Rats (Night of Terror) 4K UHD (88 Films)

[cooey]

Order: 88 Films - Amazon
Release date: 11th August 2025

It took some time for fright-fans to really groove to the eclectic, insane and often inane brilliance of the late Bruno Mattei (ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH). Now, belatedly, viewed as a master of cut-price plasma-spillage, the time is ripe to revisit one of the great man's wildest accomplishments - RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR. Unveiled to audiences of video-violence in 1984, this post-apocalyptic pot-boiler sees some of the last humans alive grapple with a horde of flesh-eating rodents - and a shocking final revelation that has fast become Mattei's signature 'twist'. Also featuring a superlative ensemble cast that includes such Italian gore legends as Ottaviano Dell'Acqua (ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS), Geretta Geretta (DEMONS) and Massimo Vanni (ZOMBI 3), RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR is a creepy creature feature that positively oozes with intrigue in this beautiful new remastered 4K UHD release!

EXTRAS
- BRAND NEW 4K REMASTER FROM THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVES PRESENTED IN ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION (2160P) IN 1.85:1 ASPECT RATIO
- PRESENTED IN DOLBY VISION HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR10 COMPATIBLE)
- HIGH DEFINITION (1080P) BLU-RAY(TM) IN 1.85:1 ASPECT RATIO ALSO INCLUDED
- ENGLISH MONO 2.0 AUDIO
- ITALIAN MONO 2.0 AUDIO WITH NEWLY TRANSLATED ENGLISH SUBTITLES
- Audio Commentary with Italian Cinema Experts Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
- Rat King - Interview with Co-Director Claudio Fragasso
- Deus Knows Best - Interview with Actor Fausto Lombardi
- Meet Myrna and Lucifer - Interview with Actors Ann-Gisel Glass and Jean-Christophe Brétignière
- The 3rd Rat - Interview with Assistant Director Giovanni Leacche
- Squeaky Melodies - Interview with Composer Luigi Ceccarelli
- Rat Droppings Falling on my Head - Interview with Stuntmen Massimo Vanni and Ottaviano Dell'Acqua
- Original Trailer

[dallywhitty]

Hell yes! Was hoping they had this. Saves me importing the Severin. Also Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye!

EDIT: Wait, is Seven Deaths BD-only?

[Sibbo192]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Hell yes! Was hoping they had this. Saves me importing the Severin. Also Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye!

EDIT: Wait, is Seven Deaths BD-only?

It’s weird cause while it doesn’t have the UHD logo on the side the number at the bottom of every 88 spine begins with a U indicating it will be UHD.

[Driver78]

That art for 'Glass Dolls' looks oddly like the art for Silence of the Lambs lol.

Gonna try to sell off my 88 Films Blu-ray copy of Rats to finance the 4K upgrade but I think I'll go for the Severin. Having a bit of trouble unloading 88 Films stuff on the bay, though. Nobody seems to want them for anything more than a tenner. Hell, even EYEBALL took a while to sell and it only sold after I accepted someone's offer for twenty US shipped. I really thought that one would net me a decent profit.

[pnaschy]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Hell yes! Was hoping they had this. Saves me importing the Severin. Also Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye!

EDIT: Wait, is Seven Deaths BD-only?

I hope it will be UHD, 88 Films released this on Bluray in 2016 so it could do with an upgrade.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by pnaschy

I hope it will be UHD, 88 Films released this on Bluray in 2016 so it could do with an upgrade.

Whatever they do, I hope it gets some color correction this time around. The Blu-ray color grading was terrible compared to the old Blue Underground DVD.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Hell yes! Was hoping they had this. Saves me importing the Severin.

I'm going to grab both. 88 occasionally (but not always) has less pushed skin tones, a bit more damage clean-up, less boosted primaries, and a more refined encode, in their typical uhd mastering. The only way to know, though, is to actually compare both discs, on a title-by-title basis. Severin also will, on occasion, completely knock the ball out of the park, like they did with The Church 4k, The Sect 4k, The Spider Labyrinth 4k, etc. You just never know. Their encoding work is less consistent than 88's on average, but both firms are capable of doing a great job when arsed to. I don't mind supporting the efforts of both labels. They've each made their fumbles in uhd, and they've each put out some really great work, as well. These are exactly the sorts of titles I want in my burgeoning uhd collection, and I'm compelled to send my dollars in both of their directions, to reward that.

[DaylightsEnd]

Any more word out there in the ether on when this title might be getting a 4k release from 88? Looking forward to comparing it to the Severn 4k, which I have yet to watch.

[cooey]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

Any more word out there in the ether on when this title might be getting a 4k release from 88? Looking forward to comparing it to the Severn 4k, which I have yet to watch.

Most likely on their Q3 slate at this point

[cooey]

OP updated

[saltysam]

£35 for Rats is just too much for me these days. Burial Ground, Zombie Holocaust and Hell Of The Living Dead were £24.99? i get things go up but without the HMV discount to soften the blow i'll have to wait.

[DaylightsEnd]

Ouch, still two months out. Good to have a firm date, though.

I had a blast revisiting this slice of ridiculous insanity on the Severin 4k. Plenty of WTF'ery to go around.

I'll grab this as soon as one of the boutiques like Atomic or Orbitdvd posts up a preorder.

I put this in the same camp as films like Alien Contamination (1980). I love that crazy flick too and hope that Arrow puts out a 4k uhd of Contamination sooner than later. I'm still curiously optimistic about Plaion bringing Nightmare City to 4k uhd as well.

Plenty of folks have loads of hate for these sorts of abysmally-acted shlock titles, but I just can't get enough of the lunatic goodness. High entertainment. Not every painting has to be a Rembrandt to hold my attention.

[Nitroes]

BRUNO MATTEI Interview | Rats: Night of Terror & Post-Apocalyptic Chaos | 4K - YouTube

Mutant rats -how ridiculous!

Sign me up

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Nitroes

Mutant guinea pigs covered in paint (better actors apparently) -how ridiculous!

Sign me up

Fixed!

[cooey]

Packshot and 88's link added to OP

[MartinScorsesefan]

I like this movie, but I won’t be able to eat meat for a week after watching it.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by MartinScorsesefan

I like this movie, but I won’t be able to eat meat for a week after watching it.

Just avoid national-brand hot dogs and some of the sketchier local stir-fry places and you'll be aces.

[Driver78]

Is this an 88 exclusive rigid hardbox? If so, I'm in! Already have the Severin but I love 88's art more.

[cooey]

Originally Posted by Driver78

Is this an 88 exclusive rigid hardbox? If so, I'm in! Already have the Severin but I love 88's art more.

It's not a webstore exclusive

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Driver78

Is this an 88 exclusive rigid hardbox? If so, I'm in! Already have the Severin but I love 88's art more.

I enjoyed the Severin release, but it's almost a given that the 88 Films 4k will have nicer packaging, better compression and more clean-up of debris and damage in the mastering. They've become very proficient at the cleanup. Some of the damage won't be an easy fix, so they'll likely be selective but respectful of the source and of the grain. I ordered this with the quickness and look forward to seeing exactly what 88 has done with the handsome 4k transfer. They worked small miracles with Night Train Murders 4k, even cleaning up what looked like pretty severe water damage that is very visible all over the opticals at the end of the opening credits on the Severin 4k release. 88's cleanup work on Zombie Holocaust 4k and Hell of the Living Dead 4k was equally stellar. I really hope they give us Zombi 3 4k uhd sooner than later. It looks to be totally out of print, and both the 88 and Severin blu rays of Zombi 3 look to be starting to trade for some serious bucks. A 4k is kinda overdue.