"Hood Rat" is a less-then-decent urban horror that doesn't have a whole lot of positives.**SPOILERS**After it's declared condemned, Grady, (Ice-T) is sent to the tenets of the Forest Tower apartment building to collect rent, although no one knows. Brothers Max, (Isaiah Washington) and Courtney, (Guy Torry) have their own problems, as he's crushing on tenet Nina, (A.J. Johnson) and when Bernard Souilliez, (Taurean Blacque) and Judge Bankhead, (Tami Roman) show up at the complex to inspect it's condemned status, they find that it's infested with rats. When he manages to befriend one of them, he suddenly finds that the tenets of the building are being murdered and found stripped to the bone. Realizing that the lone rat that he befriended, Tara, has been recruiting the other rats in the building to take revenge for his condition and is devouring anyone in the building who had made his life hectic, he tries to get them to stop before all the tenets are all killed.The Good News: This one here does have a few good points to make it enjoyable. The fact that it really makes the complex full of squalor and waste means that the atmosphere here is suitably dirty and disgusting, which is the perfect setting for a film about giant rats. It's a likely breeding ground for them to begin with, and to place an emphasis on it here lends it some credibility, and here it gives a pleasingly disgusting location that serves the film well in most respects. This also has to have a lot of credit here to make the rats non-CGI, and that they're actually there and real rats are used are a great touch. They're more realistic, make it seem as though there's something physical that can be applied to the terror of the scene is magnified immensely when it's known that there's a real threat rather than acting to a poorly-rendered attempt of the same thing. That is a brilliant tactic to have, and it really serves the film well. The other big part of the film is the rather fun last-half, which is where all the main attacks are centered around. There's a lot of fun to be had when they come across and rampage over everything, and that's a real joy. There's not a lot of gore in the film, but they're all centered around these scenes, and the mauled bodies and severed limbs here aren't that bad. It's also wall-to-wall action, with lots of attacks and escapes, making it also pretty thrilling when it comes around. These here are what make the film really entertaining.The Bad News: This here was a pretty flawed film with several problems. One of the main ones is that there's way too much down-time in the beginning of the film. This one takes so long to get going that it feels way too long to really get to the good points. From the different adversities that befall them with the tenant's problems which really get too deep to interfere the action in here. This hurts the flow in here, making it seem much longer than it really is with all the time devoted to these problems that it really just becomes too much wasted time following these around at the beginning, and when the attacks occur at the halfway point in the film with very little to nothing to preface them in the beginning, it can get dull quickly and really lose a lot of it's luster. There's also a problem with the rats' abilities to understand English and carry out the complicated messages given to the others, seeing as how there's nothing in here that says that they do to begin with and why they chose the one individual in particular as someone to follow. There's also several inconsistencies in the actual background in the creatures, which is something that really should've been done. The last flaw here is the aggravating and nonsensical directorial choices made here several times throughout the film, where the film freeze-frames or slows down or even does a magical trick where it flips the image on the screen onto the opposite side in a reverse mirror image. It's not creative, shows nothing to help the film out and looks terrible, despite the creativeness of it, and it ruins the film just as much as the really dull beginning. These here are the film's real problems.The Final Verdict: While not altogether terrible, this one does have some rather decent points to make it rather enjoyable. Give it a chance for those interested in killer rodent films or those who really enjoy the urban horror films, but heed caution with it if the flaws make you hesitant towards it.Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, animal violence and drug use

This movie is bad, so bad that my mother who can barely stand the "suspense" of Disney's Snow White, was chuckling through out the entire movie. My first warning should've been that it was in the $5.50 bin at Wal-mart. But I have actually found some good movies in that bin, so i can't fault if for this debacle. The second warning should have been that when the cashier rang up the DVD, it was actually $3.88. Again I have never been one to ignore the cheapies. THis movie is definitely not for people looking for something good to watch, and it most certainly isn't for everyone that enjoys the occasional bad movie. If you need background noise while you are doing something like playing cards with some friends, then get this but if you are looking for something to actually watch don't even bother. It was really disappointing because there were a lot of good actors. I felt like i was watching a chocolate version of Willard.

I can't believe that Isaiah Washington and Ice-T were in this mess! The plot (and I use that term very loosely) centers around an army of rats that terrorize an urban apartment complex--at least I think that's what it was about. The script made no sense at all, I couldn't have cared less about the characters and the camera-work consisted of repeatedly showing shadow images of rats standing on their hind legs or running. Running is what I should have done. As an African American male, I often read pleas from my brothers and sisters to "support African American films." I try to help out, but enough is enough. No one should watch garbage like this for any reason whatsoever. Please, brothers and sisters, don't produce any more direct to video rat turds like this. Please!

I normally am a glutton for poor movies, but this thing stunk.Do not watch this movie.Terrible effects and very little humour, what the hell was the point of making this movie? No gore to speak of and no acting to speak of.I could only manage 45 minutes of this rat dropping of a movie, and that is rare for me.Something positive to say about this drivel? cover art was OK, I am pretty sure the movie has a ending too, even tho I did not make it to it.The rats were unorganized and blew their lines constantly,they lacked intensity and seemed just to be going through the paces for their paycheque. The actors were worse.