Jwarner150 This movie came on TV while I was doing something else...from basically everything about it I thought it was going to be crap, but was pleasantly surprised and ended up getting totally glued to it. It was suspenseful, creepy, had some great scenes and scares (unexpected gore as well), and for the most part well-written, shot, and acted. Much better than the average made-for-TV-movie...one big reason I liked it as well was that it doesn't take itself too seriously (thank god) but it's somewhat plausible minus the cinematic exaggeration, like if the plot was reported as fact in the news one day you'd believe it (especially if you've seen the rats in the NYC subway). Give it a chance if you love B-horror movies. it's far better than the title/premise suggest...lots of fun

sol1218 **SPOILERS** Skin crawling horror flick involving genetically altered mutant rats who, when excited, rampage through the subways and sewers of New York City devouring any and everything that happens to get in their way.These "cute" and "cuddly" little critters come on the scene in of all places the upscale and swanky Garsons Department Store where the rich and famous do their shopping. The mystery of way these hoards of infected, with Weils Disease, and flesh eating rodents choose Garsons is later found out by the store's manager's Susan Costello, Madchen Amick, 12 year-old daughter Amy, Daveigh Chase, That happens late in the movie. Which by that time the rats were coming out of their underground hideouts-by the millions-to do battle with the entire population of NYC!It's up to ace exterminator Jack Carver, Vincent Spano, and his rat a**-kicking sidekick Ty, Shawn Michael Howard,to not only find where these rats are hiding but to zap them, with explosives and state of the art rat poison, before they by breeding with the much meeker and less aggressive local city rats create a rat army of over 100 million giant mutant rodents. In no time at all this giant rat army will not only overrun the Big Apple but end up killing, with the deadly Weils Disease, half of the US population; Like they did back in Europe in the 14th century by spreading the Black Plague!***SPOILERS*** As you would have expected it's the top city leaders like Health Department's head Ray Jarrett, David Wolos Fonteno, who do more to have the mutant and killer rats getting out of control then anybody else. Jarrett doesn't want the public to be alarmed by the thought that millions upon millions of killer rats are secretly breeding right under their feet in the NY Subway System and are about to explode and overrun the city. This insane reason by Jarrett gives the rats every opportunity, in not being hunted down and killed by Carver & Ty, to do exactly what the not too on the ball Jarrett is in fact trying to prevent them from doing!Ferocious and gut-spilling final with the rats spilling into the city's underground subway system and terrorizing the unsuspecting strap-hangers to the point where more people end up dying from strokes and heart attacks then from the rats themselves! Carver realizing what's turning the rats on, something that's sold at Garsons Department Store, lays a trap for them at the midtown Recreation Center's massive Olympic size swimming pool. The far too shocking, for those of us in the audience with weak stomachs, and mind blowing ending has to be seen to be believed! With the rats, now numbering ten times more then the entire NYC population, spilling into the recreation's swimming pool with the added attraction of Susan, who accidentally sipped into the pool, being swarmed all over by them! This makes Carver plan in blasting the rats to kingdom come, with Susan's life in danger of being blasted along with them, that much more difficult!P.S The made for TV movie "The Rats" was to be broadcast on the evening of Tuesday September 11, 2001 on FOX TV Network. By then people had a lot more on their minds then rats and rodents which was why the film was rescheduled for a later, and less stressful, date.

tw1zzlers So according to this movie, rats outnumber humans in NYC nine to one. I accidentally got caught up in this predictable piece of cheese while flipping channels, error. Avoid this if you can. I don't think it's a good sign for a movie when you find yourself pulling for the rats - hoping they eat all the actors ...and the cameraman. Though I will hand it to them, they made me not want to ride a subway ever again. And while I'm sure a 3am viewing of this film would be more creepy-crawly, even the 2pm version was enough to make y'squirm. But why? Why do we need this movie. I guess there's an answer: 30 years ago, they brought in cats to handle the rat problem in my neighborhood (true story), and after this film, I feel I owe the then-mayor a thank-you note. Maybe I'll track him down.

siderite I have to agree with all the people here, the movie was good for a TV movie. Cast, directing, effects, all good. The only problem is the script that has all the elements of a rat movie, but nothing extra. It's a very well done cliché.You've got the damsel in distress, the rat exterminator white knight, the black sidekick, the indifferent/irresponsible city official and, of course, mutant rats. Why can't they be normal rats? Because you need to kill them all at once in the end, this one being the worst part of the formula: build the tension, steady, ready, release!So, OK, the script was almost believable, there were some interesting twists here and there, like a gushing fountain of rats, a guy with a coat of biting rats, the look of the rat that witnesses the brutal killing of its peer... mainly scenes with rats :) But I think it never aimed above the rating of TV movie, and it never got there.