The familiar story for those of us who remember Bruce Davidson in 1971 (his cameo is as photographs of Willard's late father) is that Willard (Crispin Glover) is stuck at a dead end job at the business founded by his father but now run by the cruel taskmaster Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey), while at home he takes care of his infirmed mother (Jackie Burroughs). Willard does not have a friend in the world before he finds one in Socrates, a white rat. Then he discovers that the other rats in the basement are willing to listen to what he says. Well, except for the largest of the bunch, named Ben, and all of the ingredients are in place for the death and mayhem.

Writer-director Glen Morgan apparently wrote the script for "Willard" with actor Doug Hutchison (Percy Wetmore in "The Green Mile") in mind for the title role. This is rather ironic because the chief attraction of this film is the performance of Crispin Glover. To every one who saw Glover in the first "Charlie's Angels" film, the fact that he would be perfect as Willard Stilles seems fairly obvious. Emery, as the film's villain, is not as scary as he was in the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," but still has its moments and it was certainly a trip to see Burroughs, remembered as Aunt Hetty from "Tales of Avonlea," as Willard's mother, who decides that his problem is his name and re-christens him "Clark." Laura Elena Harring plays Cathryn, the temp worker hired to help Willard at work and who takes a liking to him despite his problems, but she is never more than an observer on the festivities.

The DVD extras are fairly interesting given the problems Morgan had it putting a finished film together. Starting with a R-rated version that gets below average ratings from the first preview audience, he cobbles together a pair of PG-13 versions, with a changed ending, but each version gets even lower scores and the film is sent off into the world to only make $4 million its first week, finish in eighth place, and disappear a fortnight later. The back story on this remake is more interesting than most. There is also a music video of Glover doing "Ben," which he signs over the end credits of the film, as well as the usual deleted scenes and assorted featurettes. Even if you have not seen the original and even though it is not a really horrific horror film despite all those rats, this one is worth a look.

HE'S BACK...
Review date: 2004-04-04 Rating: 6 out of 10

It appears that Crispin Glover is carving a niche for himself on the silver screen, playing slightly creepy, social misfits ("Back to the Future", "Bartleby"). In this re-make of the 1971 film of the same name that starred Bruce Davidson, Crispin Glover plays the title role, that of Willard Stiles.

Willard is a lonely young man who lives in a huge mansion from days gone by with his decaying, elderly mother (Jackie Burroughs). He works in the industrial plant that used to belong to his father, before it was stolen out from under him by Mr. Martin (R. Lee Ermey), the man who is now Willard's boss. Cruelly tormented at work by Mr. Martin and beset at home by his overbearing mother whom he loves in an obsessive Norman Bates type of way, Willard is just plain weird.

When he discovers that his home is plagued by rats, instead of exterminating them, he befriends one of them, a white rat whom he names Socrates, who is in command of the horde of rats that reside in the basement. His second in command is a huge brown rat whom Willard names Ben but whom he does not like. The horde of rats seem to live to do Willard's bidding. All that changes when the lovable Socrates meets a cruel and untimely end. That event totally unhinges both Willard and Ben, and therein lies the tale.

Directed by X Files graduate Glen Morgan, with superlative production values, the film has an inside joke that X File fans, such as myself, will appreciate. Look for the orange cat, appropriately named Scully after red head Gillian Anderson, who plays the role of the same name in the X Files series. Moreover, links to the original "Willard" film, upon which this one is predicated, abound in the film. The portrait and family photographs of Willard's father look surprisingly like those of Bruce Davidson.

It is as if the film were written tongue-in-cheek, as there is really nothing all that horrific about it, other than the demise of Socrates. In fact, as a true horror film, it fails. Even the rats are not scary. They end up being merely funny. This filmed failed at the box-office for this reason, because the powers that be marketed it as a horror genre film. As a portrait of the disintegration of a lonely, social misfit, however, the film fares better, due to the inspired casting of Crispin Glover. It is a film worth seeing, if only for Crispin Glover's performance.

Surprisingly Effective
Review date: 2004-03-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

"Willard" tells the story of a 30-something misfit, played by Crispin Glover. Willard is stuck in a dead-end job that he hates, and he has to care for his elderly mother who constantly belittles him. His life is miserable, until he finds a white rat dwelling in the basement of his Byzantine home. He befriends the rat and dubs him Socrates, and to his amazement he finds his basement flooded with other rats who listen to him. However, a fat rat named Ben comes onto the scene and changes everything.

A remake of the 1971 movie, the plot of "Willard" is completely inane but somehow manages to work. Glover brings an unbelievable amount of likeability to his role, which helps build sympathy for his character. R. Lee Ermey is also very good as Willard's exceptionally vile boss who eventually gets his just desserts. Of interest, the pictures of Glover's father that are seen throughout the house are actor Bruce Davison, who played Willard in the original movie.

Debut director Glen Morgan (writer of "Final Destination) employs a rather flashy style that helps "Willard" rise above similar B-movies. The movie also features some much appreciated humor, notably in a scene involving the song "Ben" by Michael Jackson. However, if you watch this movie expecting an explicit horror movie, then you may be a bit disappointed at the relatively gore-free first hour of the movie. Nevertheless, some of the later scenes are more graphic, and "Willard" is ultimately a surprisingly enjoyable movie.

Extras: The DVD is packed with extras. 1) An interesting commentary track featuring the director and Crispin Glover. 2) A 17 minute documentary called "Rat People," which features interviews with people who keep rats for pets. Narrated by Bruce Davison, the documentary features profiles of the rat fans interspersed with hilarious interviews with an exterminator and other rat-haters. 3) A video of Crispin Glover's remake of the song "Ben," which is hilarious. 4) A dozen deleted scenes, some of which show more graphic alternatives.

Crispin Glover at his finest
Review date: 2004-02-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Great movie! Crispin Glover is a genius. I think of all his films, Willard is his best movie ever. Ok one of his best films. I am a fan. Go see it if you like dark psychotic films, and there's a gory scene where the rats turned their back on him (which was a good part). I give Willard 10 out of 10, and Crispin deserves a Best Actor Oscar.

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