Deadly Eyes
Encyclopedia
Deadly Eyes is a 1982 Canadian
film directed by Robert Clouse
, based on the horror novel The Rats
by James Herbert
. The story revolves around Giant Black Rats who begin eating the residents of Toronto after ingesting contaminated grain.
Giant rats the size of small dogs living in mountains of grain full of steroids are rendered homeless when a health department inspector orders it burned. The rats migrate to a suburban home occupied by unsupervised high school students. The rats' first human victim is a toddler left unattended in a high chair. The next victim is a senior citizen, walking the snowy streets alone late at night.
Scatman Crothers, who briefly plays a health department field inspector, is destined to become the next victim. Inspecting the bowels of the city's sewer system, he encounters a pack of rats. Scatman commences with 'the running of the rats' in the sewer, followed by his demise.
Paul telephones his friend, a professor who is a rat expert, who instantly concludes that the steroid feed had spawned a new breed of 'super-rat' that had migrated into the sewers in search of food. Upon hearing this information, the Health Inspector immediately orders the fumigation of the entire city sewer system, which is immediately and efficiently carried out with no apparent effect.
The futility of this action is confirmed when the rat expert himself is attacked and killed.
The rats then move on to a bowling alley and a movie theater and make their first brazen mass attack on the unsuspecting public. The rats select the viewers of a Bruce Lee
movie, resulting in numerous deaths and a scene of fleeing film patrons.
Meanwhile, the city's mayor prepares to make an inaugural run of a new subway section - straight into a hungry pack of rats.
Paul attempts to stop the festivities. He is forced to assault a cop and take his revolver. Paul proceeds down the tunnel and finds a disabled subway train with passengers just emerging from the cars.
Paul meets his girlfriend and his son just as the rats attack. The three are able to escape down the tunnel and find refuge in a fenced-in maintenance area which is the rats nest. Fortunately, they discover cutting torches and drums of flammable liquids. They are able to burn all the rats.
But in the final scene, as the three survivors reboard the subway train to reach safey, they only realize when the train reaches the station that several of the rats have survived, whom are on the train itself and eating the remains of the dead subway victims. When the train arrives at the station, the rats attack all the people on the platform and the movie ends on this sudden and downbeat note.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film directed by Robert Clouse
Robert Clouse
Robert Clouse was an American film director and producer, known primarily for his work in the action/adventure and martial arts genres. He died on February 4, 1997 in Oregon of kidney failure....
, based on the horror novel The Rats
The Rats (novel)
The Rats is a horror novel written by British author James Herbert. This was Herbert's first novel and included graphic depictions of death and mutilation. A film adaptation was made in 1982, called Deadly Eyes. A 1985 adventure game for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum based on the book was...
by James Herbert
James Herbert
James Herbert, OBE is a best-selling English horror writer who originally worked as the art director of an advertising agency. He is a full-time writer who also designs his own book covers and publicity.-Family:...
. The story revolves around Giant Black Rats who begin eating the residents of Toronto after ingesting contaminated grain.
Plot
The plot and subplots center on the movie's leading man, Paul Harris (Sam Groom), a divorced high school teacher and basketball coach and his interactions during a killer rat infestation with a health department inspector (Sara Botsford); a high school cheerleader, Trudy (Lisa Langlois); his students; and his friend, Dr. Spencer (Cec Linder), a college professor and rat expert.Giant rats the size of small dogs living in mountains of grain full of steroids are rendered homeless when a health department inspector orders it burned. The rats migrate to a suburban home occupied by unsupervised high school students. The rats' first human victim is a toddler left unattended in a high chair. The next victim is a senior citizen, walking the snowy streets alone late at night.
Scatman Crothers, who briefly plays a health department field inspector, is destined to become the next victim. Inspecting the bowels of the city's sewer system, he encounters a pack of rats. Scatman commences with 'the running of the rats' in the sewer, followed by his demise.
Paul telephones his friend, a professor who is a rat expert, who instantly concludes that the steroid feed had spawned a new breed of 'super-rat' that had migrated into the sewers in search of food. Upon hearing this information, the Health Inspector immediately orders the fumigation of the entire city sewer system, which is immediately and efficiently carried out with no apparent effect.
The futility of this action is confirmed when the rat expert himself is attacked and killed.
The rats then move on to a bowling alley and a movie theater and make their first brazen mass attack on the unsuspecting public. The rats select the viewers of a Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
movie, resulting in numerous deaths and a scene of fleeing film patrons.
Meanwhile, the city's mayor prepares to make an inaugural run of a new subway section - straight into a hungry pack of rats.
Paul attempts to stop the festivities. He is forced to assault a cop and take his revolver. Paul proceeds down the tunnel and finds a disabled subway train with passengers just emerging from the cars.
Paul meets his girlfriend and his son just as the rats attack. The three are able to escape down the tunnel and find refuge in a fenced-in maintenance area which is the rats nest. Fortunately, they discover cutting torches and drums of flammable liquids. They are able to burn all the rats.
But in the final scene, as the three survivors reboard the subway train to reach safey, they only realize when the train reaches the station that several of the rats have survived, whom are on the train itself and eating the remains of the dead subway victims. When the train arrives at the station, the rats attack all the people on the platform and the movie ends on this sudden and downbeat note.