Fantastic Fest Review: Rats

The realms of documentary and horror intersect in Morgan Spurlock’s Rats, a film that explores the morbid relationship between vermin and the humans who study, kill, and live with them in sanitarily questionable harmony.

To kick off the Fantastic Fest screening, Drafthouse chef Brad Sorenson surprised attendees with a preshow appetizer of rat meat stewed in Indian spices. Tim League and two volunteers even faced off in an eating contest, which League won triumphantly. Those in the audience that braved a bite of rat meat were treated to a funky protein that they probably wouldn’t have tried were it served after the film.

That’s because Rats is genuinely terrifying. Spurlock and his crew purposefully set out to shoot in the style of a horror film, and they’ve succeeded at creating just as many look-away moments as the goriest slasher. It’s an impossible film to sit still through, full of violence both physical and psychological. Rats are killed in horribly diverse ways, from being ripped to shreds by hunting terriers on a British farm, to having their spines snapped by men in Mumbai who hunt them for a meager salary. It’s visceral, but there’s also the mental stressor that no matter what the extermination method, rats always find clever ways to adapt and thrive. And their exponential breeding rate fueled by endless buffets of trash means that they’re here to stay.

The scope at which the filmmakers approached their subject is impressive, with vignettes shot in locales ranging from the catch basins of New York City to a Hindu temple in India. Each section showcases a different way that humans interact with rodents, but whether it’s Tulane scientists studying rat-transmitted diseases or a Vietnamese cook grilling bone-in rat meat, the tension created by scurrying tails and diabolical black eyes never wanes.

With the amount of brutality involved, this is far from a feel-good film, but it still manages to be a surprisingly fun watch. The influential role that rats play in the subjects’ lives is compelling to learn about, but the thread that elevates this above just morbid curiosity and culture shocker is a hard-boiled narration from the most philosophical exterminator in all of New York City. His creed is that for every actions humans take against rats, they have a fascinating reaction. Although most viewers might see the grotesque trailer for Rats and turn away, those whose reaction is to hunt this down will be greatly rewarded.

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Rats screens again Monday, Sept. 26, 11:30am.

Fantastic Fest 2016 runs Sept. 22-29 at the Alamo South Lamar. Tickets and info at www.fantasticfest.com, and follow our ongoing coverage at austinchronicle.com/fantastic-fest.