Willard e i topi

My mom remembers seeing "Willard" when it first came out, and so she encouraged me to see it. It tells the story of Willard Stiles (Bruce Davison), an outcast who still lives with his mother Henrietta (Elsa Lanchester). But Willard discovers that their house has some other inhabitants: rats. He quickly befriends the critters, and then turns them into a sort of army who will obey all his commands. To add to this situation, Willard and his mother believed that his father died naturally, but it begins to look like Willard's boss Al Martin (Ernest Borgnine) may have been involved.

The old, dark house, and the young man living with his mother might bring to mind "Psycho", but "Willard" seems to me to be more of a story of an outcast taking revenge on the world that rejected him.

Made the mistake of reading the book before seeing the movie; the movie, as a consequence, couldn't possibly live up to my expectations. Nor did it. But that's not a put-down. While there were some things that irked me (the mother rat's humble "thanks" at one point, the rubber rats all too much in evidence at the birthday party, etc.), Bruce Davidson and Ernest Borgnine deliver solid performances that help keep one focused on the twisted relationships that are the core of this film. (Elsa Lanchester as Willard's mewling mother also deserves mention.) I don't know how this one would hold up today, but, back in 1971, it was a must-see.

This movie scared the pants off me as a kid - literally! Now I like rat movies as much as the next guy, but this one was CREEEEEPY! I suppose it was Ernest Borgnine's performance as Mr. Martin, Willard's boss, that made the whole movie so disturbing. It's so creepy because it's true! I once had a boss who reminded me of Ernest Borgnine, but fortunately I never tried to bring my pet rat to work with me!

Anyway, here's my advice - if you like rat movies, or movies with Ernest Borgnine, then see "Willard" tonight. If you DON'T like Ernest Borgnine and you DON'T like rat movies, then maybe "Willard" is not for you. I don't want to give any more of the plot away, but IF you do decide to watch "Willard", make sure you don't see it alone!

Bruce Davison plays Willard, a repressed 29 year old with no social life outside of his mother (Elsa Lanchester) and her loudmouthed friends who constantly nitpick everything about him and tell him why he's never amounted to anything. Even worse, his boss (Ernest Borgnine at his nastiest) stole the company from Willard's deceased father and seems intent on running it into the ground and never giving Willard a chance to take over. Everything changes when he befriends a few rats he finds in his home and he realizes that he has the power to force them to do his bidding. It looks like everyone who ever doubted or wished ill will of Willard is about to get what's coming to them.

More psychological character study than outright horror film, Willard is blessed with a strong script with great characters and wonderful performances all around. If you're here for big shocks, jump scares, or buckets of blood, I'd suggest looking elsewhere, because this movie barely even earns its PG rating. What keeps it interesting are the characters and their human drama. If that sounds like something you might be interested in, then I highly recommend this movie.

A mousy, introverted young man befriends and teaches rats basic commands. Soon his home and life are preoccupied with this rodent infestation, coming particularly close to two rats, Ben and Socrates. Willard is played with great skill by Bruce Davison, communicating to the audience his despondency with family life as well as with his job. He has a love-hate relationship with his dotty, doting mother, played with the usual charm only Elsa Lanchester can exude. His relationship with his mother's friends is distant, and with his employer Martin, disastrous. Martin is played with relish by Ernest Borgnine, making the audience feel little sympathy for his fate. Naturally, Willard trains the rats to do "bad" things and this leads to a battle of wills between Willard and the main rat Ben(the lead character in the film's sequel BEN). Overall, the film is rather slowly paced, but well-acted and rewarding in the end.