Now this is a good rat movie! I remember watching this once in the 80s and last night it was time check out the dvd.
"Bart Hughes has a pretty good life, a beautiful wife, a young son, a good job with promotion prospects, and a renovated brownstone in New York. When wife and kid leave for a vacation, Bart stays behind to work on a project that will earn him that promotion, unaware that a certain inhabitant of his basement has other plans for his time." (IMDb)
The movie was directed by George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II, Cobra) and written by Brian Taggert (V, The New Kids etc.) based on Chauncey G. Parker III novel "The Visitor".
The cast is very good: Peter Weller, Jennifer Dale, Lawrence Dane, Kenneth Welsh, louis Del Grande, Keith Knight, Maury Chaykin and supersexy Shannon Tweed in her first feature film.
Weller is awesome and itīs great to see him balancing between the working days and hunting the creature at nights.
The film is set in New york but is actually filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Highly recommended for old school creature thriller fans!
great movie atomik,i have it on dvd,how awesome is that original warner home video artwork.
the late george p cosmatos directed some really great movies during the 80s ,cobra,rambo,of unknown origin and leviathan.
[ 01. April 2012, 15:33: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
This may very well be Cosmatos' best, in my opinion. Instead of being a 'full-force' horror movie (which was pretty much the standard around '83), it's a rather subdued account of one man's descent into obsession and madness. Weller is indeed excellent.
And yes, that artwork is priceless ! Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
I added it to my Netflix que. With the rat theme I'm sure I'll lose sleep for weeks lol.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
quote:Originally posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless: This may very well be Cosmatos' best, in my opinion. Instead of being a 'full-force' horror movie (which was pretty much the standard around '83), it's a rather subdued account of one man's descent into obsession and madness. Weller is indeed excellent.
And yes, that artwork is priceless !
It's a terrific, underrated film. (I think that "Tombstone" is G.P. Cosmatos' best, by the way.) And you nailed it--it's not just a horror film. It's different and about something we all can relate to: You have exactly one thing to do on a deadline, and try as you might, some external force stands in your way. In life, it might be a lazy co-worker or a nagging spouse. Here, it's a big, big scary rat. Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Just found out that Of Unknown Origin was called Mad House in Denmark. Hereīs the cool and crazy cover art
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
That cover definitely makes it look more like a slasher flick with a murderous psychopath running around, Jason Voorhees-style ! Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
I just watched this. lol that was me a few years ago when some mice decided to come live under my bedroom floor. I couldn't believe the noise outta such tiny creatures, I was pulling my hair out at night, aghhhh haha. Great flick!
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
You didnīt smash the place though, did you Helen Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
Wasn't far off it Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
Watched 1983's - of unknown origin again the other night,really great 80s creature (rat) feature with a great cast and some pretty tense moments. peter weller is terrific in this and when you see some of the rubbish he appears in nowadays - very sad. shannon tweed (hot dog - the movie) looks her usual stunning self and also gives a small but decent performance.
i would definitely give of unknown origin a high recommendation and if you haven't seen it yet and this is your type of flick it is seriously worth tracking down.
Also watched the 1982 film adaption of James Herbert's rats aka deadly eyes www.youtube.com/watch?v=VILaRR89muk again,this to is a total blast what with dachshunds dressed up as rats and A small but fun cameo appearance from the awesome scatman crothers from the shining.
one thing's for certain They definitely don't make em like this anymore!
[ 22. January 2015, 15:19: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
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