Mulberry St

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

"Mulberry Street" is basically just another forgettable and mediocre creature-feature flick, but I'm rewarding it with at least two extra points because director Jim Mickle and his enthusiast cast & crew clearly went through several harsh ordeals before they could finish their ambitious project. Mickle came to introduce his film at the Belgian Horror & Fantasy Festival and explained how they had to shoot essential footage in the middle of the crowded streets of Manhattan without any official permission to film there, and how all the actors in this film are friends or in some way related to the director, so none of them received any payments. Bearing all this in mind, plus the fact that "Mulberry Street" actually shows the courage and ambition to be a different and largely atmosphere-driven new horror film, I'd say it at least deserves the respect and appreciation of avid horror fanatics and amateur filmmakers all over the world. And the film itself really isn't that bad, neither. A handful of likable characters, all recently evicted tenants of a ramshackle apartment building in Mulberry Str; Manhattan, join together in order to survive a deadly virus that broke out in the city overnight. As a result of constant urban decay, pollution and unbearable heat, the sewer rats of Manhattan are quickly spreading a horrible disease that causes its victims to mutate into a ravenous and bloodthirsty rat-creatures. Once bitten, people rapidly turn into a zombies with the appearance and eating habits of rats, and they only look at their former friends and neighbors as rich sources of food. Clutch, a retired boxer, nervously awaits the homecoming of his soldier daughter, but first he has to protect the other tenants as the rat-zombies are quickly infesting the entire neighborhood. The engaging depiction of the inhabitants of 51, Mulberry Street unquestionably is the biggest advantage of this film. The characters admirably aren't empty-headed junkies or filthy scum, but a close community of hard working and respectable people that are prepared to sacrifice themselves in order to save the others. This is honestly the only film I remember portraying the typical New Yorkers as unsung heroes. Even though the script reveals very few details regarding the lethal rat-virus, the chaotic situation in downtown Manhattan is eerily plausible and the overall atmosphere of "Mulberry Street" is tremendously menacing. Jim Mickle and writer/lead star Nick Damici simultaneously grab the opportunity to process a whole cargo-load of social and political criticism into the screenplay, particularly emphasizing the the war in Iraq and the problematic housing accommodation in big cities. Despite of budgetary restrictions, "Mulberry Street" also features a satisfying amount of blood and gruesome images. The make-up effects on the victims of the rat-virus are quite nasty and the zombie-attacks are uncompromising. Unfortunately the pacing slows down a bit during the second half of the film and the dialogs begin to sound repetitive. But by then, personally, I was already too impressed to allow the minor & understandable flaws to spoil my viewing experience. I really liked this film, as it has real characters and displays a righteously unhappy world-perspective. I doubt "Mulberry Street" will become a film that is easily available, so if you have the opportunity to watch it some time, do not hesitate.

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.

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.

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.