Willard

Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a lonely and deranged man living in an old mansion with his sick mother Henrietta Stiles (Jackie Burroughs). His father committed suicide after losing his own company to his former partner and friend Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey). Due to a clause in the selling contract, Willard can not be fired from his job while his mother is alive. However, Frank abuses of Willard, humiliating and spending a horrible treatment with him in front of his colleagues. The basement of Willard's house is infested of rats and mice, and Willard capture a beautiful white mouse in a trap. Willard rescues the mouse, calls him Socrates and becomes his friend. Socrates is a leader and the other rats obey him, except the huge Ben. The animals are trained by Willard, who uses them for his revenge. This weird tale about loneliness, friendship, greed and revenge has the same style of most Tim Burton's movies. It is a black comedy very dark, quite gothic, having weird characters, but great performances and good effects. Although dealing with a nasty theme (rats and mice), it is not a disgusting film. It is not recommended for all audiences, but I liked it a lot. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `A Vingança de Willard' (`The Revenge of Willard')

The movie centers about Crispin Glover a quirky and lone man about thirty years old . He lives with her ill mother and amount of mouses into his home . He has got as enemy to the office chief . Rats will help him to revenge .

The film will have to flee whom don't like the rats because they appear in everyone shots , close-ups , foreground and background of the flick . There are thousand rats and they have been made by animatronics and computer generator specials effects(FX).

Acting by Crispin Glover is excellent , interpreting to Willard as a twisted mind is fantastic , likeness to Norman Bates/Anthony Perkins of Psychosis . R. Lee Ermey as the evil and villain chief is perfect such as his acting in ¨Full metal jacket¨ , Laura Elena Harring (Mulholland drive) is cute .

Direction by Glen Morgan is nicely made , cinematography by Robert MacLachlan is first-rate and Shirley Walker's musical score is gorgeous.

It's a remake to another 1971 film featured by Bruce Davison who only appears in photography as Willard's father into this 2003 film.

Rating 6/10 , average .

Maybe self-parody isn't such a bad word in the case of Willard. While I will state that the film was funny and interesting to watch, it wasn't nearly as twisted or as scary as it could have been. But then again, it's so damn tough to scare the jaded masses of critics and movie goers anyway. However, I did find this film wildly entertaining, especially the likes of Glenn Morgan and James Wong helming the project, two guys who helped put together The X-Files and Space: Above and Beyond (a truly underrated show). The only downside to this film was the editing. It was sometimes dull, and often did little to help the plot move in a smooth fashion. However, the random close-ups of the rat/wombat "Big Ben" were hillarious, making it look like the rat would actually start talking. Also, I give a big kudos to R. Lee Ermey, who went back to his old Full Metal Jacket days, making him a scary and evil bad guy to focus on. Oh, and Crispin Glover plays the loser role perfectly.

Mr. Culkin should have taken the role that this movie offered him. For an actor who is trying to prove something to the industry in Hollywood, this movie is an excellent example. Crispin Glover has had a reputation in the film industry as a strong, yet weird actor. Many of the roles that he has received makes Crispin look crazy if not odd. Here, Crispin shows his serious and comic side. The movie alone holds up as a gritty thriller. A horror movie none-the-less, Willard is an interesting film that we don't see too often. A well made movie with decent production value, the cast adds to its greatness. Much like River's Edge, the audience is left wondering where Crispin Glover came from. No longer a young actor, Crispin has worked his way up to become a veteran performer and a good actor.

Glen Morgan's Willard isn't your ordinary mainstream remake! Unlike the bombastic and computerized money-making films like …oh, I don't know Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 13 Ghosts and Dawn of the Dead who're merely loud updates of classic horrific tales. Willard is a modest and respectful production that lays the stress on atmosphere and scenery instead of gory effects and good-looking young flesh. Willard is the tale of an extremely introvert middle-aged man (lives with his needy mother, no girlfriend, stuck in a hopeless job) who discover his ability to control and command little rodents…rats in particular. By communicating with these rats, he finally discovers what friendship feels like and it also gives him the opportunity to satisfy his deepest feelings of anger and vengeance towards his boss – Frank Martin. But the mob of rats slowly turns against Willard as he doesn't treat them alike. Thanks to the depressing scenery (Willard's old house, the morbid factory) and the under-exposure at times, Willard often looks like a 40's chiller! There's a good and constant variation of tension and sadistic humor, with the cat-chase as the absolute highlight to state this. Crispin Glover – the man with the most incomprehensible cult following in the film industry – is brilliantly cast as Willard. His goofy – yet spooky – charisma fits his character really well. R. Lee Ermey receives the change to be his old boisterous self again as the dreary factory-owner who's out to destroy Willard life. To conclude the cast, Laura Harding is very charming as the understanding and helpful Cathryn. This film may not show as many bloodshed and eccentric slaughtering as the nowadays public demands, but it surely made an impression on me. Willard is a very atmospheric and often frightening horror storytelling with some adorable fairy-tale aspects and playfully imaginative aspects. Highly recommended. I saw this film at a during a festival-night…after a series of gory slashers. The over-enthusiast public didn't appreciate it that much but I trust in the fact that Willard will build up a solid cult reputation.