Big Freaking Rat

After heading out to a campground, the crew on-staff preparing for the upcoming seasonal reopening go about their duties for the event, but when a series of strange incidents around the park cause them to believe something is out there they discover a giant rat mutated by chemical waste and must stop it before it gets out of hand.

This was a pretty fun if still slightly flawed genre effort. One of its better aspects is the fun and cheesy setup with the arrival of the killer rat tearing through the community rather sneakily. Seeing the group go about their chores getting everything set up while having the creature attack randomly out in the state park has quite a lot to like, from the hikers who arrive at the woods, the homeless man in the underground tunnels where no one can see him or the series of brief attacks on the various crew of the camp. Getting these scenes with the fun practical rat-prop or hand-puppet that visibly tears into them in wholly gruesome manners offering some solid indie-styled gore in the process is quite fun as this one gets ready for its big finale. That finale is where this one really kicks in as the giant rat is discovered and has a lot to like. Charging into the tent to grab the one victim and chasing the girlfriend back to the camp is a wholly enjoyable sequence, much like the massacre at the family reunion where it tears through everybody quite nicely. With the fun ambush on the mobsters' hideout or the attack on their headquarters which have some great kills and action involved, this sets off into the big chase to stop the creature throughout the lodge and down in the underground tunnels that have a solid sense of cheese about it, the action here comes together nicely which gives the film plenty of positives to hold it up. There are some minor issues to be had here. One of the biggest issues is the obvious bits that denote its low-budget nature, which is still not that big a deal but serve as some problematic areas. The knowing conversations that seem like fan-speak than anything relatable to natural engagement, leading to overlong scenes that go nowhere and make it somewhat longer than it needed to be. Other time-wasting scenes, such as the mobster subplot or the momentum-killing scenes with the non-singer trying to entertain the family reunion just kill the pacing of this one even though both of these scenes pay off rather nicely. As well, the rushed finale has the proper idea of what it's trying to accomplish but just rushes through the motions, which all hold this one down somewhat.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

The best thing about this movie is the review titled "Burn it all" ... yes I tell you stop reading this and read that other review ... nah you can read this too and the other review! It is at least for my 5 cents an obvious troll comment! Someone knew their 10 star rating wouldn't change a thing - the review text says it all.

The movie itself is only bearable if you can cut it some slack ... a lot of slack! Acting is ... well never mind that! Although to be fair Felissa Rose is in this! And I am surprised she doesn't show up in the cast listing on the first page here on imdb! I'm certain that will change. What you don't really need to change/add is the "plot". Nothing to see here.

For a low budget movie, the creature itself is quite decent. Although I'm certain that some will compare it to a parody. A lot of blood and dialog that will make you cringe! A shower scene without nudity (I mean why even bother right?) and I reckon the general sense that horror movies are cheap ... still you can feel the passion and the love for the genre those involved have. You may like it better than other (re)viewers here ... just suspend your disbelief from here to eternity and you're good.

PS: almost forgot to mention it, but you could see it in my summary line! A lot of rat jokes - ratting out and all that ... and a part of the movie that could work as a gangster comedy/spoof too. The reason I went from my initial 3 to a 4 rating - acting was fine too for that part - better than for the most of the other parts for sure.

Only one other review at the time of posting, so I thought I would also give this movie a shot.

It's only redeeming feature is that it watches more like an amateur flick, made by a bunch of friends over the weekend. Part of me wants to give an extra star or two for that reason, but Churchill has too many credits to his name to not know better.

Jokes - such as they are - drag on far too long, and were never funny to begin with. Acting is flat, and dialogue is just bad. More time is devoted to bashing Millenials than the monster rat. No real plot or story, and the climax is rushed.

Not even worth it on a lark.

Silly movie that seemed to work. A bit of a giggle.

Well, sure, I didn't really have much of any expectations to this 2020 movie titled "Big Freaking Rat", but still I sat down to watch it on the offbeat chance that it would actually be one of those movies that are so bad that they are actually becoming good.

But "Big Freaking Rat" from writer and Thomas J. Churchill wasn't exactly one of those movies. Sure, it was watchable, but the movie wasn't particularly impressive or memorable.

First of all, the storyline and the characters were just too bland, and at times actually pointless. And that was something that the movie suffered from, to be bluntly honest.

As for the special effects, well... This is not a top notch multi-million dollar special effects movie, no doubt about it. This is a low budget and low practical special effects movie, pure and simple. I will say, however, that the rat was actually working out well in favor of the movie. Sure, it was horribly fake and you never saw it in full length, size and view. But there was just something odd about it and it worked out well in the way they opted to present and make use of the massive rat on the screen.

However, the rat just wasn't enough to salvage the movie, and it wasn't an outstanding movie experience. I am rating "Big Freaking Rat" a mere three out of ten stars. Good enough for a single viewing, but it is the type of movie that you will forget about once seen and never return to watch it a second time. "Big Freaking Rat" was not a glorious addition to the creature feature genre.