Rats! David Lynch Does Vermin Horror in this 1991 NYC Anti-littering PSA

Did you know that rats bite something like 100 people each year in New York City? That’s according to statistics released by the Health Department in 2011, looking at some of the dangerous encounters between humans and the ever-increasing population of rodents in the greatest city on Earth.

But it’s not that the city has a rat problem so much as a garbage problem that brings rats along with it, in a massive population center that sometimes has a problem properly disposing of those candy wrappers or leftover pieces of food. It’s not the rat’s fault that you can’t be bothered to toss that Sbarro’s wrapper with the little bit of cheese stuck to it.

Also, why are you going to Sbarro’s in New York? You couldn’t walk the extra block to get a real New York slice?

Anyway, with the city still debating whether post-Sandy the rat population has increased (or simply shifted), now’s a great time to revisit this one minute short from director David Lynch which makes a convincing argument for properly disposing of your trash in a city teeming with bitey little monsters just a couple of feet below the surface.

It’s also a reminder that Lynch shoots black and white menace like no one else, allowing the mix of music to warp the mundane, making the hustle and bustle of city life feel threatening, alienating.

Enjoy!