Of Unknown Origin

11/23/19831h 28m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Two forces have claimed the house. Only one will survive. ~

Overview:

A man who recently completed rebuilding a townhouse becomes obsessed with a rat infestation until it becomes an interspecies duel.

Director:

George P. Cosmatos

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$4,000,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

new york city
based on novel or book
poison
animal attack
house
rampage
rat
canuxploitation
animals gone wild
giant rat
mousetrap

Cast

Peter Weller

~ as ~

Bart Hughes

Jennifer Dale

~ as ~

Lorrie Wells

Lawrence Dane

~ as ~

Eliot Riverton

Kenneth Welsh

~ as ~

James Hall

Louis Del Grande

~ as ~

Clete

Shannon Tweed

~ as ~

Meg Hughes

Keith Knight

~ as ~

Hardware Salesman

Maury Chaykin

~ as ~

Dan Errol

Leif Anderson

~ as ~

Peter Hughes

Jimmy Tapp

~ as ~

Meg's Father

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 3 year(s) ago
5
The Rat from Hell

A Manhattan executive (Peter Weller) deals with the rats on Wall Street while defending his brownstone ‘castle’ against a literal vermin. Jennifer Dale plays his secretary while Lawrence Dane and Kenneth Welsh are on hand as colleagues.

"Of Unknown Origin" (1983) strikes me as a Stephen King yarn, which makes sense when you figure that this is one of the horror author’s favorite flicks.

While the compare/contrast of the protagonist’s life in his home-castle with the rat maze at work is interesting, the premise is too light IMHO to carry a feature film: a man vs. a rat alone in his gothic abode. Weller works well as the resolute hero but, for me, the best thing about it is winsome Jennifer Dale (Cynthia Dale's older sister).

Gene Simmon’s wife, Shannon Tweed, makes her feature film debut in a small role.

The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in Montreal.

GRADE: C