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Rat Man – Cauldron Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1988
Director: Giuliano Carnimeo
Writers: Dardano Sacchetti, Elisa Briganti
Cast: David Warbeck, Janet Agren, Eva Grimaldi, Luisa Menon, Werner Pochath, Nelson de la Rosa, Anna Silvia Grullon, Pepito Guerra, Jose Reies, Victor Pujols Faneyte, Franklin Dominguez

Release Date: August 13th, 2024
Approximate running time: 82 Minutes 1 Second
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"After her fashion model sister is brutally murdered on a tropical island, Terry (Janet Agren, City of the Living Dead), flies out to investigate the shocking crime. As the mystery deepens, Terry and her new friend Fred (David Warbeck, The Last Hunter) quickly find that there is a killer on the loose! As the body count mounts, the survivors work desperately to out-maneuver the shadowy monster that is hunting them down one by one. Could it be Dr. Olman’s deadly genetic experiment has escaped from captivity, or is it just a typical knife-wielding psychopath?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "4K restoration from the negative."

Rat Man comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 29 GB

Feature: 22.3 GB

The source looks excellent; Cauldron Films have done a remarkable job. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. That said, the grain looks thicker in some of the darker scenes.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and this audio track is satisfactory range-wise. That said, the audio is an improvement over Shameless Films DVD release, and it is the best this film has sounded on home media.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Roberto Girometti titled Lighting the Rat Man (16 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with camera operator Federico Del Zoppo titled Framing the Rat Man (17 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), an audio interview with post-production consultant Alberto De Martino titled Just a Fin (6 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson.

Extras not carried over from the limited edition release for this standard edition release include a CD with Stefano Mainetti 's score, a double sided poster and a slipcase.

Summary:

Giuliano Carnimeo, under the alias Anthony Ascot, directed Rat Man. He made notable films such as The Case of the Bloody Iris, Anna: The Pleasure, the Torment, and Convoy Buddies.

The narrative revolves around a woman who flies down to a Caribbean island to identify her murdered sister. Shortly after her arrival, she meets a novelist, who goes with her to the morgue to ID her sister. Unfortunately, the police have mistakenly identified the dead woman, and from there, the novelist helps the woman look for her missing sister.

Rat Man’s tagline, “He’s The Critter from the Shitter!” perfectly sums this film up; it is a by-the-numbers horror film that has an ample amount of gory kills. And though director Giuliano Carnimeo does a great job capturing the mayhem and carnage that unfolds, it is hard to look past Rat Man’s shortcomings, notably a lethargic pacing, which makes its 82-minute length feel much longer than it actually is.

When it comes to the cast, this is one area where Rat Man cannot be faulted. It features several recognizable faces from 1970s and 80s Italian genre cinema like David Warbeck (The Beyond), Janet Agren (Eaten Alive! ), and Werner Pochath (The Cat o' Nine Tails). One of Rat Man’s biggest assets is Eva Grimaldi's (Convent of Sinners) portrayal of the missing sister. Her character is a model, and she spends most of her screen time looking beautiful and not saying that much. Her character even has a gratuitous shower scene. The other main attraction of Rat Man is Nelson de la Rosa, who portrays the title character. He’s perfectly cast, and this film comes alive every time his character appears on screen.

It is safe to say that no one can honestly call Rat Man a good film. It is a text-book example of exploitation cinema; not only does it play into this genre's staples—plenty of bloodshed and T&A—it is a film that plays its gimmick, its 4th leading man, for its worth. Ultimately, Rat Man is a typical low-budget 1980s Italian horror film.

Rat Man gets a solid release from Cauldron Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a wealth of extras, recommended.