"Willard"
Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) lives in the rundown family manse with his bedridden mother (Jackie Burroughs). His father had sold the family business, just before he died a few years back, to his partner Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermy) with the proviso that his family will be provided for. But Frank hates the weak Willard and constantly badgers his old partner's son, making the younger man's life a living hell. Things are about to change for Willard, though, when he makes a very special friend named Socrates in "Willard."
I had a couple of reactions when I first saw the movie posters for "Willard" show up a while back in the theaters. I had seen the original 1971 version, starring a very young Bruce Davison, about 30 years ago and was not impressed. It was an okay gross-outer but not a movie that I would bother to catch again. I questioned the remaking of Gilbert Ralston's original script (from his novel) as adapted by director Glen Morgan - why bother? I thought.
Then, there was my other reaction: what a perfect choice in casting just the right actor in the role of a dysfunctional character whose best friend is a rat. Crispin Glover has always had a propensity for playing weird, often dark and troubled people from "The River's Edge" to"Bartleby" to the Thin Man in "Charlie's Angels." When I saw that strange face staring out at me from the poster I thought there might be some hope for the all-new "Willard."
Well, it turns out that this is a mixed bag of a film. Walking out of the theater, I still asked the question: why? Aside from the creep factor of thousands of rats swarming across the screen doing mayhem there is little draw to the story by Ralston. But, helmer Morgan, Glover and a very talented behind-the-camera team raise "Willard" a cut above the original.
Glover brings the right kind of rat-like quality to the role - it makes me wonder if his over-length front teeth are prosthetic or real - as well as the necessary sniveling, whining and pleading quality that has become the insecure Willard's trademark after years of his mother and his boss constantly berating him. The only shred of hope he has is in the company of a little rat he names Socrates that he found in the basement of his old house. The critter is extremely smart and immediately develops an affinity to the lonely Willard and a friendship is made. But, there is extra baggage involved as a few thousand of Socrates' rodent friends also take refuge in the Stiles household. One of them, a really, really big rat that Willard dubs Big Ben, vies for control of the house. Willard doesn't recognize the challenge and a war of the minds ensues.
There is also the story of Willard and his nemesis Frank Martin. Once Mrs. Stiles passes on to a better life, Frank knows that any agreements with Willard's father are suddenly dissolved. He taunts the downtrodden Willard with harassments that end in his termination. Then Martin rubs salt into Willard's wounds with the offer to buy the Stiles home, the only thing that Willard has left. Now, with a couple of thousand rats under his control, Willard decides to take revenge on the despicable Martin. You can guess what that means.
The production, led by Glen Morgan, helps to make "Willard" a better film than it should be. The creepy Stiles house and Martin's offices are nicely rendered by Mark S. Freeborn's production design. Special effects - making 500 rats seem like thousands - are wonderfully creepy and, at times, visually stunning. This is a rare event when the remake of a film readily surpasses the original. I couldn't/wouldn't recommend the first, but, for fans of schlock horror, I have to give the new "Willard" the praise it deserves, especially Crispin Glover. I give it a B-.
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