The Demon Rat (1992)

Original title: Mutantes del año 2000

aka La rata maldita

In the near future, humanity’s epic struggle for the destruction of our planet is nearly won! To wit: staying outside without wearing huge filter masks is so unhealthy, even the dumbest parts of society are apparently wearing them. Many animal species, apart from insects, reptiles and everything else many people don’t like, have died out, too.

The local situation in Mexico is certainly not improved by evil industrialist Roberto Cervantes (Gerardo Albarrán) who proceeds to dump radioactive waste and whatever else godawful stuff his factories produce wherever he damn well pleases. Cheap horror movie or documentary?

Ironically, Roberto’s company isn’t quite his, but was actually owned by the father of his wife Irina (Rossana San Juan). Since the beautiful Spanish teacher has copped to quite how vile her still-husband is, she’s living separated from him. For once in a movie, a husband actually wants a divorce, but our heroine refuses because that would leave him in complete control of the company she already has no control over. In the future, law and logic work differently.

Still, Irina does have vague plans to stick it to Roberto somehow, plans that will take actual shape thanks to her new flame, beautiful biology teacher and ecologist Axel (Miguel Ángel Rodríguez), a guy who may have a doctorate, but doesn’t know what the buttons on his shirt are for, and believes string vests are the sort of thing you wear on a teaching job. Again, the future, ladies and gentlemen!

Things are further complicated by the fact that Irina’s house has become infested with rats. Or rather, as it turns out, mutated humanoid giant rats represented by guys in godawful costumes that look not at all similar to rats – or look like anything but crappy costumes.

Which isn’t to say there’s nothing to love about Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Demon Rat unless you are a lover of particularly embarrassing monster suits. In fact, I found myself rather smitten with it in many regards. At the very least, it’s a film that’s bound to teach a viewer how much certain preposterous low budget movie tropes about evil industrialists, ecological destruction and the unwillingness of the powers that be to actually make needed changes even when people have to run around with gas masks on their heads have become more than just a little plausible. Though guys like the misogynist evil industrialist shit in this particular film do still have one leg up on the real versions when it comes to actually lending a physical hand in the execution of their own evil plans.

Obviously, if you’re coming to this looking for believable character psychology or other bizarre nonsense like it, the film does not have you covered. Roberto is vile and pretty dumb and clearly fated for either ending up in the fangs of a mutated rat or a vengeful Axel, Irina is hot, hot-blooded and well-meaning but also pretty ineffectual, and Axel is a studly macho with a heart of gold, a two-fisted teacher who most certainly will not treat Irina just as badly as Roberto does now a couple of years and a lot of six-packs later. I’m not complaining, mind you, for the film presents its characters and their travails with complete earnestness. Which is also the way the actors are playing it, and probably the only way they know how to do it. Half of their time, they’re wearing masks and sun glasses while doing this. Again, I’m not complaining.

Galindo Jr. is often a rather competent director for his budget and script (of course also written by him) bracket, making effective use of the handful of locations and effects he can afford, simulating the foggy outside with dry ice and chutzpah, while also making good use of the bits and pieces of proper production design he could cobble together. So the internal air filtration systems and the masks are all used well in the film’s suspense sequences. One can certainly not blame the filmmaker for not having put any effort in.

Rata’s biggest problem, apart from the monster suits and the monkey-ish (certainly not rat-like) arm waving the actors inside them get up to, is that would should be its final act, when everyone is trapped in Irina’s roomy home – practically devoid of furniture because Roberto took that, apparently – is simply too long. I do like a good scene or four of people and monster suits fighting inside of a house, but even my patience grows a bit thin once they spend half of the damn movie doing it.

Still, while I can’t help and see this tiny structural problem, I find myself looking at La Rata Maldita rather positively as the sort of film that has taken on such curious elements of topicality and turned them into the lowest (and therefor the best) kind of art, it becomes easy to ignore a bit of a structural boo-boo.