Food of the Gods II (1989)

Lots of human error adds up to one colossal mess in this follow-up (rather than true sequel) to the 1976 film adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The Food of the Gods". A growth hormone, initially used on produce, is injected into one rat, and the effects spread to other rats, which all develop a taste for human flesh after they become giants. The monstrous rodents then terrorize a college campus.Almost all of the human characters are stupid beyond belief, so ones' instincts will be to side with the rats and enjoy watching these people become rat chow. Written by Richard Bennett & E. Kim Brewster, and directed by Damian Lee, "Food of the Gods II" is so uproariously idiotic that you have to believe that these filmmakers were definitely going for tongue in cheek. The dialogue is dumb, the characters are insipid, and the movie utterly devoid of anything resembling suspense. But the good news is that this is quite violent and gory, and people will laugh in appreciation and approval at the hideous demises on display. The music by Dennis Haines & Stephen W. Parsons is pretty absurd at times, adding to the comical feel.Among the highlights: a subplot about a giant kid (Sean Mitchell), a memorable nightmare sequence, and the riotous climax where the rats run amok during the grand opening of the colleges' brand spanking new sports complex, disrupting some synchronized swimming.Paul Coufos ("The Lost Empire", "Chopping Mall"), who somewhat resembles Jeff Fahey, makes the mistake of taking himself too seriously, while at least some of the others here know they're performing in utter schlock and deliver goofy performances (like that priceless janitor Zeke (David Koyle)). And the lovely Lisa Schrage, the villainess of "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II", is on hand to play the leading lady. Prominent Canadian actors Colin Fox ("Daylight") and Jackie Burroughs ("The Dead Zone") are among the supporting cast.Quite entertaining, provided that you know what to expect and enjoy this sort of thing to begin with.Seven out of 10.

An experimental growth hormone causes lab rats to grow to giant size. Said enormous mutant rodents subsequently go on a gory rampage on a college campus.Director Damian Lee, working from a totally inane script by Richard Bennett and E. Kim Brewster, treats the gloriously ludicrous premise with jaw-dropping misguided seriousness and hence delivers one of the single most sublimely silly creature features to ever emerge from the 1980's. Numerous touches and moments of inspired (and often unintentionally hilarious) absurdity abound throughout: A foulmouthed and ill-tempered titanic brat, insipid scientist hero Neil Hamilton (a hopelessly cardboard performance by Paul Coufos) dreaming that he starts to grow to gigantic size while in the middle of making love to enticing coed Mary Anne (foxy brunette Kimberly Dickson), a macho cigar-chomping Clint Eastwood clone rat exterminator, a rat attacking a dude who's urinating behind a bush (we're even treated to gut-busting shots of this guy's bare butt as he runs away screaming!), the ultimate agonizingly nasty fate of Hamilton's unscrupulous jerk rival Edmond Delhurst (ripely overplayed to the obnoxious hilt by Colin Fox), and, best of all, the vicious vermin making a bloody hash out of a pool full of synchronized swimmers (!) during the delightfully berserk climax. Curtis Petersen's slick cinematography gives this giddy dreck a glossy professional sheen. An absolute kitschy hoot.

A growth serum being experimented with on a college campus infects a pack of angry rats and typical carnage ensues. Belated sequel released a decade and a half after the original. Basically the two are not connected. Why producers felt the average original warranted a sequel years upon years later is beyond me, but here we go. The creature effects are not the greatest, but passable. There is a lot of blood thrown around in the attack scenes to keep things interesting, and the film is competently made. It's a basic view for the horror consumer and it's not all that bad. Originality is pretty minimal, but a tight pace keeps everything going. The stand-out scene perhaps is the rats attacking a swimming pool full of synchronized swimmers. The sex scene when the male partner grows to immense proportions is short, but also good. Dominated movie channels upon it's release years ago. Two And A Half Stars.

Once again my ability to be entertained finds it's happy place at the near lowest common denominator one can possibly find: A movie about growth hormone mutated rats chewing their way through the supporting cast of an unnamed Canadian university. Packed with in jokes, sight-gags and made by people who were using their brains for more than shoulder ballast, I found this to be a rip-roaring entertainment heightened by the ingenious way that miniature sets, forced perspective shots and other gimmicks were used to create monster rats, an over-sized university professor, and a giant mutant kid who's escape at the conclusion of the film was the perfect open ending. And I hope nobody ever makes a FOTG Pt3 to show what happens to him: some things are best left to the imagination.Anyone familiar with the abysmal 1976 film of more or less the same name can rest assured: Part 2 has absolutely nothing to do with the original FOTG, setting off on a totally independent storyline which produces more or less the same results -- giant rats eating people, a universally frightening concept -- though this film is correctly played for laughs where the original was a semi-serious ecological horror flick unable to overcome it's underlying stupidity.This one works because it embraced that stupidity & went with it.THE PLOT: An overachieving researcher develops a growth hormone formula, tests it on some tomatoes which are then eaten by a cage full of lab rats who get big and eat people. End of story.Along the way, the film takes hilarious pot-shots at such deserving targets as animal rights activists, liberal university administrations, the police, Clint Eastwood, and synchronized swimming. In fact the minute that the evil Dean character voiced concern that an effort to corral the mutant rats might interfere with the opening of a new pool complex I knew that the climax would be fun, though the bigger laugh came when he referred to "all the rich alumni with their checkbooks" who would be in attendance. Everyone whom I went to college with is as broke as I am, except the worms who weaseled their way into teaching or other academic positions. Like research work.Look, if you're going to be sitting down and watching a film about mutant rats on the rampage the last thing in the world you're really going to fret over are convincing performances, slick special effects and a coherent plot, so why not approach the material at an angle & have some fun? On that level of consideration this film is a minor masterpiece, and anyone who finds it to be prurient or juvenile in nature is simply refusing to play along with the fun.Highly recommended as a "party movie", with plenty of laughs, some repulsive gore and even a few bared breasts here & there.But if you're looking for a serious film, well that's why they make DVDs of CITIZEN KANE, and you'd be advised to stick with that. But for those with a sense of humor and a love for low-middle budget horror this flick is very hard to beat, and I've even seen DEATH SHIP.***1/2 out of ****