuine performance by Roe.  I was impressed at how Roe never loses Brody's humanity even during the few moments that could have been problematic.  And the characters at the ranger station who surround Brody are pleasant and given a nice liveliness by their actors.*  I was particularly impressed by the one and only Felissa Rose (who I've always thought was a decent actor) as Brody's fellow ranger and live-in girlfriend Maxine, as the loving chemistry between her and Roe is palatable.  If we were just dealing with this group of characters, I suspect I would have liked this film even more.

On the other hand, we have a trio of Dem Komedy Gangsters who are trying to interrogate someone they're convinced sold them out.  They are here literally to introduce and set up a gag concerning very Noo Yawk exterminator Lenny (Dave Sheridan), and their two scenes are not only interminable but very oddly shot.  In the first scene involving this trio, one is almost exclusively shot in close-up while another is just hovering around the scene.  These scenes are overlong and unfunny, and could easily have benefited from another pass in the script phase...even with one of the pay-offs being Lenny's evocation of the title in the third act.

I was grateful that after the really awkward CGI title sequence (which was unnecessary, as the title flashes a second time after the scene that follows directly) the special effects were all practical.  More importantly, they were silly without being 'ironically' laughable.  I didn't believe the creature was credible, but I did accept it in the context of this film's style and it doesn't overwhelm the scenes in which it appears.  It's cheesy, but it's meant to be.

Churchill's cv indicates he has about sixteen directorial credits to his name and eight projects in various stages of production.  I won't say that I am anxiously anticipating what he does next--one of those projects, entitled Thomas J. Churchill's M, fills me with dread--but I will say that he did a film that is enjoyable enough during its viewing time.  I actually think I'm going to mildly recommend this, as it could be a fine movie to have on in the background during your holiday party.

Tomorrow...well, it turns out that a brand new film that dropped on Shudder has approximately 20% rat content so I am going to sit down with V/H/S/94.  Hail Ratma.

There are presently three open slots for this year's festival, and if you'd like to be included, there are four ways to get your share of the spotlight:

1) You can become a Domicile of Dread Patreon.  Patreons always get a free slot, as well as advance access to podcasts and other goodies!

2) You can buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi.  Suggested donation is $3

3) You can make a donation to Queens Community House Covid-19 Relief and Recovery Campaign.  Suggested donation is $10.  Please forward your receipt to me as proof.

4) You can choose to make a donation to the charity chosen by a sponsor on his/her/their day. Like with the third possibility, please forward me proof of donation.

It is not necessary to choose a rat-based horror film.  However, if you do, I will forward you a special Ratapalooza banner you can display on your website.

*--I wanted to single out the actor who play's Brody's horse-riding deputy ranger, but neither IMdB nor the Movie Database listed the character in its cast list...so whoever you are, I salute you, because you were great!