Ratten 2 - Sie kommen wieder! (2004) (TV)

Director:

Jörg Lühdorff

Writer:

Alexander M. Rümelin (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Animal In Title | Rat | Plague

Cast

Ralph Herforth	...	Frank Dabrock
Christian Kahrmann	...	'Stuffz' Hubert
Daniela Preuß	...	Svenja
Janek Rieke	...	Axel Werner
Anne Cathrin Buhtz	...	Katrin Dabrock
Miroslav Táborský	...	Honsa
Peter Rühring	...	Dr. Matthäi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jana Chaberova
Marius Jampolskis	...	Jan Bartmann
Peter Thorwarth	...	Young Soldier

Also Known As:

Ratten 2 - Bis das Blut gefriert (Germany) (working title)
Scratch: The New Sound of Terror (USA) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality, nudity and gory images.

Runtime:

95 min | USA:102 min (DVD version)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Vilnius, Lithuania

Company:

Medienfonds GFP

Movie Connections:

Follows Ratten - sie werden dich kriegen! (2001) (TV)

Pied Piper wanted

Scratch: 7 out of 10: Otherwise known by its slightly less catchy German moniker Ratten 2 - Sie kommen wieder! Scratch is a made for TV sequel about rats attacking a small village. As these things go this is well above average.

The movie starts off with Jaws style naked blonde in jeopardy rat attack (This being German television the violence and blood is low key but nudity is okay.) It quickly moves to a quaint German village complete with castles and fog. The mayor is having a wedding and his old army buddies are coming for the ceremony. Meanwhile a scientist in town is experimenting on rats. And no this doesn't go well.

The cast is likable (Complete with a tall Tom Hanks, a Scott Glenn look alike and Velma from Scooby Doo) and the rats are very well done. I'm not sure how much CGI was actually used but unlike American made for television movies (or for that matter some Hollywood films) there are no "god that is so fake" rat scenes. I also liked the solution to the rat problem that was both internally logical and delightfully over the top.

If the movie has one glaring fault it is in the dubbing. Done apparently on the cheap by the same people that dub Japanese cartoons (If you watch a lot of Asian films you will recognize some of the voices) the dubbing is jarring for the first twenty minutes or so. Midwestern accents out of Fargo compete with horrible slang and dialogue.

I'm not sure if the dubbing actually got better as the movie went along or if I just got used to it but it doesn't distract too much from the fun. A real treat for those that enjoy their creature features.