This may be short and a bit slow, but it’s very realistic, which makes Ratter damn scary

Ratter poster stalker movieQuite a few horror movies these days are probably a lot scarier for girls, because it preys on our (all too relevant and realistic) real-life fears. Ratter is a perfect example of this. I honestly don’t think boys and men relate to this the same way – though I’m sure everyone can still understand these fears on some level. Also, I certainly think parents can relate. In particular towards the ending of Ratter which is just terrifying!

Ashley Benson (Pretty Little Liars) plays the lead role as Emma and since the entire film is shot via digital cameras in her various online connected devices (cell phone, laptop, video game console), we get the experience of being a fly on the wall in her life. Benson is perfect in the role since she’s very natural and organic in her behavior. Seriously, it was like watching myself in some ways. No vanity or forced lines come into play, which was a nice surprise.

Besides Ashley Benson, there’s another very recognizable TV show face with Matt McGorry (How To Get Away With Murder and Orange Is The New Black) as her love interest. From his previous work, we know McGorry always has a pretty good comedic strike, which works well in Ratter as well. Even though you won’t find much reason to laugh in general, he does help to lighten the mood in a few scenes.



Written and directed by Branden Kramer, Ratter marks the feature film debut for Kramer in both areas. He did co-direct the 2012 viral short Webcam which was made by a group of German film students consisting of Stefan Haverkamp, Jan Jaworksi, Thomas Kropp and Branden Kramer himself. The short film Webcam was nominated at Vimeo Awards in 2012 and ended up becoming the basis of this 2015 feature film.

With Ratter you’ll get a good surveillance and stalker horror plot and a surprisingly realistic and scary outcome. In fact, these are the two words I’d use to describe this film: Scary and realistic. If you’re ready to just take on the role of a voyeur – and the very unpleasant task of imagining what it would be like to be the victim of this crime – then you should be able to appreciate this movie.

Ratter is out on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD now

Details

Director: Branden Kramer
Writer: Branden Kramer
Cast: Ashley Benson, Matt McGorry, Kaili Vernoff

Plot

Emma, a graduate student living alone in NYC, is being watched by a new kind of stalker, where the cameras are always on and someone’s always watching.

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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