Mulberry Street Review

Mulberry Street is one of the After Dark Horrorfest films.  It has received a lot of good press from the festival circuit and wound up as an After Dark film.  Usually, that’s probably not such a good thing.  These films are marketed as ones that are so gruesome or what have you that they do not usually receive theatrical release – which usually means they just can’t find a distributor and aren’t that good.

My friend and co-worker let me borrow this film, as I’m currently a man without a video store.  It was pretty good.  I wasn’t expecting much.  It had some nice build-ups in it, and the creatures in the film, I thought, was pretty effective.  Basically, some rats bite humans, turning the humans into these violent rat people.  The main story is a man waiting for his daughter to come home – she had been in a hospital after returning from the war in Iraq.  The rat epidemic makes the reunion difficult, as she tries hard to get back to her dad’s apartment.  The story also involves others that live in this apartment building.

The movie takes on a Night of the Living Dead tone, I thought, especially the end of the film.  I liked the cinematography a lot – the use of lighting.  The film has a wonderful gritty tone, adding to the realism of the events, even though it is showing unrealistic events.  The acting is surprisingly good and effective.

Definitely worth a rental (or borrowing it free from a friend works even better).  I wouldn’t rush to add this to my DVD collection, but I would probably pick it up if I saw that it was previously viewed or on clearance.  Although, I think my friend said he picked it up for only $12.99, which sounds about right for the film.

3 1/2 Heads.