Rats: Night of Terror: Limited Edition – 88 Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/France, 1984
Directors: Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei
Writers: Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei, Hervé Piccini, Rossella Drudi
Cast: Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Geretta Geretta, Massimo Vanni, Gianni Franco, Ann-Gisel Glass, Jean-Christophe Brétignière, Fausto Lombardi, Henry Luciani, Cindy Leadbetter, Christian Fremont, Moune Duvivier

Release Date: August 11th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 54 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £35.00 (UK)

"Unveiled to audiences of video-violence in 1984, this post-apocalyptic pot-boiler sees some of the last humans alive grapple with a horde of flesh-eating rodents - and a shocking final revelation that has fast become Mattei's signature 'twist'." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K remaster from the original negatives."

Rats: Night of Terror comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.2 GB

Feature: 59.2 GB

The source looks excellent, easily the best this film has ever looked on home media. Colors are nicely saturated, contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic appearance.

Rats: Night of Terror comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44 GB

Feature: 27.8 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 4.5/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in English. Both tracks are in excellent shape; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds and the score are well-represented. That said, these two tracks are comparable and any differences they have are very minor. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian-language track and removable English SDH for the English-language track.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Italian cinema experts Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with stuntmen Massimo Vanni and Ottaviano Dell’Acqua titled Rat Droppings Falling on My Head (15 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with composer Luigi Ceccarelli titled Squeaky Melodies (19 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with assistant director Giovanni Leacche titled The 3rd Rat (20 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Ann-Gisel Glass and actor Jean Christophe Brétignière titled Meet Myrna and Lucifer (21 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Fausto Lombardi titled Deus Knows Best (24 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with co-director Claudio Fragasso titled Rat King (38 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcase (limited to first pressing), a collectable art card (limited to first pressing), and a 40-page perfect-bound book with cast & crew information, an essay titled Once Upon a Mice in Italy: Rediscovering Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso’s Rats written by Francesco Massaccesi, an essay titled  Eco-Horror Meet’s Exploitation: Rats: Night of Terror written by Rachael Nisbet, and an essay titled The Squeak Shall Inherit the Earth: Bruno Mattei and Rats: Night of Terror written by James Oliver.

Summary:

Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso, two Italian filmmakers renowned for their ultra-low-budget genre films, co-directed Rats: Night of Terror. Notable films directed by Bruno Mattei are Hell of the Living Dead, The Other Hell, Shocking Dark, and Night Killer. Notable films directed by Claudio Fragasso are Monster Dog, Beyond Darkness, and Troll 2.

In a post-apocalyptic future, a group of bikers seek refuge in an abandoned laboratory overrun with flesh-eating rats.

Bruno Mattei's films are low-budget, but they always entertain. Italian cinema never lets a good idea go to waste, and Rats: Night of Terror, like Bruno Mattei's, borrows from the cinema of George R. Romero. While many of Bruno Mattei’s films are co-directed by Claudio Fragasso, it is still easy to see that Bruno Mattei was the main creative force, since none of their collaborations have a vibe similar to any of Claudio Fragasso’s films that he directed by himself.

Rats: Night of Terror is the type of film that you are either all in after the initial setup or you run for the hills. Its absurd premise is superbly executed and a deliberate-paced narrative always manages to hold your attention by never being predictable. For a film that often defies logic, Rats: Night of Terror saves its most WTF moment for its twist finale. 

Rats: Night of Terror is not a film that one watches because of its performances, and yet its two dubs, Italian and English, are like watching two different films. The English-language track is the superior of the two, and nowhere is this clearer than how unintentionally funny it is.

From a production standpoint, Rats: Night of Terror’s positives far outweigh its negatives. The special effects look crude, and yet they work well within the story that unfolds. The most surprising aspect of Rats: Night of Terror is Luigi Ceccarelli’s mood-reinforcing score. Ultimately, Rats: Night of Terror is a demented slice of Italian exploitation cinema that exceeds expectations.

Rats: Night of Terror gets an excellent release from 88 Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer