MovieFreak.com - "Of Unknown Origin" DVD Review

Bart Hughes (Peter Weller) recently completed rebuilding a townhouse and becomes obsessed with a rat infestation until it becomes an interspecies duel.

Of Unknown Origin, directed by George P. Cosmatos (Rambo II, Tombstone), takes terror to a new level. Okay, maybe not so new, but definitely to a place where terror is most unwelcome: your home! The film spends some time setting up the premise and characters. In more detail, the premise concerns Bart Hughes. He lives a pretty good life and is married to a beautiful, loving woman (Shannon Tweed). He loves his young son, and his job with promotion prospects is keeping him busy. Still, he found time to renovate his brownstone in New York. When his wife and son leave for a vacation, Bart begins work on a project that could earn him that promotion. Yet as work consumes most of his time he is unaware that a certain inhabitant, a large rat, invades his home. Bart notices things start to go wrong in his house that might indicate he is not alone. The dishwasher floods the kitchen—bad luck or the work of a creature?

Of Unknown Origin spends time between Bart’s work and life at home, paralleling the hectic environment at work and his battle at home. There is an interesting, effective scene with Bart reading up on rats and their history in a library. He also watches a film, but quickly turns it off when the video goes into too much (gruesome) detail. Cosmatos adds some much-needed tension to the simplicity of the premise, such as including quick shots of the large rat inside Bart’s home. Calling this film simplistic is unfair. It’s not simple per se, but not very compelling either. Some tension exists, as I mentioned, but a little more would have been beneficial. For a film in the horror genre, Of Unknown Origin inexplicably lacks a sense of danger or terror. Yeah, it’s in the air somewhere, but it doesn’t rain down to have an effect.

Moreover, the script is well written and it gives Peter Weller a character he can do a lot of good things with. Meaning, Weller is pretty darn good here, despite acting almost half the time opposite a fierce creature. Of Unknown Origin is pretty decent, overall. There are certain elements I like. The film’s major setback is probably its slow pace. It just doesn’t move as smooth as it should. Predictability is another small setback. There are some rewarding/memorable moments here, and in general the film is only as good as those moments. The rest of the time it’s mediocre entertainment.

Warner Bros. presents Of Unknown Origin in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The image is pretty sharp and the presentation gives colors a nice treatment. Grain shows up in most of the dark scenes, although daylight and exterior shots look pretty bright and clear. Compression artifacts do not occur, although a few specks pop up from time to time. Overall, this is a pretty decent video presentation.

Warner Bros. presents Of Unknown Origin in English Dolby Digital Mono. The front speakers get all the noise here. The soundtrack is nicely reproduced across the two front channels, making dialog scenes clear and easy to understand. Sound effects come across nicely, especially the squeaks and scratches of the creature of unknown origin. The film’s score sounds pretty good as well. It’s a decent presentation that sounds just fine.

The only extra here is an Audio Commentary by Director George P. Cosmatos and Peter Weller. However, these two are not in the same room, taking away any sort of conversational feel. Still, Cosmatos offers some interesting tidbits and Weller as well, yet the overall impression is unexciting. Silence is not golden in terms of this track. What that means is there are some big spots of silence.

The only other extras are Cast/Director/Writer film highlights and the film’s Theatrical Trailer. You can select to view the film with optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. The DVD’s menus are not animated. The 89-minute feature is organized into twenty-three chapters.

Of Unknown Origin is mediocre entertainment, but it includes some generally good moments. There is some tension, Video/audio is fine, and the commentary is boring despite a few occasional interesting tidbits. Rent it if this is your genre.

THE MOVIE	6
THE VIDEO	7
THE AUDIO	5
THE EXTRAS	3
OVERALL (not an average)	5