Rat King (2012)

In this taut and violent noir thriller, the lines between reality and the game blur as two teenagers become absorbed into a computer game's cryptic and increasingly morbid world.

Director:

Petri Kotwica

Writer:

Petri Kotwica

Stars:

Max Ovaska, Julius Lavonen, Outi Mäenpää

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Max Ovaska	...	Jury
Julius Lavonen	...	Niki
Outi Mäenpää	...	Mother
Niina Koponen	...	Mia
Janne Virtanen	...	Salo
Miika Ullakko	...	Luke
Maarja Jakobson	...	German teacher
Külliki Saldre	...	Principal
Kene Vernik	...	Sari
Marten Tall	...	Jamppa
Oliver Rauam	...	Jokke
Camilla O'Connor	...	Nurse
Kadri Kilp	...	Pet shop clerk
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ville Tiihonen	...	(voice)
Kirsti Valve	...	(voice)

Storyline

In this taut and violent noir thriller, the lines between reality and the game blur as two teenagers become absorbed into a computer game's cryptic and increasingly morbid world.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | basement | cellar | german teacher | school teacher | 

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Taglines:

Oletko pelaaja vai tehtävä? [Are you the gamer or the task?]

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Iiro Küttner wrote the original script, but left the project due to artistic differences with director Petri Kotwica.

User Reviews

Watchable, but gloomy and uneven

The director Petri Kotwica is the screenwriter as well and his "sitting on two chairs simultaneously" was apparently not a good idea: the plot is not running smoothly, there are several questionable moments and the ending is plain. At first, there is too big emphasis on PC gaming and 1+1 connection, then it suddenly becomes a twisted college film... And what about the scenes where a mother and a girlfriend do not recognise their son and boyfriend, respectively! Even dark cellars and dark periods in a Nordic country would cause this :)

As for the cast, all the main roles are performed by Finns and many supporting ones by Estonians - so much for a Finnish-Estonian joint project... The performers are okay, but nothing special, and apparently the director's desire to stress dark psychology overshadows "naturalism" of appearances.

Rat King is perhaps for (young) computer geeks, but I was not impressed. Nevertheless, quite okay for a less than 1,5 hours.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Finland]

Country:

Finland Estonia

Language:

Finnish

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Rattenkönig

Filming Locations:

Estonia

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,690,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$66,728

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allfilm, Making Movies Oy

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1