Sometime in the future, 225 AB (that's after the bomb to be exact) a group of bikers discover what appears to be an abandoned research facility. They stick around because of the food (mostly flour and sugar, yippee), water, and shelter, but they are not alone. The place seems to be infested with rats, but not just any old rats, rats with a taste for human flesh.

Bruno Mattei may very well be the king of bad European cinema. His films sure are terrible, but at the same time, heaps of fun, and Rats is no exception. The dialogue is absolutely laughable, with lines like; "Did you hear that? Maybe the rats are attacking!" Then there's the scene when one of the biker chicks encounters a spider and freaks out, "It's just a spider!" like they have no time to worry about anything except for the rats. Technically, they aren't even rats. They're guinea pigs painted to look like rats, now that's classy. Here's a question, when you want a scene of hundreds of rats advancing on their victims, how do you do it? Well, the answer of course is to stick them on a moving platform of course, like a conveyer belt!

The silliness doesn't end there. The members of the gang itself are a walking talking comedy routine. With names like Duke, Deuce, Lucifer, Chocolate, and Video, they should be 12 years old! The scene where they discover a computer and Video thinks it's a video game is priceless. He actually gets mad when one of the other members tells him it's a computer not a video game, shucks. Most importantly, Rats contains an ending that needs to be seen to be believed (it's given away in the interview in the extras, FYI). Mattei admits to Rats being nothing more than a Night of the Living Dead clone, just substitute the living dead for the rats and there you have it, I guess. Mattei seems to have a real knack for ripping off Romero, as well as many others, and he's not the least bit apologetic about it.

All kidding aside, this film is still highly enjoyable on the so bad it's good level alone. There are plenty of cool gore effects, and I have to admit that this film is never boring. The rats gnaw and nibble on everything in site, and manage to get themselves in some real compromising positions. Anchor Bay gives us a very decent presentation of this fine film. The print used was in excellent shape with hardly any print damage. The film does looks a bit soft and colors are a bit muted in some scenes, but overall the transfer is very pleasing. I suppose we couldn't expect this film to look any better. Sound is Dolby Digital mono and is equally impressive. There is little to no distortion and dialogue is quite clear.

Extras include a trailer and the same Mattei Bio and 8 minute interview from Hell of The Living Dead, also released by Anchor Bay, day and date with Rats. The budget pricing of this title makes it a must for fans of cheese, pure and simple. For under 30 bucks go pick up Rats and Hell of the Living Dead, and have yourself one hell of a Bruno Mattei double feature, you won't believe your eyes or your ears (and they may never forgive you).