Of Unknown Origin is a 1983 horror film directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Peter Weller as Bart Hughes, a successful Wall Street executive who has recently finished rebuilding his family's townhouse. However, his peaceful life is disrupted by a rat infestation in the house, which leads him down a path of obsession and destruction.
As Bart becomes more and more obsessed with eradicating the rats, he begins to neglect his work and his family, causing his wife and son to leave him. His sole focus becomes the expulsion of the rats, and he spends all his time and money on traps, poisons, and even hiring a professional exterminator.
As the infestation continues to grow, Bart begins a personal battle with the "King Rat", a large, intelligent rat that seems to be the leader of the pack. Bart traps and kills numerous rats, but the King Rat always seems to evade him. The rat becomes symbolic of everything that is threatening Bart's new life and gradually takes on a symbolic mantle of everything that can go wrong in his life.
Bart's obsession soon turns violent, and he begins to destroy his own home in a desperate attempt to find and kill the King Rat. During one confrontation, the King Rat and Bart engage in a fierce battle, with Bart being bitten and injured. Despite this, he continues his quest, determined to emerge victorious.
In the end, Bart loses the battle to the King Rat, but in the process, he has destroyed his own life, his home, and his family. The film ends with Bart living in his ruined home, surrounded by traps and poison, still trying to catch the elusive rat that has ruined his life. The movie is a stirring depiction of obsession which demonstrates the enduring appeal of exploring it for a cinematic audience.
