Mulberry St (2006) User Reviews

Effective Low-Budget Horror Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 29 June 2010]

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")

Great stuff

[martoni64 · 7/10 · 20 January 2008]

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.

Impressive no-budget horror

[Coventry · 7/10 · 9 April 2007]

"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.

Rats entertainment!

[sebpopcorn · 31 August 2008]

In Mulberry Street rats in the subway system begin biting people causing them to turn into wererats. The story follows a group of apartment dwellers who try their best to survive. What I really liked about this movie is the way the characters all seem like real people instead of the bland teens we are usually supposed to care about in horror.

The effects aren't great but the monsters do look more or less like humanoid rats and the action zips along and you barely notice. What you do notice though is some nice camera-work that really puts you in the middle of the action. You'll probably also appreciate the clever use of television and radio to fill in the story, this isn't a new idea but it's done pretty well.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I noticed in a couple of other reviews people mentioned that they felt something when a character died, that's so rare in horror these days and is the sign of a well made horror movie!

Low Budget Flic not focusing on gore

[dschmeding · 5/10 · 22 September 2007]

Mulberry Street is a kind of strange movie. Basically its premise is the same as that of every zombie movie. You got a New York neighborhood plagued with rats and after being bitten some residents turn into rat people who pretty much act like zombies and infest the whole neighborhood. The budget was low, the FX were simple and so the director is obviously trying to hide the cheap creature FX with hectic camera moves which often remind of Blair Witch and the likes. Its hard to rate this movie... the FX are not important anyway since Mulberry Street doesn't rely on creature FX and gore and rather tries to create atmosphere like "28 days later". A lot of time is spent introducing the next door types in a house that seems to be soon torn down by an investor (signs saying "The neighborhood is changing" point to this and get a very cynical double meaning later). When the plague hits the inhabitants basically try to survive the night and the main character, a boxer hits the rat-zombies a lot like in "The stink of flesh", so no shooting here. There is some critical undertones like the bleak re-union of the boxer with his girlfriend who comes home from service in Iraq to just another mess. Regular TV news clips hint to media and government misinformation and a lot looks like conspiracy theories thrown in. The pacing of the movie is pretty slow, at times close to boring. But although the shaky camera tends to get annoying and many details just are shaken down Mulberry Street is in some way hypnotic with the calm music and blurry imagery. The budget obviously was minimal, so the director did a nice job after all. Anyway I think the ending is way off and after all the movie seems to lead nowhere which gave me a bad taste when the credits rolled. There is far worse movies around, but since Mulberry Sreet had me with its hypnotic vibe its too bad it lets you off the hook by not giving any meaning in the end... and there's sure plenty of hints to actual social problems given throughout the movie. Could have been so much better.

Excellent low budget horror.

[Mr_Saxon · 7/10 · 21 January 2008]

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?

Entertaining

[vileandaccursedthing · 5/10 · 25 March 2008]

I just bought this movie yesterday and it was decently entertaining. Not the best of the Afterdark Horrorfest movies in my opinion, but definitely worthwhile for anyone needing a good zombie fix.

The acting in this movie was definitely some of the best I've seen in the horrorfest line, the actors are convincing enough to make it an easily believable story. The makeup on the zombies is much better than I've seen in a lot of other movies and is especially disturbing to those of you who, like me, own pet rats. :) The movie seemed to be a social commentary slipped into a horror film as well, which (whether you agree or disagree with the sentiments) just seems to add another level of intelligence to an otherwise normal horror movie. Subtle comments from newscasters along the lines of "why is it taking the government so long to react (to the outbreak)" and that the mayor of New York was going to hold a press conference live from Barbados (or Bermuda...I can't remember which) are an echo of our times in the minds of many and will be enjoyable gems to people who have found themselves disappointed with the government's handling of natural disasters or times of crisis.

The downfalls of the movie, and these are only in my opinion, are that there seems to be no real explanation. We don't know how this virus started, there are a lot of visuals (ie: Blackhawks flying over the city in the beginning) that made me think this was a government experiment gone wrong or something, but nothing is ever elaborated on. Personally, I enjoy my movies with a thick plot and an ending where all the loose ends are tied up and in this case, we don't get that.

Zombie fans, I honestly think you'll enjoy this. Others, you might want to pass.

Death is not the worse fate possible.......

[das417 · 7/10 · 29 May 2008]

The tenants of a Manhattan apartment complex have many things to worry about. Their apartments are old, falling apart, and now the city has allowed a developer to evict them in order to build a new skyscraper. These are hard working people who have little going for them except for the fact that they have some honor in who they are and how they try to live their lives.

Clutch (Nick Damaci) is a former boxer who is the "big brother" of the building in that he tries to look after everyone's needs. Tenants such as Kay (Bo Corre) and her son Otto (Javier Picayo), Peter (Antone Pagan) and Charlie (Larry Fleishchman), in one way or another benefit from having Clutch around. When Clutch learns that his daughter Casey (Kim Blair) is returning home after a tour of duty where she was wounded, there is another dimension added to Clutch's responsibilities. Though we never learn exactly what happened to Casey and how that affected her relationship with her father, it is apparent that the relationship is strained even though there is still love between the two.

On the day that Casey returns home a series of news reports are broadcast around the city. Reports of rat attacks where people who are bit develop a strange sickness soon begin to spread along with rumors that the city is finding itself unable to deal with the threat. Clutch, however, is more concerned about trying to create a welcome home party for his daughter while Kay in particular seems more concerned about trying to capture the attention of Clutch himself. Other tenants and those not affected by such reports pay little attention to the growing crisis.

When night falls the terror begins. For reasons unknown (and Mulberry St. never attempts to explain), those who were bit begin to turn into carnivorous beasts themselves who resemble rats. The whole city is soon under siege as the infected spread the disease or destroy those who fall into their grasp. Clutch, Kay, and Casey witness the horror that ensues when bodies are ripped apart and fed upon as once normal humans turn into vermin themselves scavenging for scraps of meat. Others such as Charlie experience the nightmare of being trapped in their own home with nowhere to escape.

Mulberry St. isn't really a zombie movie so comparing it to Dawn of the Dead or another movie of the same theme wouldn't be fair. However, it does hold its own even if there are some gaps in the plot that could have been filled in. For example, what happened between Clutch and Casey? What happened to Otto once he was captured by soldiers sent to clear the building out? The questions are never answered but in the end they don't affect the outcome of the movie.

One of the better "8 Films to Die For", Mulberry St. is an example that low budget horror and suspense can work.

High Expectations..

[raoulcortereal · 4/10 · 16 October 2010]

This movie came highly recommended by a colleague at work. Hearing someone say that they saw a cool horror movie that they really enjoyed, you cannot help yourself but follow their advice to check it out. Thus, we started watching this movie hoping it would deliver, yet when the closing title appeared, it came with a sense of disappointment.

Maybe our high expectations ruined it, or maybe it was all the rat noises thrown in to scare people... Rat noises, either with or without a bit scary rat close up, especially if you keep repeating it over and over and over, become tiresome to hear after a while. Why rats you wonder? Because its a twist from the normal zombie movies, it involves rats as the origin of all the problems. It does not explain why, maybe its because rats are icky and scary, and they kill people and such. The why or how are not important, that's left for you to decide... moving on.

The actors do a good job and the the characters are nicely played, you kind of feel for them and for what you know is coming, and its interesting to watch their lives unfold with the warning signs increasing in the background (TV reports, etc).

First half of the movie is quite uneventful, and it slowly picks up the pace, with a scare or two thrown in to to keep us going, or awake, depending on what time of the day it is. Until finally, and as usual with a zombie horror flick, chaos breaks loose and it has some good moments and scares. But in the end it raised more questions than it it could or wanted to answer... and I left feeling tired instead of entertained.

Don't watch this with any expectations whatsoever...

Mulberry St

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 2 April 2008]

A day/night in the lives of an eclectic group of characters, who live in a crumbling apartment complex soon to be possibly condemned on Mulberry St, are focused on as a societal collapse is imminent, threatening NYC due to a crisis of infection from wide-spread rodent bites. Manhattan soon is overrun by infected citizens who are slowly transforming into human rodents! Once the citizens are completely infected by the rat virus, they attack anyone in their path, longing to feast on their flesh.

Characters like Clutch(Nick Damici), a former boxer seen often jogging on the streets(also the one his fellow neighbors in the Mulberry St apartment put their trust in), his daughter Casey(Kim Blair), recently returning from a tour in Iraq carrying a facial scar she's self-conscious about, Kay(Bo Corre), a Polish-American single mother who works at a local pub nearby, are just a few the film isolates as the outbreak takes shape.

While the influences of Night of the Living Dead(characters trapped in an apartment complex as infected humans await them outside)and 28 Days Later..(the "giddy-up" rat-humans, shaky cam style and running humans trying to escape as the predators pursue them)are undeniable, I still found "Mulberry St." a pulse-pounding thrill-ride. The rat-humans are shot quite the same way as the "rage-infected" human zombies of 28 Days Later(& 28 Weeks Later)..the camera doesn't really completely eyeball them, because they move so fast, in such a frenzied state like wild animals starving for supper, that we don't exactly identify with them. And, once they are on the rampage, our regular working-class heroes are often on the move, or trying to find shelter or weapons to protect themselves. Appropriately grim with a rather downbeat climax as governmental biological teams finally arrive after night closes, with many of the cast members either dead or turned. The shaky-cam will undoubtedly turn some people off(..or turn their stomachs), but it gives the film an immediacy that I felt keeps the viewer on edge. I can see why director Mickle opted for the shaky-cam technique..it does give the film a documentarian closeness with those characters focused on. There are shots within the apartment which give "Mulberry St" a claustrophobic dread while outside, there's too much space(..and often a deadening silence on desolate streets with rat-humans eating silently, always listening for sounds of fresh meat) as bodies lie all over the place. Larry Fessenden has a funny cameo as a running civilian who locks the gate on a fellow citizen, later suffering the consequences when he himself needs help. I think "Mulberry St" is a rare film in that the characters, and the actors portraying them, are multi-dimensional.

Wish I had spent my $18 on another Tribeca film.

[jamesjh-lee · 2/10 · 28 April 2007]

Personally, I couldn't wait for the movie to end. It felt like a bad student film that outlived the 10 minutes it deserved. Albeit, there was some decent dialogue and sound editing, but that's it. I felt nauseous throughout the movie, not because of the gore, but because of the extremely poor hand-held camera shots, and just plain horrible shot selection. Almost every single shot was an extremely grainy, shaky closeup. Totally nauseating. The little character development there was was just not enough for the audience to connect with the protagonists, and you didn't care if they survived or not. The premise had potential, but in the end the movie poorly attempts to duplicate the atmosphere and plot of 28 Days Later.

I spent $18 to watch this at the Tribeca Film Festival, and for that price I at least expect to watch a film with some decent storytelling. I'd be surprised if this movie ever makes it to even a DVD release at Kim's Underground Video. I saw Rise:Blood Hunter right after this screening and I will say that Mulberry Street made me appreciate Rise (a very bland, formulaic horror movie) so much more.

A pleasantly surprising horror film. Very enjoyable.

[Niki3333 · 8/10 · 3 June 2008]

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.

Decent Debut from a Rising Star Director

[TheRedDeath30 · 6/10 · 6 October 2014]

I am a big fan of Jim Mickle's work to this point, having seen and thoroughly enjoyed his last 3 movies, including the impressive vampire film STAKE LAND and his recent COLD IN JULY. I had not yet, though, seen his debut movie so was excited when it came on demand for me to finally get the chance.

I would say, though, that this movie does not come close to the quality of his later films. There are some bright, inspired moments and some good ideas here, but there are just as many negatives that I could point to, which really keep this film from being a decent, but mediocre genre flick. In short, the ideas are good, but the execution often falls flat. That's no surprise, though, given the inexperience of the director at the time and the low budget they had to work with.

In essence, it's an infection movie. That handicaps it right off the bat for me. No matter what wrapping you want to put your infection in and what spin you want to give it, the fact remains that we've been there, done that and been there again. So, to impress me with an infection flick you really have to up the game. The idea of using rats is a little unique and I certainly give them some credit for the "were-rat" creatures which were creative and at times very effective.

Typically, when a low budget indie is going to give me another re- tread of the infection flick there are limited ways to make that stand out. The best I've seen usually give me memorable characters, good acting or a really well-developed script. I didn't feel any of those coming from this one. The characters are never developed in any way that I grew attached to them, the acting and dialog is so limited that the actors aren't even given the chance to impress and the script is far too reliant on action for me. To top it off, the committed what was the worst sin by giving me two horrible cliché endings for our main characters. Who couldn't have predicted the old "hero gets bit at the last minute of the film" routine? Then, to put the icing on the cliché cake, we get the NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ending where our final hero has escaped all the violence only to be killed by overzealous government officials.

The biggest drawback for me was the directorial style, which is surprising given that I'm pretty much an advocate of Mickle's genius. There are too many gimmicks and tricks here that really wreak of a film student trying out all the stuff he just learned in class. Odd camera angles, odd soundtrack music, too many zooms and pans, all of it looks like your average film school project.

This is not, at all, to say this movie is all negative. I'm pointing out some faults that kept it from being as good as I hoped, bu there's a lot to enjoy here, as well. The movie has an excellently crafted claustrophobic feeling, given the setting of the apartment complex. It kept me solidly engaged throughout its' run time, as I didn't really find the pacing to bog down at any point.

You can see all the trademarks of a director who was soon to go on to much better things, but they are still being honed in this debut.

Not Worth a Rat's A**

[view_and_review · 3/10 · 11 December 2021]

I was never expecting much from Mulberry St and yet it gave me less. A horror movie about New Yorkers getting bit by rats and becoming... giant rats. They look more like vampires with some rat features, but we are supposed to understand that they are now part rat with the carnivorous appetite of some other predator. This was one of the worst plots imaginable and the execution was beyond pathetic. Between the shaky cam and the third rate CGI, this movie should never have reached a theater, and judging by the box office sales ($97,182), I'm not alone in that opinion.

"Rats off" to this highly commendable impecunious film project

[EyeAskance · 6 December 2009]

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

Attack of the rat people!

[Aaron1375 · 4/10 · 8 April 2008]

This movie had a good premise, and at a point in the flick I thought the tables were turning and I was really going to enjoy this one. However, it did not turn the corner for me and in the end was generally a movie I did not care for, but was one or two steps away from being a movie I could classify as okay. One of the problems is the setup in this film. It takes a long time for this movie to really get going, though part of this may stem from the fact I have been spoiled by other horror movies like "The Mist" and "Feast" that only take a short time before all hell breaks loose. The story has this people living in a building that is about to be taken over by some corporation...what this has to do with anything is beyond me as this is never touched on after the city goes crazy. A man awaits his daughter's return home after a tour of duty in Irag I am guessing. You also meet these two old guys and another guy who is a friend of the father and returning girl. You also meet a mother and her son. However, as normally as their day is progressing all is not well. During newscasts and other scenes you see that rats are becoming a bit more aggressive and there victims are becoming a bit messed up too. This goes on for a bit then the city is thrown into chaos as the victims of the rats start dining on everyone not infected. At this point the movie seemed to be getting better, however the camera work is so jumpy that I had a hard time following the picture. There was also a bit more street action than I was thinking there would be as I was thinking it would be the tenants holding up in their apartment complex more. Sort of a Night of the Living Dead scenario. So it came close to being okay for me, but missed the mark and the ending was quite strange too.

Good Horror Flick...

[Vincent_B · 7/10 · 8 September 2008]

Considering this movie is done with a no name cast the acting is top notch. The actors should be given awards for the quality of acting, I did not see any of the stereotypical women panics or war heroes running around with shotguns spouting clichés. They picked some quality for the movie and I really hope to see the cast go on to bigger and better things. Considering this movie was low budget the effects, make up and scenes are very well done. The gritty city, the typical way people tune out the warning signs because every day you hear a siren. Where this movie fails is some plot holes and reality checks. While they never develop a background into 3 of the main characters, there are heavy indicators that they share history. It leaves you with the feeling they should have filled us in on the connection. In order to view a horror movie we must be able to turn off that reality check in our mind telling us that this cannot happen. But this movie fails to give the common viewer an explanation for the spread of the infestation. Not a great horror movie but definitely a good one to watch.

Rat zombies on the cheap

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 7 July 2015]

This film was retitled ZOMBIE VIRUS ON MULBERRY STREET for its UK DVD release in a bid to draw in fans of the gut-munching undead. Nothing changes the fact that this is a Z-grade horror flick, shot on a shoestring budget with a mainly amateur cast, and one that suffers from shabby writing and an almost entire lack of characterisation.

The focus of the film is on a bunch of characters holed up in a run-down apartment building in New York. The characters are differentiated by sight rather than by personality - there's the army girl, the Freddie Mercury lookalike, etc. - and never for a second do you care about what happens to them, which is never good in a film. The only performance I really liked was Kim Blair's, as she successfully manages a mix of toughness and vulnerability in her part.

When the zombie outbreak hits, there's a twist - the victims transform into mutant rat creatures rather than the undead, but it's all cheap and shoddy so there's not much interest there. The second half of the film is an interminable mix of running around via shaky cam, hiding in dark rooms, and random zombie attacks. Some have compared this to Danny Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER, but it's nothing like it; the Boyle film was never a chore to sit through.

Real sense of place and character lift what could have been a run of the mill infection causing madness flick

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 30 March 2008]

One of last years "8 Films to Die For" is a New York Lensed tale of a zombie/28 Days Later tale of biological horror set in New Yorks Lower East Side as some disease spread by rat bite and later people bite turns people in hungry beasts.

Clearly filmed in New York in real locations this film feels like New York. It lives and breaths the locations it was filmed in ways that big budgeted films never do. The street scenes were apparently filmed on the sly and the result is a real sense of the City where things are really happening. This is New York for real.

The film starts off with a great deal of character building (hey real characters in a horror movie-what a novel idea) that perhaps goes on a bit too long. Still it sets everyone up so nicely that when then infected begin to assault the people we've come to know we are more than horrified, we are saddened by their fates. I don't know when it was the last time I was choked up at a horror film. To be honest there maybe a bit too much of these building scenes since the film seems to slow down too much around the half hour mark. Things turn up a few notches once the infection spreads and Manhattan is sealed off. How will our heroes survive? Once things begin to heat up the film becomes a series of sequences that play very real as the infected begin to beat and bash their way into the buildings and apartments. There are many stunning images that seem to have raised the bar of films like this for their stark sense of realism and in your face nature. Most of the second half of the film is dynamite as everyone tries to figure out whats going on and how to survive.

I really liked this film a great deal. Granted its not perfect, the film does take too long to start up and its sometimes too close to the action, as if the cinematographer didn't realize how some of the up close fast moving images would look on a big screen, but it certainly is worth seeing.

6.5 to 7 out of 10.

Disappointing, poorly lit, and boring zombie movie

[korythacher · 3/10 · 9 October 2021]

Mulberry St is a very low budget movie, and you can tell. I was hoping the story and general weirdness of rat people instead of normal zombies would make it a fun watch, but it just didn't do much.

The acting was decent, but most of the characters were generic and boring.

The two old men were great!

Not a lot happens in this movie honestly. About halfway through I kept checking my watch and it never pulled me back in. The 'action' starts around then and never stops, but that means they have a bunch of shaky cam fight scenes back to back until the movie ends. The low budget fight scenes aren't good, and it got old fast. I wish they'd focused on a better story or a more attainable type of action scene with what they had to work with.

They didn't show much of the rat people, which is a shame.

The lighting throughout the movie was just super dark too, it was difficult to see, which made the shaky-cam fight scenes just feel blurry and confusing and blend together.

The street that Jack built

[The_Void · 6/10 · 6 October 2008]

After having seen a few low budget zombie movies a while back, my love for the genre faded and nowadays knowing that a film is both low budget and a zombie movie is liable to put me off seeing it; the reason being that while these films often show great enthusiasm, they can be seriously lacking in creativity. Well you could of course argue that this is not a zombie film as the central monsters are strange rat creatures rather than the classic zombie monsters...but it's basically just the same difference, and arguing that this film is not a zombie film would be as futile as saying the 2002 zombie film '28 Days Later' is not a zombie film. Anyway, what we basically have here is just your average zombie outbreak idea and we focus on an apartment block on 'Mulberry Street'. It turns out that there's something funny going on with the rats under the apartment block and all hell breaks lose when a man is bitten and starts showing signs of...turning into a giant rat. The infection quickly spreads, leading to a fight for life for the survivors.

The film is very short at only eighty minutes and was obviously set on a limited budget; thus meaning that it doesn't have a great deal of scope and we basically just focus on the central characters. This makes for decent enough entertainment, but the film is lacking in several areas and a lot of it feels rather thin. We don't get any details about the actual virus; which isn't that disappointing when you consider the usual reasons behind a zombie outbreak (a virus, radiation from space etc), but since this film has dared to change the formula a little in having people turn into rats; it would be nice to have some sort of reasoning behind it. The film has plenty of action, gore and horror images; but the problem is how it's portrayed. Director Jim Mickle has unfortunately opted to go down the flashy MTv-style photography route, and the result is that it's very difficult to see what is going on, and this kind of kills the film in terms of entertainment value. However, Mulberry Street does at least have enough good points to make it a worthwhile viewing and zombie fans should find something to like.

What a wasted opportunity

[mikemdp · 4/10 · 29 January 2016]

This movie was so good for the first 45 minutes, I almost wept when the second half went all to hell.

Few movies capture the seedy underbelly of New York City in as raw a way. Parts of this movie look almost like they were filmed guerrilla- style. Indeed, in that respect, "Mulberry Street" hearkens back to the glorious '80s films of Frank Hennenlotter.

Alas, this is no "Basket Case" or "Brain Damage." Because although director Jim Mickle imbues the film with the same gritty, neon-lit, back-alley feel characteristic of Hennenlotter, his failure is that while Hennenlotter expertly married the surrealism of real-life Manhattan with his bizarre stories and creations, this film, while showing that kind of promise early on, unfortunately has so little confidence in itself it devolves quickly and quite unfortunately into B-movie idiocy.

The conceit is wonderful -- a new rat-borne disease is turning New Yorkers into flesh-eating zombies.

Wouldn't a "28 Days Later" set in NYC and directed by Frank Hennenlotter be awesome?

Keep hoping. Because although it looks like it's going that way for the first half, then the rat people show up.

Yes, this rat-borne disease not only makes people zombies, it freakin' turns them into rat people.

Ridiculous, pointy-eared, pointy-toothed rat people who squeak like rats and scurry about the floor on all fours.

I wanted to weep, seriously weep, halfway through this movie, because when the first rat person showed up after 45 minutes of Hennenlotteresque gritty New York cinematography, interesting camera-work and real, untrained New Yorkers as actors, it felt like I'd found a real super-cool, smart, pretty and sassy girlfriend, and just learned too late she had the clap.

Man this one looked like it was gonna be a real good one, too. What a disappointment.

Great film making on a restricted budget - clever!

[Thirstyscoundrel · 8/10 · 7 October 2007]

Some of the other reviews adequately cover the actual synopsis - I just wanted to comment on the way that Jim Mickle and his team (especially the actors and camera crew) seem to have pulled a rather good rabbit out of a low budget hat.

Using the camera well with a lot of close ups,speeding things up when appropriate to cover for lower budget make-up effects - which I thought were pretty good anyway, creating characters that you actually care about (loved the 2 old guys), and some really nice and clever ideas, like the photo of the 3 main characters held by the army girl, fading over to a different picture from the same film, owned by her father, was very nice. The characters are not idiots, and what a pleasure it was to see people react to danger in a way that you would like to think you would too - instead of the usual imbeciles.

I'd heard that they had to film the outdoor New York scenes on the hoof without permission, but the way it was done, I never really noticed, as I was too drawn up in the story. (I'm in Scotland, so I wouldn't be aware of any technical errors in the locations).

Well done people, a really enjoyable experience. What a contrast to the last film I saw (My Wife and My Dead Wife (1/10)), thanks guys for restoring my faith that there are some film-makers (and indeed talented actors) with intelligence and creativity who can use low budget challenges in a positive manner.

Good until the end...

[AndyVanScoyoc · 7/10 · 14 September 2019]

Which was left unfinished.

Audiences don't like being left with questions...at least THIS audience member doesn't.

This was a good movie, but the lack of closure will ruin it for many.

It did for me. I was ready to give it a higher rating until the let-down ending.

VERY SLOW, but necessary to build the story, so if you're looking for slam bang non-stop action, pass this film by.

Very cool concept, great acting and good special effects, but from a story point of view, an ending (a real one) would have made this film a contender for major theatre release.

Recommended...just remember...I warned you about the ending.

Anzioooooo!

[alansmithee04 · 2/10 · 21 November 2007]

Somewhere in New York City there exists a ratty apartment building (get it? huh? get it?) that houses every veterans from every single US war since the War of 1812. And yet, despite being jam-packed to the rafters with soldiers old and new, it's also a building that contains not a single, solitary firearm. No, not so much as a BB gun.

And if you believe that, you'll just love this half-baked 28 Days Later ripoff. Substitute rat people for rage zombies and over-weening auteurism for real talent, add a few well-worn tropes from Night of the Living Dead, and you've got a sure-fire formula for 85 minutes of grue, plot holes, rat puns and exactly zero suspense.