While some may scoff at the idea of horror documentaries, they’ve actually been around for quite some time now. Eerie films like Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman’s Cropsey and Frederick Wiseman’s infamous Titicut Follies have proven that reality can be just as, if not more, horrifying than fiction if viewed through the right lens. Inspired by Robert Sullivan’s eponymous book, Morgan Spurlock’s Rats documents a disturbing but oft-overlooked aspect of human life. In this case, our coexistence with another particularly successful form of mammalian life.
Rats spares no expense as it delves into the gruesome details of our muddled relationship with these creatures in a way that traditional horror movies have yet to accomplish. From the opening scenes featuring rodent dissections and the horrors that lurk within their sickly bodies, it’s quite clear that this is by no means a “popcorn movie”. However, disgusting as the subject matter may be, the film is still strangely compelling as it reveals the peculiar ways in which vermin affect our lives, and vice versa.
Through interviews with veteran exterminators and guided tours of New York City’s rat-infested hot spots, the film presents us with a possibility much more disturbing than any rodent-borne plague: that human beings are not as dominant in this world as we like to think we are. Of course, Spurlock does his best to present both sides of the issue, as the film does eventually take a break from the nausea-inducing effects of our furry neighbors on society and instead shows us the controversial ways that humanity treats our fellow mammals.
This results in a pleasantly engrossing experience, almost contradicting the aforementioned stomach-churning visuals. Nevertheless, there is a strange sense of ironic beauty in the way we see rats scurrying around polluted man-made streets as if they were their own, sharing not only our public spaces but our food and homes as well. You can’t help but admire the tenacity of these tiny creatures, despite the horrific implications of their presence. This parallel between humankind and rats is one of the film’s strongest points, as it makes us recoil in fear when confronted with the many diseases carried by these animals, but also shudder in disgust when human beings prepare them as arguably inhumane delicacies in developing countries.
Rats is certainly much more visceral than the director’s previous work (like Supersize Me and Mansome), but Spurlock maintains his tradition of not shying away from the truth, no matter how repulsive it may be. Some might argue that his use of nasty visuals is exploitive and gratuitous, but in this case, these scenes fit perfectly with the subject matter. If anything, the revolting elements of the film kept things from getting boring, even during a few lengthy bits of exposition. In any case, Rats is a simultaneously informative and terrifying look at a worldwide issue that does for rodents what It did to clowns. I’d just recommend not eating while you watch it.
Rats will premiere on the Discovery Channel on October, 22!