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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 Manhattan, in a dilapidated building on Mulberry Street, the super Ross (Tim House) has trouble to repair the decayed systems to improve the lives of the tenants. The former boxer Clutch (Nick Damici) is a leader in the building and is anxiously waiting for the return of his beloved daughter Casey (Kim Blair) from a hospital for veterans after serving overseas. He prepares a surprising homecoming party for Casey with his gay neighbor Coco (Ron Brice). Clutch feels an attraction for her neighbor, the single mother and waitress Kay (Bo Corre), and her teenager son Otto (Javier Picayo) respects him like a father. Clutch is also close to Frank (Larry Medish), who is very sick, and his friend Charlie (Larry Fleischman). Meanwhile there is a rat attack in a subway station, followed by two others in different stations, and forcing the Major to showdown the public transport system. Sooner the victims bitten by rats turn into flesh eater mutants, attacking the other human beings and there is an outbreak that puts Manhattan in quarantine. The inhabitants have to fight to survive the attack of the ratlike creatures and Clutch gives his best effort trying to protect Casey and his friends.

"Mulberry Street" is an effective low-budget horror movie that really works. The characters are human, realistic and very well developed, creating an empathy with the viewer; the plot is simple but explains the origin of the outbreak; and the attack of the horde of mutants is gruesome and claustrophobic, recalling 1968 "Night of the Living Dead" and "REC". There is no final redemption in the non-commercial end, and for me it is another plus in this good film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Infecção em Nova York" ("Infection in New York")

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.

Life in the Big Apple is "as usual" on a day like any other day, when out of the sewers emerges a massive viral contagion...rats are aggressively attacking people who, in turn, become infected and undergo a grotesque metamorphosis. They become, quite literally, rodent-people, and as such scuttle in shadows, gnaw through walls, and greedily consume human flesh. Holed-up in a low-income apartment building are a variety of characters(all of them better written and portrayed than usual for a film of meager origins). They fight for their lives as radio and TV broadcasts denote the epic scale of this grim and rapidly mounting situation.

MULBERRY STREET is a great example of the way younger film industry hopefuls are taking old ideas and throwing them back at you as something entirely original...in truth, we've seen all this before, but the presentation is so different that it rarely feels like the same old 'sturm und drang'. It's surprisingly character-driven for a contemporary horror film, and the ending which seems rather unresolved actually makes sense as this is the story of the film's primary characters facing a situation, rather than being about the situation itself. Imaginative, creepy, and in a few spots even emotionally affecting, this is one which is likely to please horror hounds and might even recruit a few(it's also one of the most "New York" movies to pop up in quite awhile).

I enjoyed this film, and I suspect it will be a springboard for many of the talented members of the cast and crew...I, for one, will be eager to see what they can do with some legitimate financial resources.

7.5/10

New York City has a rat problem it seems. The little furry pests are crawling all over the place and you better hope they don't bite a chunk out of you because, when that happens, you start growing hair out of strange places and want to eat human flesh! "Mulberry Street" is an apocalypse movie which takes "28 Days Later" and filters it through a post 9-11 New York. It begins at a rundown tenement building on the titular street where we are introduced to several of those who live there including Clutch, a retired boxer, a bartender named Kay (living with her teenage son) and Coco who is Clutch's best friend. Meanwhile, Clutch's daughter Casey arrives in New York City after serving in the Middle East and begins making her way home. Unfortunately, there have been several reports of rats biting humans, a nasty virus spreading through the city and people suddenly turning on one another. This results in the subways being shut down and Casey is forced to make her way home on foot. Are all these events connected? You bet!

"Mulberry Street" begins slowly with the horrors kept in the background. A feeling of dread infects the first third of the movie; dark figures shamble around alleyways as the characters walk past, a man sits silently in Kay's bar sweating and acting strangely, rats scurry around nearby gutters and televisions begin reporting strange events. I actually quite liked this - it was nice to watch a horror movie where the characters were developed, allowing the audience to get to know them before the city fell into Hell. There aren't any stereotypes either which makes a nice change. The characters in this movie probably do exist somewhere in Manhattan; enabling you to care about whether they'll survive or not.

The movie was made for a very low budget and features a lot of shaky-cam, which is obviously used to hide some of the effects (although they were, in my opinion, pretty good - the rat people are appropriately gruesome and deformed) but it doesn't hurt the film. In addition, the visuals have a dark and very dirty look to them. For a movie which revolves around rats, this adds to the atmosphere and makes it appear more gritty and realistic.

I really enjoyed "Mulberry Street". The acting was great all round, the storyline was interesting and it was nice to see a movie of this type that didn't use zombies for once! The squealing noises made by the rat people as they flood through corridors and streets was suitably disturbing. If you enjoyed "28 Days Later" or are a horror fan in general then you should certainly check out "Mulberry Street". Jim Mickel is definitely a director to watch out for in the future. If he can produce something this entertaining with such a low budget, who knows what he'll be capable of with more money?