Mulberry St

This is a story idea that could've gone very wrong. I was pleasantly surprised by how well this film was done.

It was very Indie-looking from the beginning, with gritty film stock and no-name actors, but after worrying for the first few minutes that this could mean "cheesy", I realized that the film felt authentic instead. I was made to feel a part of the community of Mulberry Street, so when things start to go wrong, I felt as anxious as the characters.

I like films that make me forget that I am watching a film. I like it when I get lost in the world I am watching, no matter how fantastical the situation may be. The writers / director kept a story very grounded in "reality", that could've been silly or unbelievable. They didn't over-explain or show too much of the horror / gore of it all. I think the best horror stories are the ones where the audience feels as though they are secretly peeping into other peoples' worlds. We get to sit in our comfy chairs and watch their safe little lives fall apart in a horrific and disturbing way. This film pushes it just far enough without breaking that line where "suspension of disbelief" becomes "that would NEVER happen".

If you like all things horror, old school style, I think you will like this film. It is clearly made by people who love the genre and care a great deal for the underground art of move-making. I hope to see more from these writers and director. They have a new fan.

I'm not one for loving cheesy films a whole lot. Sure I can dig Troll 2 for it's insane cheese, or even Blood Freak and it's Turkey Murderer. I guess I'm a fan of the genre, but I can tell you I won't be paying more than 5 bucks for any of them. So whenever I hear of a movie like Mulberry Street, I tend to just shrug and see what good can come out of it. Mulberry Street is a rare breed, it takes a corny premise...Rats infecting people to become killer Rat People, but the movie works, surprisingly well. I'm not gonna get into specifics, because this movie especially, is one you where you shouldn't pay attention to details. If you let it fly, Mulberry Street brings you on a consistently entertaining ride. And with this being a low-budget film, movies of this caliber should only be applauded. If you're looking for a apocalyptic/zombie/vampire/mutant flick, look no further, Mulberry Street is easily good enough to satisfy your Rat Bastard needs.

This is a low budget movie. Now there are low-budget and low-budget. This is very well made out of "only" 60K (apparently) USD. If you can stand the idea of people turning into murderous rat-beings, then you would probably like this flick. It has a quite realistic feel to it, and the fact that everything is shot using a hand camera makes it quite documentary in style. The fact that a large part of the film follows the tenants of a NY building surrounded by these "rat-beings" makes it also quite claustrophobic. Good acting as well, all around - where the actors really build a relationship to each other and the audience.

A very well used 60K and if you like horror movies, the chance is that you'll not want to miss this one.

Mulberry Street was the next stop on my ride through Horrorfest. This is not only the entry that I've been most looking forward to, but the movie that made me want to go to any of the Horrorfest movies at all. And I'm happy to say that it fully lived up to my expectations.

Before I begin the review, I will be hyping this movie. In short and up front, I loved it and it scared me. If you don't think it will scare you from what you may have read about it until now, then see it on my words. Or read the whole review, which will (once again) hype it up, and hopefully you'll still enjoy it as much as I did. Moving along...

The movie takes place in Manhattan, and people are being attacked by rats. First small incidents here and there take place, then those who have been bitten begin to degenerate into a rat-like form (It's a little mix of 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead, and... well, Rat Creatures.) 6 tenants of an old apartment complex that has been marked for demolition (as part of an urban renewal program) try to make it through the onslaught of rat people that now prowl the streets, walls, and every ware in between. I know, sounds like a cross between a B-Movie, Willard, and a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie, but it's actually really good.

To begin with, the characters are excellent, for several reasons. They aren't super-hot teens or stereotypes or anything you'd normally find in a horror movie. They're just regular people, the kind you'd find in, well, the more average part of the big city. They are acted like regular people, don't have any outstanding abilities (ones a former boxer, his daughter is coming back from a vet center after fighting in Iraq (a small subplot of the film is her attempting to get to the apartment complex during all the chaos), and that's about it). And finally, these people don't act like morons or anything. They act like you or me would act in situations like that. Plus, the character development is great. You really start to care for these people (especially the two old guys sharing an upstairs apartment. Love those two), and you want them to make it.

The atmosphere is great. Part of the time it's rather claustrophobic, with the tiny apartments crammed with space, or the restaurants and bars that are shoved into spaces that are half the size of regular shops. Downtown New York City buildings, essentially. The lighting is real and not too bright, and helps build tension. The creatures (or mutated people, or whatever you want to call them) look pretty scary, but you never get a really good look at them (I'll chalk that up to the limited budget of this film. Which is another thing, this film had a tiny budget, and that it pulled off so much is pretty amazing). The music is just right, and climaxes at just the right points.

Finally, this film is scary. I mean really scary. I haven't been genuinely freaked about by a film in a ling time (I mean, I love the Saw movies, but I find them interesting rather than scary. And 1408 had me shaking, but nothing heavy. Hell, August Underground and Cannibal Holocaust were just learning experiments, nothing more). It had some jump scares, but it kept getting freaky even after the jump. It stuck with you, and your were nervous when nothing was happening. It's good stuff when a movie pulls that off. I really haven't been this freaked out by a movie since The Shining (albeit I only first saw The Shining only a couple years ago, but still...)

Not to say there weren't some parts that could've been better. The ending (literally, the last minutes) was a bit open-ended, and not satisfying enough. The quality of the film could have been better, as it seemed pretty grainy at parts (I'm not sure how this film was shot, and I'm sure it once again had to do with budget limitations or the like). And... well, I can't really think of anything else. I've heard some negative remarks about the camera-work (in the moments of action and heavy movement, it goes to a more hand-held, shaky variety. Kinda stays this way throughout the second half of the movie, really), but I don't think it was nearly as bad as people say. It's a little jarring and annoying the first time it's used, but you get used to it. and soon you don't even notice the difference.

So, in conclusion, I love this film. It was about as good as low-budget horror films can get. Not only do I believe that this is the best film of Horrorfest (I've only seen Unearthed and Tooth and Nail so far, but the others have some big shoes to fill), I believe that it's one of the best horror movies I've seen in a few years. Being on the limited run that it is, it won't get the wide audience that it deserves, but if you get a chance to watch it, watch it. You will enjoy it, and it will scare you.

In Mulberry Street rats in the subway system begin biting people causing them to turn into wererats. The story follows a group of apartment dwellers who try their best to survive. What I really liked about this movie is the way the characters all seem like real people instead of the bland teens we are usually supposed to care about in horror.

The effects aren't great but the monsters do look more or less like humanoid rats and the action zips along and you barely notice. What you do notice though is some nice camera-work that really puts you in the middle of the action. You'll probably also appreciate the clever use of television and radio to fill in the story, this isn't a new idea but it's done pretty well.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I noticed in a couple of other reviews people mentioned that they felt something when a character died, that's so rare in horror these days and is the sign of a well made horror movie!