Film
Rats
Morgan Spurlock's documentary uses rats as a lens to examine urban ecology, disease, and our visceral disgust with creatures we've driven into our cities. It's funny and gross in equal measure, full of surprising moments of tenderness toward animals we're taught to fear. For people who love nature documentaries with a point of view, and those curious about how cities actually work.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you're drawn to the everyday ecology of cities and enjoy a wry, globe-trotting essay where a restless curiosity matters more than a polished argument.
Skip it if you need a tightly plotted investigation with a clear arc; this wanders, digresses, and leans on its own cheekiness more than on the animals themselves.
What it asks of you: Expect a brisk 84 minutes that hops between continents and tones, so keep your attention moving with it rather than settling into one thread.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
My Octopus Teacher2020
A filmmaker develops a relationship with an octopus, revealing intelligence and emotion in an animal we rarely think about. Shifts your entire perspective on what we share with creatures deemed 'other'.
But Slow, meditative, and quietly devastating. If you want bang-bang editing and drama, this will feel like watching paint dry.
Blackfish2013
Documentary about orcas in captivity that plays like a thriller: mounting dread, corporate malfeasance, and animals suffering in plain sight. Genuinely disturbing and impossible to unsee.
But Activist filmmaking with a clear agenda. If you prefer balanced journalism over moral clarity, you'll feel the tilt.
The Ivory Game2016
Conservation, poaching, and politics converge in Africa. It's tense, urgent, and shows the real humans fighting to protect endangered species—not a story told from above.
But Gets bogged down in policy discussion. The pacing stumbles when it should build momentum.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rats
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Plague Dogs1982
Both use animals as mirrors for human systems and cruelty. Both refuse sentimentality while making you care about creatures society discards.
Animated film about two dogs escaping a laboratory where they were used for weapons testing. Brutal, serious, and unexpectedly tender—animation used to tell an urgent moral story.
But British animation from the '80s looks crude by modern standards. The violence toward animals is relentless and not stylized. It's genuinely upsetting.
More like this (7)
Fantastic Mr. Fox2009
Wes Anderson stop-motion comedy about an animal trying to survive in human territory. Witty, gorgeously made, and genuinely moving about cunning and survival.
But The whimsy is relentless. If you find Anderson's style affected rather than charming, this won't change your mind.
Life2007
David Attenborough's BBC series about survival and adaptation across the animal kingdom. Stunning cinematography, profound without being sentimental, and deeply respectful to every creature.
But It's a comfort watch that asks for patience. No plot twists, no stakes beyond nature itself.
Planet Earth II2016
The definitive modern nature documentary. Every habitat, every creature, filmed to make you believe you're witnessing the miraculous. Breathtaking cinematography that makes reality look unreal.
But Relentless beauty can numb you. After ten episodes, another stunning landscape barely registers.
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret2014
Documentary about factory farming's environmental impact, told with the energy of a heist movie. Genuinely eye-opening about systems we ignore daily.
But Aggressively vegan messaging. It wants to make you feel complicit, which works or rankles depending on your tolerance for that.
Grizzly Man2005
Werner Herzog's portrait of a man who tried to live among bears. Poetic, tragic, and questions every assumption about nature and human intention.
But It's a meditation on delusion and death. Requires mood and patience; doesn't satisfy in the way most documentaries do.
Tremors1990
Both find dark humor in human panic around animals. Both suggest the real horror is how we respond, not the creature itself.
Horror-comedy about giant worms terrorizing a small desert town. It's absurd, thrilling, and weirdly respectful to its creatures as genuine predators with agency.
But Embraces B-movie silliness. If you want your monster movies serious, the tone will feel like mockery.
City Hunter1993
Both are documentaries of systems—Rats traces urban ecology; City Hunter traces the geography and rhythm of a real city, using action to map it. Both love their subjects obsessively.
Jackie Chan's frenetic action-comedy set in Hong Kong about a detective protecting a woman from assassins. Anarchic, joyful, and shot through with practical stunts that feel miraculous.
But The plot barely exists; dialogue is perfunctory. It's a showcase of motion and comedy beat, not narrative drive. Subtitles required.
People
Cast
- Ed SheehanHimself
- Bobby CorriganHimself
Directing
- Morgan SpurlockDirector