During the pandemic, director Todd Strauss-Schulson made a 4 minute short film called Rat, which was about “a lonely rat in New York City that finds love and dances the night away.” Now, Variety reports that Strauss-Schulson is set to direct the survival horror feature film Rats!, but it has no connection to his short film other than the fact that it’s set in New York City and will have rats in it.
Strauss-Schulson wrote the Rats! screenplay with Paul Sado, whose previous credits include the Adam Sandler movies Leo and The Cobbler. The story Strauss-Schulson and Sado crafted for this one puts New York City in a race against time to stop a killer rat infestation unlike anything the world has ever seen. The concept and setting brings to mind the 2002 movie The Rats (which was based on a James Herbert novel that was actually set in London), but it doesn’t appear that Rats! has anything to do with that movie or James Herbert.
Lionsgate and producer Paul Brooks have partnered on the worldwide rights to the project and Lionsgate will be presenting it to potential buyers at the Cannes market. Lionsgate and Brooks previously worked together on the 2022 horror filmPrey for the Devil. In addition to Brooks, the film’s producers are producers on include Adam Fishbach (Narcos) and Jason Fuchs, who happens to be the co-creator and co-showrunner of the upcoming HBO series It: Welcome to Derry. Fuchs was also a co-producer on It: Chapter Two.
sponsored content
Strauss-Schulson’s directing career stretches back nearly thirty years. Credits include the slasher horror comedy The Final Girls, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, the unaired Disney Channel pilot Zombies and Cheerleaders, the Rebel Wilson rom-com Isn’t It Romantic, and episodes of The Inbetweeners, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, Glamorous, and Chad.
I’m totally on board to watch a deadly rat infestation movie from the director of The Final Girls, so I’m looking forward to seeing how Rats! will turn out. Does Rats! sound like an interesting project to you? Share your thoughts on the new Todd Strauss-Schulson movie by leaving a comment below.
Source: Variety
Tags: aith, Arrow in the head, rats, Todd Strauss-Schulson
About the Author
Cody Hamman
Horror News Editor
Favorite Movies: The Friday the 13th franchise, Kevin Smith movies, the films of read more George A. Romero (especially the initial Dead trilogy), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 & 2, FleshEater, Intruder, Let the Right One In, Return of the Living Dead, The Evil Dead, Jaws, Tremors, From Dusk Till Dawn, Phantasm, Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes, Back to the Future trilogy, Dazed and Confused, the James Bond series, Mission: Impossible, the MCU, the list goes on and on
Likes: Movies, horror, '80s slashers, podcasts, animals, traveling, Brazil (the country), the read more Cinema Wasteland convention, classic rock, Led Zeppelin, Kevin Smith, George A. Romero, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, Richard Linklater, Paul Thomas Anderson, Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, James Bond, Tom Cruise, Marvel comics, the grindhouse/drive-in era
Latest Rats News
See More
Rat Train: trailer unveiled for Chinese horror film about rats on a train
Posted 4 years ago
So this looks fun! A new trailer has just been unleashed for the VFX-heavy Chinese horror/disaster film Rats Train (a.k.a. Rat Disaster), which is about – you guessed it – rats on a train! But not just any rats, mind...
Live-action Secret of NIMH film finds its director
Posted 8 years ago
So there's going to be a live-action SECRETOF NIMH film, now titled RATS OF NIMH for some reason. Now, I don't have a problem with live-action remakes of animated films in theory, and have even enjoyed a few of them....
Blair Witch and Sadako vs. Kayako among TIFF Midnight Madness films
Posted 9 years ago
The 41st Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from September 8th to 18th, and as part of that event comes the Cineplex Entertainment-sponsored Midnight Madness line-up of "excessive, unrelenting, weird, and wild films". Midnight Madness kicks off with...
Latest Horror News
JoBlo Originals
The Opening Accidents: The Most Important Part of Final Destination?
Posted 2 minutes ago
Celebrating the release of Final Destination: Bloodlines with a look back at the very popular highway scene in Final Destination 2
Horror Movie News
Sinners sets July 4K Blu-ray release; will feature expanding aspect ratio of IMAX showings
Posted 58 minutes ago
Ryan Coogler's Sinners will be coming to 4K Blu-ray on July 22nd, with a shifting aspect ratio seen in the IMAX release.
Horror Movie Reviews
Final Destination Bloodlines Review: A Fun Twist On The Formula
Posted 1 hour ago
Boasting some of the best kills of the franchise, Final Destination: Bloodlines is a blast! Just get ready to roll your eyes at the very convoluted plot.
Horror Movie News
Jennifer Love Hewitt to narrate They Know What They Did docuseries for HBO Max
Posted 2 hours ago
To coincide with the release of the new I Know What You Did Last Summer, JLH has been tapped to narrate docuseries They Know What They Did.
Horror Movie Reviews
Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: A vanity project that makes The Weeknd look bad
Posted 16 hours ago
The Weeknd co-wrote, produced and starred in one of the most curious vanity projects ever released as a mainstream film.
Horror Movie News
Maika Monroe will replace Margaret Qualley in Victorian Psycho
Posted 17 hours ago
Margaret Qualley left Victorian Psycho earlier this year, but it has been announced that Maika Monroe will replace her.
Horror Movie News
Get a first look at the new Jason Voorhees design for the Jason Universe
Posted 18 hours ago
Jason lives! While one of the sequels sports the subtitle, "A New Beginning," another new beginning has started for the franchise.
Horror Movie News
Over Your Dead Body: Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, TimothyOlyphant, and Juliette Lewis star in thriller remake
Posted 19 hours ago
Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphant, and Juliette Lewis star in Jorma Taccone's remake of Tommy Wirkola's The Trip
Horror Movie News
Black Tides: John Travolta will try to survive orca attacks in Renny Harlin’s upcoming killer whale movie
Posted 19 hours ago
John Travolta heads to the Strait of Gibraltar and encounters devastating killer whale attacks in the upcoming Renny Harlin thriller.
TV News
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Firestarter’s Ryan Kiera Armstrong to lead the sequel series
Posted 20 hours ago
Ryan Kiera Armstrong will star opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer legacy sequel series.
Load more articles
Popular News
Horror Movie News
Get a first look at the new Jason Voorhees design for the Jason Universe
Posted 18 hours ago
Jason lives! While one of the sequels sports the subtitle, "A New Beginning," another new beginning has started for the franchise.
Movie News
Hurry Up Tomorrow reactions paint it as egomaniacal vanity project for The Weeknd
Posted 1 day ago
Hurry Up Tomorrow, which is a companion to The Weeknd's album of the same name, is being blasted all across social media.
Horror Movie Reviews
Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: A vanity project that makes The Weeknd look bad
Posted 16 hours ago
The Weeknd co-wrote, produced and starred in one of the most curious vanity projects ever released as a mainstream film.
JoBlo Originals
Weekend Box Office Predictions: Final Destination: Bloodlines will set a series record
Posted 23 hours ago
Final Destination: Bloodlines seems likely to make more this weekend than most other entries in the series made over their entire runs.
TV News
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Firestarter’s Ryan Kiera Armstrong to lead the sequel series
Posted 20 hours ago
Ryan Kiera Armstrong will star opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer legacy sequel series.
Top 10 Movies
- Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
- The Naked Gun (2025)
- Ballerina
- F1
- 28 Years Later
- Jurassic World: Rebirth
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Superman
- Karate Kid: Legends
- Final Destination: Bloodlines
Breaking News
JoBlo Originals
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – What Happened to This Sci-Fi Action Film?
Posted 1 week ago
The What Happened series takes a look back at the 1995 sci-fi film Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves and Dolph Lundgren
JoBlo Originals
Prince of Darkness (1987) – What Happened to This Horror Movie?
Posted 3 weeks ago
The What Happened to This Horror Movie series looks back at the 1987 John Carpenter film Prince of Darkness
JoBlo Originals
Cloverfield (2008) Revisited – Horror Movie Review
Posted 1 month ago
The Revisited series looks back at the 2008 creature feature Cloverfield, directed by Matt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams
JoBlo Originals
RoboCop 3 (1993) – What Happened to This Sci-Fi Action Movie?
Posted 2 months ago
The What Happened to This Horror Movie series dives into the messiness and bad decisions behind director Fred Dekker's RoboCop 3
JoBlo Originals
Class of 1999 (1990) Revisited – Horror Movie Review
Posted 3 weeks ago
The Black Sheep looks back at Class of 1999, Mark L. Lester's sci-fi thriller follow-up to his film Class of 1984
JoBlo Originals
Everything We Know About Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Posted 3 weeks ago
We have compiled a list of everything we know about Five Nights at Freddy's 2, which is set to reach theatres in December
Top Celebrity Stories!
Pop Culture
Joe Don Baker, Walking Tall star and James Bond actor, dies at 89
Posted 1 day ago
Joe Don Baker, who starred in 1973's Walking Tall and had multiple roles in the James Bond franchise, has passed away.
Pop Culture
Posted 2 days ago
Check out your favorite film scores performed live by the composers at the first-of-its-kind Future Ruin Music fest this fall.
Pop Culture
Lyle and Erik Menendez eligible for parole after resentencing
Posted 2 days ago
Lyle and Erik Menendez, who murdered their parents in 1989, are now eligible for parole after a resentencing.
Pop Culture
Cynthia Erivo will star in a Dracula stage play in 23 different roles
Posted 3 days ago
The Academy Award-nominated star of the Wicked films will take on 23 roles for a new stage production of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Pop Culture
Why Lorne Michaels looked out for Chris Farley during the SNL years
Posted 3 days ago
Lorne Michaels took a special guidance to Chris Farley during his SNL days due to the addictions and death of John Belushi.
