Rat City

The 1971 horror film "Willard" may have some competition. "Rats," a new documentary by James M. Felter, takes a dirty look at some of the most feared and offensive creatures in our nation's capital -- and they are not politicians. Much of the film centers around a dumpster in an alley -- ironically, behind Willard Street -- in the Adams-Morgan section of D.C. Garbage-picking homeless men narrate the story as they feed food scraps to their vermin friends. Felter, a native Washingtonian, says he became increasingly fascinated with the subject when he noticed a rat problem in the city. "There's this amazing culture around garbage in Washington," he says. "A prolific rat problem was literally underneath my nose." What he came to realize was that despite the affluence surrounding the nation's capital, the city was, in reality, filthy. "People completely disregard trash in this city," he says. Former D.C. mayor Marion Barry and Bill Clinton both make brief appearances. With people eating out of dumpsters right below the nation's monuments, "the political metaphors are abundant," says Felter.

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