Willard

Rating:
Summary: Creepy and Suspenseful!!!!
Review: Crispin Glover is an incredibly versatile actor. His credits range from Michael J. Fox's father in the "Back to the Future" films to the Thin Man in both "Charlie's Angels" movies. He brings unique creativity to each of his rare film roles and is truly an underrated actor, almost always stuck in secondary roles, which he successfuly breathes life into. He graces us with a Norman Bates like quality in this remake of a 1971 horror cult classic, one of his few starring film roles.

Willard, brilliantly overacted by Glover, is a wimp--a friendless mama's boy who is pushed around in every aspect of his life. His cadaverous mother, who echoes Norman Bates' mother in Hitchcock's "Psycho" (until the film lets us in on the joke by letting us actually see her), bosses him around. Her emotional bullying is as fearsome as the physical intimidation that Willard faces at work, at the hands of Mr. Martin (R. Lee Ermey).

The loud, foulmouthed Mr. Martin makes a point of reminding Willard, who always seems to be about 20 minutes late for work, that the only reason he has a job is because of a promise made to Willard's late father. Plain and simple, Willard's life is a huge mess.

This all changes when his mother howls, "Willard! There are rats in the basement!"

Willard hates the idea of rats and having to deal with them, but doing his duty, he sets out traps. He catches a rat, only to find that he can't kill it. Willard frees the rat and names it Socrates. They cuddle and sleep together, as Socrates becomes an island for the previously friendless Willard. Socrates not only repays Willard with friendship, but serves as intermediary between Willard and the hundreds of rats living in the basement.

But then there's Ben, a big ol' rat who brims with a shifty-eyed malevolence that is chilling. When Socrates meets an untimely demise, Willard, finally suffering one straw too many by Mr. Martin, goes over the edge.

Glover dominates the screen. He does a magnificent, 80-minute slow burn in his marvelous performance, which engenders empathy and ultimately pity when he goes too far. Willard isn't legitimately evil, and with this shade of gray, we empathize.

Rat-phobic people should be warned that these aren't cute rats. "Willard" employs a very effective mixture of real (550 of 'em) and animatronic rats. The mammoth, terrifying Ben is an African Gambian rat that is indeed the size of a cat, while Socrates is an albino Norwegian rat. There is some CGI touch-up of the rats' facial expressions, but Glover frolics among and cuddles up to the real thing. He does this with a zeal that makes what these critters represent for him - friendship and, ultimately, effective conflict resolution - absolutely believable.

The film is like a dream--slow, dark, scary, and emotional. The premise is a bit far-fetched, which is putting off some people, but this is a well-done horror film. It manages to get under your skin with its creepy setting and recognizable characters. "Willard" is definitely one of the most atmospheric and intense horror films to come out in the past decade. It's wonderfully intense and extremely emotional, a creepy and suspenseful thriller that I recommend to any horror fan. "Willard" deserves an audience!

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly very good!
Review: I just came from seeing this movie and i was quite surprised, it was actually pretty good! Luckily i didnt see the original Alfred Hitchcock version so I cant be biast about this one. After seeing Darkness Falls, the movie about the toothfairy i didnt have high expectations about this one, a movie about rats, but luckliy this movie had all the things that you would want in a film. The story is about this man, Willard who is bossed around by his mother, his boss, his co-workers everyone and is very timid and has no friends or anyone to love. In the movie he slowly starts to make his own little world centering around the rats that are living in his basement. He picks a favorite and starts to make a small rat army out of them getting them to do anything he tells them to do. During the whole movie you could see how this guys whole entire world is crumbiling and falling apart and you cant help but feel sorry for this poor pathetic person who takes comfort in being around the rats. I wont tell you what happens in the rest of this film but be assured that you should def. check it out.

Rating:
Summary: A bonafide quality horror film!
Review: In case you haven't noticed, really good horror films aren't made very often anymore. The ...teen horror craze(Scream, Final Destination, Urban Legends, etc.) make up the bulk of today's horror films. Once in a while, a great horror film comes out of this mess, like Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" or "Frailty"... "Willard" can now be added to the very small list of recent great horror movies. "Willard" is a remake of a 1971 cult classic starring Ernest Borgnine.
Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) stars as Willard, a shy boy that still lives with his old, sick mother. His father used to have a successful business, but when he died, the business was given to his partner Mr. Martin, played by R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket, Seven). Mr. Martin hates Willard but can't legally fire him. Anyway, Willard is told by his mother to get rid of the rats in their basement. While Willard is in the basement, he meets a small white rat that he eventually names Socrates and keeps him as his pet. Through a strange turn of events, Willard realizes he has some sort of connection with the hundreds of rats in his basement. He trains them to do things, like chew stuff on command or climb ropes. The other main rat of the story besides Socrates is Ben, a huge rat that wants Willard's attention and will do anything to get it. As you see Willard train his rats and get insulted at work by Mr. Martin, you realize that he is a very sad, friendless man. Socrates is his only true friend. But when Socrates gets killed by his boss at work, that pushes Willard over the edge and he uses Ben and his army of rats to get revenge on him. But after Willard abandons Ben, what lengths will Ben go to to get Willard's attention?
I love good, high-quality horror films that are creepy or suspenseful. This movie was not too violent or gory but was extremely creepy and suspenseful. I loved how this movie also had a psychological edge to it, and the rats even reflected Willard's personality. Crispin Glover is intense and creepy at all the right moments and can also be very sad and sympathetic. He delivers his best performance yet in this movie. R. Lee Ermey also does a great job of portraying a real jerk that may or may not deserve what is coming to him. This film uses real rats in most of the scenes. There is some computer-generated effects but they surprisingly look very realistic. "Willard" is Glen Morgan's directorial debut. He is a former writer of X-Files episodes.
Like I said before, this movie is extremely creepy and suspenseful, so if you enjoy a great, scary movie, than go see "Willard" today!

Rating:
Summary: Not Scary, but it is a good movie.
Review: I know this is marketed as a scary movie, but it isn't scary at all. I would call it a drama/suspense movie. It is a very funny movie. I know other reviewers will tell you the entire thing so I'll just say see it for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: Ok if you're expecting an emmy winning performance, this movie isn't for you.

Willard is about a young man who lives with his horrible mother, and works for his dead father's buisness. Willard is a shy quiet person and is kicked around and abused by everyone. While at home his ghastly mother is complaining of hearing rats in the basement and tells him to kill them. After two attempts of trying to kill them he finds a white rat trying to escape from his rodent paper. He pittys the poor thing and releases it. He then makes the rat his pet, and his first freind. Soon Willard is popular with the local rats. But after using the rats for revenge things get a bit out of hand (you'll just have to see).

I really enjoyed the movie and laughed at a lot of the scenes. I really felt bad about Socrates, and Ben is one evil character. One thing i'd like to mention is that it's really not THAT corny. So if you just want to see a movie but don't know what, see Willard. But don't if you expect every movie out there to have the greatest plot and actors in the world.

Rating:
Summary: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
Review: There's no doubt that the trailers for WILLARD caused many to squirm and wiggle in their seats as scenes of thousands of rats taking revenge are projected on the screen. Those who possess a clear dislike or fear of rats will be well-advised to sit this movie out. WILLARD is not a movie for general audiences, but fortunetly, the sight of rats fails to evoke such strong feelings. I was able to sit back and enjoy this clever remake of the 1971 cult classic horror movie.

Crispin Glover brilliantly plays a socially awkward man named Willard who befriends the rats who occupy his basement. Willard names the first rat he encounters Socrates and positions him/her to be the leader of the rats. Soon Willard has the power to direct the actions of the rats to his will, often at the direct cost of others. Revenge is acted upon those who have harmed him, in particular his horrible boss who deserves everything that is coming to him. But Willard doesn't command all the power over the army of rats. A giant rat named Ben ultimately has the last word.

In addition to the wonderful acting, the cinematography and set designs are clever. Both successfully lend to the atmosphere and drama of this film. The house that Willard occupies with his old and ailing mother and the office in which he works appears virtually frozen in time. There is almost a timeless appeal between the interactions of Willard and his surroundings that complement the film. WILLARD is a fun movie that I recommend to others who think they can stomach it!

Rating:
Summary: A Fun, Creepy Film
Review: I remember watching the original Willard on TV when I was very young, so I was pretty psyched to see what could be done with the concept in the day of computer generated images. To say I was impressed would be an understatement....

The new Willard adheres to the plot of the original pretty closely: Lonely outcast Willard feels a close affinity to the vermin infesting his basement, and soon begins training them to obey his commands. When his fragile world begins crashing dawn around him, he decides to use his new friends to more sinister effect....

Crispin Glover IS Willard; He seems born to play the role. His scenes with the two main rats (The benevolent Socrates and the HUGE, malevolent Ben) are great. (I don't know if Director Glenn Morgan, formerly of The X-Files, was actually able to find a rat or rats as big as Ben appears to be, or if it was CGI or puppetry or both, but the overall effect is as impressive as hell! That is one BIG RAT!) The film has an odd, quirky tone; The skewed camera angles and odd music fit the overall mood perfectly. R. Lee Ermey is a riot as Willard's slave-driving boss, and his confrontations with the perpetually late Willard set the stage for an apocalyptic Rat-battle in the factory where they both work. The visual of Willard and the rats emerging from the elevator is simply staggering.

The film is peppered with in-jokes (Willard has a "Big Ben" clock by his bed, Willard's dad should look familiar to fans of the original, Mr. Martin's "Prudent Agression" poster could just as easily be changed to "Rodent Agression"....) that keep the dark film from becoming too funereal, and Director Morgan keeps the pace moving quickly. My only quibble is the PG-13 rating....Does ANYONE in Hollywood have the guts to make an "R" film anymore? Not everything needs to be geared towards kids, and judging by the audience I saw the film with, kids are staying away from Willard in droves.

Rating:
Summary: The Year's Best Film
Review: If you were expecting a "cool, killer animal" film, do not see this movie. If you were expecting a carbon copy of the original horror cult classic, do not see this film. The new "Willard" is not a bloody, slasher movie, despite how the trailers make it out to be. "Willard" is an intelligent, psychological thriller/drama about a lonely man (played excellently by my new favorite actor, Crispin Glover [another film he was great in was "Bartleby",...) who befriends a little white rat named Socrates, only to find that not only can he communicate with the rat, but the rat can send his communications off to the hundreds of other rats living in Willard's basement. He soon develops a great friendship with Socrates, and uses the rats for revenge. One of the other rats is a humongus fellow named Ben who desperately wants to be part of Willard's and Socrates' friendship, but Willard shuns Ben, and only uses him when he needs him. Well, I don't want to go into too much detail, but a sort of love triangle evolves with Willard, Socrates, and Ben. There is also a thing going on with Willard's mother, who lives with him, and Willard's horrible boss. Willard's and Socrate's relationship is truly endearing, creating a beautiful film. This film is perfect if you love rats, hate them, or just like Crispin Glover, as he really shines here. It is enhanced with very cool cinematography (with very little CGI- Ben is somewhere around nine pounds and he is a *real* rat), and good music. A must see!

Rating:
Summary: not what you expect
Review: This movie is awsome! The casting cant be beat,the story is very believable and the rats never look fake or cheesy. The filmmakers give the rats a personality,so they just dont show up to eat stuff without a purpose.This is dark,DARK comedy with a lot of energy oozing from crispin glover.they better get this guy some starring roles in other movies.

Rating:
Summary: Crazy
Review: This movie was crazy. I saw it by accident and I couldnt leave the seat. It was brutal to watch, and I'll see it again. It's different....