Of Unknown Origin 4K 1983

So, my marathon of horror movie reviews is coming to an end, and I suddenly realized that I urgently need to write about this film. It was directed by George Pan Cosmatos, who would later make a name for himself—albeit a modest one—with spectacular action flicks starring Stallone (*Rambo 2* and *Cobra*), and stars Peter Weller, who would become RoboCop four years later. Anyway, I really, really liked this movie. And it’s called "Of Unknown Origin".

Here’s the setup: Weller’s character, Bert, is a successful employee, and there’s a healthy rat with obvious signs of intelligence and a desire to acquire a home of its own—the very home Bert already lives in. The rat really needs a home and some fresh air in it, but Bert has no intention of just giving up his property. And believe me, what follows is definitely not *The Mouse Hunt*.

What follows is something like a domestic thriller, except instead of mean neighbors, a nosy cop, or a starving homeless person, a perfectly innocent man is attacked by a rat the size of a nice vase—and it’s not so easy to get rid of it: the creature is immune to poison and breaks mousetraps. Hey, Bert, maybe you should get a cat? The next day, that cat will be lying on top of the fridge with its neck bitten through. Oh well, I’ll just have to handle it myself.

Actually, this isn’t trash—no, not at all. Everything is so realistic and ordinary that you catch yourself thinking: what if this happens to me someday? There’s not much blood, and the only victim turns out to be the poor cat mentioned above. The fear is built through impressive “boo!” moments as well as incredible suspense and tension. And then there’s that primal fear and revulsion toward rats.

The actors are simply stunning. Weller is brilliant. The supporting characters (Bert’s wife, the pest control salesman, Bert’s boss, his coworker, etc.) are excellent. The rat is stunning. The cat is very good, and you can’t help but feel sorry for him. The cinematographer does a great job. Kosmatos shows us that he’s not just a one-trick pony when it comes to action movies. The composer is wonderful. The editing is good. Not a single flaw, not a single unnecessary detail—everything is just right.

Verdict: an amazing horror film that seems to exploit the most primitive of themes—“We’ve got a rat in the house!”—but does so with such brilliance that you don’t want to nitpick or complain.