Cicada Cinema presents RATS! (2025)

19-year-old Raphael Tinski (Luke Wilcox), a graffiti artist whose arrest by the unhinged Officer Williams (Danielle Evon Ploeger) for defacing a dilapidated payphone—a local “monument”—sets off a chain of absurd events. To avoid jail time, Raphael is coerced into spying on his cousin Mateo (Darius Autry), whom Officer Williams irrationally suspects of trafficking nuclear weapons. As Raphael delves deeper into this chaotic mission, he encounters a colorful cast of characters, including the aspiring rapper Flophouse (Ka5sh) and the enigmatic Bernadette (Khali Sykes), all while navigating the tumultuous landscape of small-town life.

Blending gross-out humor with heartfelt moments, Rats! offers a nostalgic nod to early 2000s counterculture and youthful rebellion.