Rat Man (1988) User Reviews

Rat-crap.

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 4 April 2009]

Four years before Peter Jackson's Sumatran rat-monkey caused a whole heap of trouble for Lionel in Braindead, director Giuliano Carnimeo introduced fans of Italian horror to Ratman, an equally troublesome simian/rat hybrid played by the world's smallest actor, Nelson De La Rosa.

Suffering the indignity of having to strip to his waist and don plastic fangs for the part, little Nelson gives his all as the titular poison-clawed, killer critter created by an irresponsible scientist. Unfortunately, being only two foot four inches tall, Nelson's 'all' is nowhere near enough, and with weak support from genre regulars Janet Agren and David Warbeck, who practically sleepwalk though their roles, Ratman winds up being extremely disappointing.

Between dreadfully dull scenes of chinwagging between Agren and Warbeck, as they attempt to discover who or what is responsible for a spate of recent murders, viewers are treated to a touch of light gore, plus some nudity courtesy of Agren's busty fashion model sister (who displays very unusual techniques when it comes to both modelling and taking a shower). There's also a little fun to be had from seeing just where teensy Nelson will pop out next: during the film, he launches attacks from a wardrobe, a fridge, a box, a luggage bag, and a toilet.

All of this cheesy silliness, however, is not nearly enough to compensate for the movie's virtually plot less script, crap acting and torpid direction.

Not too bad a horror film...

[MovieGuy01 · 4/10 · 13 October 2009]

I though that Ratman was quite a good film to watch. It is about a maniac who butchers a fashion model on a Caribbean island and leaves the body to be eaten by rats. The model's sister suspects something isn't quite right with the police investigation and decides to go to find out by herself. With her friend, Fred, their investigation's lead them to an unknown part of the island where they discover a rat like man. The creature is killed by Fred, but the true horror of the rats nature is just about to start. This ended up being a good film to watch. There is quite a lot of strong gory violence and nudity in the film for viewers which may be a bit to much for some people.

Rat Man Fever.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 5/10 · 22 October 2015]

With Halloween coming up,I started looking round for Horror DVDs that I could list on Ebay,and I spotted a title that my dad gave me as a Birthday present!, (I'm not sure what that says about me!)which led to me deciding that it was time to face the Rat Man.

The plot:

Getting hold of a monkey and a rat, Doctor Olman decides to solve one of life's greatest mysterious:what would happen if you cross breed a monkey and a rat?! It turns out that the answer to the question is a psychotic animal that kills Olman and goes on a killing spree. Informed by the cops that her sister has been killed,a model visits the Caribbean island,only to discover that the police have mistakenly identified another girl as her sister! Joining journalist Fred Williams,the duo start to set out a rat trap.

View on the film:

Whilst the picture is rather rough round the edges, Shameless deliver a clear soundtrack,and inset "missing" gore/skin shots back into the title.

Backed by an icy electronic score from Stefano Mainetti,director Giuliano Carnimeo tails a Slasher atmosphere into the creature feature,as smoothly held first person shots build anticipation for the rat attack.Offering a unique mix of Slasher & creature feature,the screenplay by Dardano Sacchetti & Elisa Briganti ruins any good will that the viewer gives the film by making the long non- Rat Man scenes incredibly dry,with there being no feeling of excitement over the duo getting closer the creature,in a movie which rats out on its promise.

Another sub-zero product with the late, great David Warbeck.

[EyeAskance · 6 August 2003]

David Warbeck was a likable, energetic screen personality, but he deserves the John Carradine Lifetime Achievement Award for his sanguine eagerness to appear in ANY project thrown at him with a promise of fifty bucks. Case in point would be THE RATMAN, a vagrant little Eurochiller which inexpertly illustrates the bloody rampage of death and destruction brought forth by a two-foot tall poisonous were-rodent.

The midget actor in the titular role is actually quite frightening looking. He's EXTREMELY small, and costumed with claws and razor-sharp incisor teeth. Regrettably, he's the only point of substantial interest this film offers(besides the presence of David Warbeck, of course).

THE RATMAN is scantly agreeable fodder, and does manage to bring on the creeps once or twice...still, it's ultimately just another bump-and-grind monster mash scored with lousy synth music.

4/10

Pure schlock. Saw it for the laughs.

[durtalique · 2/10 · 5 August 2017]

I saw the movie with no expectations at all; and I walked out of it with a couple of laughs at the expense of it.

Worth watching if you don't appreciate your time, or are drunk enough to laugh at poor filmmaking. Or if you are learning cinematography and want to know what NOT to do.

Utter crap

[Stevieboy666 · 2/10 · 22 April 2019]

Italian exploitation flick about a tiny man/rat hybrid creature that is on a gory killing spree in the Caribbean. Having previously seen the trailer I just knew that this was going to be BAD, and I wasn't wrong, thankfully I picked it up cheap on DVD. Pint sized Nelson de la Rosa does look horrific as the title character. Model Eva Grimaldi looks good in her gratuitous shower scene. However Janet Argen and David Warbeck, two stars of Italian cinema, just sleep through their rather dull roles (for some reason Warbeck has an American accent, quite possibly and needlessly dubbed). Expect awful dubbing, ridiculous scenarios, bad acting and a really stupid plot. This, along with Cannibal Holocaust 2, are the worst examples of Italian horror movies that I have ever seen. Ratman should be flushed down the toilet and left down there!

pure trash

[trashgang · 5/10 · 12 May 2014]

This flick do has his pros and contras, to be honest I can understand it completely. Just face the reviews, only a few for a cult classic. That must say enough. The problem this flick had was the fact that it was being cut heavily even so that nudity and gore was left out. It did had a few releases and was even sold with the title Terror House.

I still don't know what to think about it because to be fair it is a bit boring at some places. Comes because there's no suspense in it. But I have seen it full uncut. It took until 2008 before it was finally released full uncut and sadly Nelson De La Rosa (the ratman) never experienced the final release, he passed away in 2006.

Maybe people hate it because the effects weren't the next big thing and there is not really that much of gore to spot. For me it's even goreless, it's more a trashy flick. It's just made for the geeks of bad taste. And it surely won't win an Oscar for acting but there's more than the flick itself. David Warbeck (Fred Williams) famous of a lot of classics (The Beyond (1981)) has the main lead here to help a model's sister to search for her sister. Girls do disappear due the ratman of course. Most notable and been cut out of a lot of DVD's is the ratman as a peeping tom watching Marilyn (Eva Grimaldi) taking a shower. It's as gratuitous as it can get and she goes all the way. people who know Eva know that you will see an extreme beautiful body. And that's what's it all about for a lot of pervs out there, to see the shower scene.

A bit of blood here and there, trashy in some way and a lot of Eva walking around and modelling never wearing a bra throughout The Ratman.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 1,5/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Downright terrible in many ways...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 29 April 2024]

Of course I hadn't heard about this 1988 Italian movie titled "Quella Villa In Fondo Al Parco" (aka "Rat Man") prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. When I sat down to watch it, I have to admit that I was harboring absolutely zero expectations to director Giuliano Carnimeo's 1988 movie.

The storyline in the movie was bland, so very, very bland. I am amazed that writers Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti could collectively manage to put together something that devoid of contents. The narrative was just prancing ahead at a monotonous pace without offering much of anything interesting to the audience.

In fact, most of the movie you only get to see the "rat man" from it's point of view. And that just didn't cut it for me, that was just not quality entertainment. Sure, it might have worked back in the late 1980s, but with the amount of horror movie's I've sat through over the last 40 years, then it just didn't do it for me.

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the actors or actresses on the cast list, as the Italian cinema is not my go-to-cinema for entertainment. And I have to say that actor Nelson de la Rosa (playing Mousey) was given a rather derogatory character and role to play, wasn't he? Sure, it could fly back then, but not so much in today's society.

Visually then the movie was not good. It looked like something that crawled out of the 1970s, to be honest.

While I managed to sit through the movie in its entire bland 88 minute runtime, I can't claim to be particularly impressed or entertained by what director Giuliano Carnimeo delivered. And this is by no means a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time, nor is it a movie that I would recommend for horror fans to rush out and get to watch.

My rating of director Giuliano Carnimeo's 1988 movie "Quella Villa In Fondo Al Parco" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Most Degrading Film Role Ever?

[EVOL666 · 7/10 · 16 February 2006]

I just gotta wonder how the filmmakers pitched this one to Nelson De La Rosa (at 2' 4" he is considered "world's smallest actor" and the lead in the film). I can just picture it now..."OK Nelson - we've got this REALLY great role for you. I know you've been trying to break into serious acting for a while now, so we're gonna give you the role of a life-time...are you ready for this?...you're gonna play a rat/monkey hybrid freak!!! Isn't that just perfect???". Well, however that meeting went, it obviously worked cuz De La Rosa DOES in fact play the ill-named RAT MAN (which I STILL don't understand, being that he is supposed to be portraying a rat/monkey hybrid - I guess RAT MONKEY just doesn't have the same "ring" as a film title...) and does so pretty competently for such a goofy film.

As you've probably gathered by now...the film revolves around a rat/monkey (or RAT MAN if you prefer...). The thing was created by this strange doctor for...well...for no real purpose at all. This doctor seems to be delusional as he said he was planning on winning the Nobel Prize for his "achievement" - but last I heard, they don't typically give out Nobel Prizes for the creation of murderous hybrid freak creatures, although I could be wrong. Anyway, the rat/monkey gets loose and starts killing people all over the Caribbean island that they're on - and let me tell you - this little bastard really get's around. From the beach to the jungle to a deserted village - you just can't stop the rat/monkey. When a model turns up dead, her sister is called in to ID the body - but it turns out to be the wrong girl (OOPS...). The woman stays around to look for her sister who is supposed to be doing a photo shoot in the jungle. The woman is accompanied by a writer who she just met in a cab(?)and decides to tag along with her for absolutely no reason at all (?!?!?). Their investigations eventually lead them back to the good doctor's home, and that's where the real "terror" begins...I guess...

RAT MAN is actually pretty enjoyable. The plot is completely retarded, the acting is so-so, the ending is hilarious in it's ineptitude, and there's not nearly enough gore or nudity for my taste (although there is a little bit of both). But for some reason, this one is still fun, and De La Rosa as the RAT MAN is probably one of the most perfect casting choices I've ever seen. This creepy little bastard should be in EVERY horror film. Recommended to fans of sleaze n' cheese films - most others will probably find it far too stupid to enjoy. 7/10

Vastly entertaining Italian bloodbath.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 30 March 2002]

On a Caribbean island,fashion models fall prey to attacks by a pint-sized creature spawned in laboratory experiments.Agren teams up with journalist Warbeck to find her sister,a model,in the jungle.I enjoyed this film-of course the plot is pretty dumb,but there is plenty of gore to keep gore-hounds happy.The definitive highlight of this film is Eva Grimaldi's shower scene.The direction is solid and the Rat Man is a genuinely scary and ugly monster.It's a crying shame that this Italian piece of horror is totally forgotten by fans of Italian cult cinema.So if you liked "Bloodsucking Freaks" or "The Sinful Dwarf" give "Ratman" a look.8 out of 10.

Gore Mongral Movie Review: Ratman

[ChiefGoreMongral · 6/10 · 28 August 2006]

Ratman is one of those movies you are going to like it or hate it for me it was the first more than the last. Ratman is just that a genetically breed crossbreed between human and rat.

What you get for 90 minutes is a paper thin plot about a model and photographer who are going to go into the woods for more exotic locale pics and ending up getting more than they bargain for with the title character not wanting to smile for the camera. There is a side plot that has this model's sister coming to find out if she has been killed only to find another model matching her description has been slaughtered by old RM and also the scientist who made him trying to recapture him again.

From there it is a cat and "rat" game with the cast running from the RatMan and boy is it funny. This mug is about 2 feet tall at best and bites scratches and claws people to their deaths. The movie works best on a cheese level whenever the Rat Man is on the screen he brings a smile to my face as he leaps at people with his high pitch squeal and takes them out.

The ending in itself was interesting but I could have been better if they would have shown what was happening as Rat Man has stowed away in typical rat fashion on an airplane. The movie ends with the screaming passengers. Man I wish they would have shown him leaping on those people and doing a number on them.

In closing a guilty pleasure film if I've ever seen one, if you like midget killers and hot Italian women then you will want to check this out. Heck if you like cheesy monster action check this out also. with alittle more gore this could have been in my highly recommended rating zone but since it falls a tad short there I'm giving Rat Man: 6/10: Cult worth film and a good way to waste a Saturday Afternoon (as I did with this one).

RatMan, other than a German DVD Release by X-Rated (under the title Terror House) with no English audio or subs has no official U.S. release. The best way to get this is my magic word "special order". Remember if your going to see only one mutant Rat Man movie see....well uh....there is only one!!!

Until next time Ghouls! Mongral Out!

Pretty Tame Italian Horror / Midgetsploitation Flick

[Rapeman13 · 12 January 2007]

2' 4¼" tall Nelson De La Rosa - aka Mahow - stars in this piece of Italian trash cinema as Ratman, a rat / monkey hybrid who is on the loose on a tropical island attacking & killing swimsuit models and anyone else who crosses his path. De La Rosa is the world's smallest actor (and a creepy little motherf ucker!) and in 1990 was certified in the Guiness Book of World Records as the smallest man on earth, (although this is untrue, there are 2 other people in the world smaller than him - Gul Mohammed from India and Lin Yu-Cheh of Taiwan) he died recently on October 22nd 2006.

The thread-bare plot involves a "mad scientist" that creates this insane little mutant – for what reason we never find out – which promptly escapes and starts randomly killing people (mainly females). While on the island looking for her missing sister, Janet Agren (Eaten Alive, City of the Living Dead) meets up with crime novelist David Warbeck (Black Cat, The Beyond), and together they start to investigate the murders. Eva Grimaldi (Convent of Sinners, Quiet Days in Clichy) is also hanging around and treats us all to a titillating shower scene, which ups the pretty much nonexistent sleaze-factor a bit.

Although written by Dardano Sacchetti & Elisa Briganti (Zombie, House By the Cemetery), this flick is pretty much dullsville: there's a bit of blood splattered around but very little gore apart from one scene where De La Rosa cannibalizes a victims stomach, a lot of ''filler'', bad dubbing, and you don't see Ratman half as much as I would've liked to – although when he does appear it definitely makes for the most entertaining parts of the film, so its not a complete waste of time. The films director, Giuliano Carnimeo has also directed Case of the Bloody Iris, numerous Spaghetti Westerns and wrote the infamous violent and sleazy Giallo, The Killer is Still Among Us. 6/10

Whoa! Now that's what I call exploitation!

[HaemovoreRex · 6/10 · 10 July 2006]

The always excellent and very sadly missed David Warbeck and the ever lovely Janet Agren star in this creepy Italian effort from 1988.

The plot (what there is of it) involves a rat/monkey hybrid that escapes from captivity and goes on a killing spree on a tropical island.

Interestingly, this was written by Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti who also wrote the screenplays for Lucio Fulci's classic zombie fest 'Zombie Flesh Eaters' aka 'Zombi' aka Zombi 2 (and a plethora of other names besides) and a great number of other films which also happen to be set on tropical islands and in other exotic locations……hmmmm I wonder…..perhaps a ploy by the writers to cadge free holidays?

Anyway back to the film in question......

Also present on the island are a photographer and his models who are performing a glossy shoot (cue a fair bit of time padding as we see the models going through their paces)

Well you know the equation here; Horror movie + Models = Victims.

Sure enough, they begin to fall foul to our diminutive, poisonous clawed beastie who promptly sets about gnawing on them with great gusto.

Enter Warbeck and Agren's characters….

Warbeck is a crime author visiting the island for a bit of inspiration whilst Agren plays a woman who has been summoned to the island by the local law enforcement authorities in order to identify the body of her missing sister at the morgue.

The two end up sharing a taxi and Warbeck (hungry for a story) accompanies Agren to the morgue. As it happens, the body uncovered turns out luckily, not to be her sister after all. In fact the sister is none other than one of the (still surviving) photographic models who is at the same time nonetheless very much in grave peril from our little rodent/simian killer.

Will our intrepid investigators locate and save our hapless model in time? How many more victims will Ratman claim? Could the film makers have found any worse voice over artists? You'll have to watch to find out!

The film itself is basically a no thrills slasher picture at heart and unforgivably devotes far too much of its running time on needless padding such as the aforementioned photo-shoots along with various other meandering tactics.

It has to be said to, that Warbeck and Agren are dreadfully wasted in this and are given absolutely nothing whatsoever to do in the film of any real interest.

However the film does have a few points to raise it above the average mark…..

One is an incredible nude shower scene featuring the beautiful Eva Grimaldi which was obviously designed (very successfully I might add!) to get all us chaps salivating.

The other is the incredibly exploitative casting of Nelson De La Rosa, the world's smallest actor as the eponymous Ratman. I must say that the creature realisation is incredibly creepy looking as are some of the ways in which it rears its ugly head…..

Being as small as it is, the little terror amongst other places hides in a toilet bowl (!), a fridge (!!) and in another scene a hold all (!!!) YIKES!!!

To summarise, this is an admittedly formulaic slasher flick but one that also features one hell of a memorable and scary critter. Once you've seen Ratman, you'll certainly never forget him!

Ratman loves you, Ratman cares for you

[Bezenby · 6/10 · 30 August 2014]

Inspired by a song written by the Fall on their Totales Turns album, Ratman is a late era Italian horror thankfully devoid of haunted houses, but unthankfully full of boring stalk and slash sequences.

A scientist on some tropical island has successfully managed to get a rat to breed with a monkey, somehow, and produced a rat monkey capable of poisoning anything it scratches within seconds. This creature of course has escaped and is now chowing down on anything it can get it's teeth into.

This includes the bunch of fashion models led by Werner Pochtath (Days of Hell, Cat o Nine Tails), and his main model, Eva Grimaldi (Demons 5). After another model is stalked and killed and mistaken for Eva, her sister Janet Agren (Eaten Alive) goes looking for her, helped by legend David Warbreck (The Last Hunter, The Black Cat). And basically the film turns into Warbreck and Agren doing the old research on what's happening, and Eva trying to avoid being killed for the remainder of the film. Kind of like Tonino Ricci's Panic, also starring Warbreck and Agren.

Directed by Guilliamno Carnimeo (director of the great Case of the Bloody Iris and numerous Westerns I've never got round to watching) Ratman is full of cheese, but it's also full of boobs and gore, so really, where do your priorities lie? This one doesn't go down the old haunted house road as a lot films do from this era, but on the other hand it becomes quite slasher-tastic in the old 'folks trying to hide from a killer' routine. I have the hiccups. It's really annoying. Really annoying. My wife has a remedy for it but she's in bed.

Forget this film/ Do you have the hiccups? I hate the hiccups. Makes my stomach hurt from##jpepw;/ O cast/muppets

Masterpiece In Applied Bad Taste

[Steve_Nyland · 7/10 · 21 May 2013]

Seriously fun little Italian sleazefest by former spaghetti western director Anthony Ascott. His "Sartana" films were filled with nifty little gimmicks, gizmos, devices, contraptions and bizarre cinematic flourishes that set the films apart from the pack. Here his little wind up gimmick is a despicable marvel of exploitation monster mania that must be witnessed to be believed. Watching the poor little rat man claw apart the half naked female supporting players is where the heart of the film lies. It delivers the goods, doesn't apologize about what it is & gets the job over with a bit of style in under 85 minutes. None of it is really scary but a lot will make your flesh crawl, and probably laugh.

One idea that keeps coming to mind is about how the film is a study in applied bad taste right down to the wince inducing use of a real life deformed person in a freakshow role. Such things cannot be enjoyed in good conscience without beer which is used in the presence of friends: It's a howler of a party movie and a guilty pleasure to be enjoyed at times when you just want to marvel at how absurd the human species can be. I don't defend this movie for a minute but I sure am in awe of it, which in some cases will have to do.

7/10

Late nasty shocker from Italy

[Laserdome-AMH · 12 October 2003]

Somewhere in the Dominican Republic, a scientist creates a cross between rat and ape, which is poisonous and feeds on human flesh. Of course, the creature escapes and starts to kill everywhere. The sister of a missing model and an author of television crime stories start to investigate on their own and follow the monster's bloody route...

This was one of the last "big" Italian gore shockers and has all the ingredients we've come to expect from such films as it is sleazy, sexist, gory and stupid as hell (heck, the scientist even wants to win the Nobel price for his monster!). The creature itself is, and that's a bit of a surprise, astoundingly scary (and ugly, too). However, as we can see the monster before it escapes and starts its killing spree and the director seems more interested in showing tits and gore than anything else, there's not much of suspense in the film. However it was nice to see the return of Italian horror film veterans David Warbeck and Janet Agren. A movie for fans.

Sleazier, uglier and much more virulent than Batman. Presenting... RATMAN!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 11 March 2007]

So bad it's literally BRILLIANT, this ultra-low budgeted Italian trash-production spawns one of the most unlikely and absurd monsters in the history of horror-cinema ever! Dr. Olben's creation Ratman is a genetic crossover between a rat and a monkey and somehow it's able to produce a deadly venom for which there exists no antidote. Even crazier than the creature itself is Dr. Olben's conviction that his entirely pointless genetic breakthrough will gain him a Nobel Price! Why the hell would the scientific world be interested in a rat-monkey hybrid with absolutely no positive characteristics? Moreover, the little bastard is mean-spirited as hell and continuously escapes from Olben's lab and onto a nearby village where he aggressively feasts on the bodies of gorgeous fashion models. One of the missing girls' sisters teams up with fictional novelist David Warbeck – dressed in a ridiculous Hawaian shirt – to investigate her whereabouts. They discover the abandoned laboratory where Ratman cheerfully ran some amok and return home with more than they bargained for. "Ratman" is one bizarre and provocative Italian B-movie. The plot is rubbish and the acting performances are weak, but the hideous monster is genuinely creepy and menacing. All thanks to Nelson de la Rosa, officially the smallest man on the planet, who wasn't too proud to exploit his awkward appearance for the sake of trashy cinematic entertainment. His short stature is mostly impressive, but also the rest of his make-up is rather effective, like his pointy teeth, hairy face and penetrating eyes. If only director Giuliano Carnimeo had a slightly better script to work with, "Ratman" easily could have been one of the last truly great shockers to come out of Italy. Carnimeo surely already knew how to build up tension (the music is great and the set pieces are dark & unsettling) and the murders are reasonably gory, but the dialogs are simply too inept. As to be expected, the film also features lots of redundant and totally gratuitous nudity, like the shower sequence in which Eva Grimaldi extendedly shows off her perfect measurements. You got to love how the Italians tried everything possible to please their gore & sex-addicted fans! The ending of this crazed flick is very abrupt and laughable, hinting at a sequel that – if it would have been made – would have predated the concept of the 2006 blockbuster "Snakes on a Plane" with nearly 20 years! Can you image "Ratman 2: Hybrids on a Plane"? That would have been awesome! Even though it would be a crime against all the rules of good taste to call "Ratman" a good film, it's definitely still recommended to all the avid collectors of Italian horror cinema. It's nearly unavailable on DVD and you even have to move heaven and earth to obtain a halfway decent copy on VHS or bootleg DVD-R. That alone defines a gem!

Nelson De La Ferocious

[mojunk · 1 November 2004]

Nelson De La Rosa is absolutely horrifying in his portrayal of a half human / half rat beast that preys on showering women with nice Italian boobs. This movie is a must-have for any true cultivist.

Imagine your flesh ripped by sharp claws on the end of little crazy straw arms, teeth gnawing at your face, blood pouring while your unsuspecting girlfriend showers in the adjacent room, unknowingly flashing bits of flesh... just enough to be torn to shreds.

Any fan of Nelson's should see this movie! You may know Nelson from some of his other popular characters such as The Little Dancing Man, Mahow Mahow, his role in The Island of Dr. Moreau, and various Dominican television shows... and more recently as the Red Sox good luck charm that broke the Bambino's Curse... for real.

See this movie.