Willard (1971) Review
One of the most famous killer rat movies is Willard, but it’s not just about a plague of vicious rodents out to destroy humanity. It’s more of a character study on the film’s namesake, and it was pretty popular back when it first came out.
Willard Stiles is an introverted guy who hasn’t had the best luck. His overbearing mother’s health is failing, he has no money, despite working all the time, and the business he works for used to be his father’s, but his new boss, Mr. Martin, took over the company, even though Willard really should have taken ownership, and Mr. Martin is a real dick, constantly belittling Willard and trying to get rid of him. Willard’s mother tasks him with getting rid of the rats that have taken over their yard, but instead, he takes a liking to them, and starts to train them, even naming a couple. A little white rat he names Socrates becomes his number-one friend, and Ben, a big grey rat, is the muscle, essentially, but Ben is constantly vying for Willard’s attention. Willard uses the rats to exact revenge on Mr. Martin, as well as carry out other deeds for him, but as his life continues its downward spiral, his desperation leads him to use the rats for ever more nefarious purposes.
Willard is based on the novel Ratman’s Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, and it’s billed as a horror movie, though I think it’s more of a thriller. Nothing particularly horrific happens until very late in the movie; it’s more about the drama of Willard’s declining life. Bruce Davison gives a pretty good performance in the role, striking a balance of being a sympathetic character and being just unhinged enough to make it credible that he’d befriend the vermin from his yard. Ernest Borgnine is great as Mr. Martin as well, but none of the other parts stand out that much. The rats, too, are surprisingly sympathetic. They aren’t horrific movie monster versions of the creature, though the bad rat Ben does supply most of the creepiness, and by the end when Willard sends the rats after Mr. Martin, both Willard and the rats have completed their progression to anti-heroes.
Though dated and relatively tame even by early 70’s standards, Willard is still one of the better killer rat movies out there. A sequel was made, called Ben, and there was a remake in 2003, which I actually saw for the first time when I was just a kid, long before the original, and it is definitely worth covering, because it may be one of the most underrated horror movie remakes ever made.
Willard (2003) Review
Crispin Glover takes on the role of Willard, and I can’t imagine a better casting choice. I know Crispin Glover best as George McFly in Back to the Future and as The Creepy Thin Man from the early 2000’s Charlie’s Angels films, but he’d already dabbled in the horror genre long before Willard when he played a memorable supporting role in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. His portrayal of Willard is perfectly creepy, awkward, and sympathetic all at once. This time the character is even more of a recluse, his mother is more decrepit, and his life is even more pitiful.
This version was not billed as a remake, but rather a remix of themes from the book and both the original Willard and its sequel. A lot of it is mostly the same as 1971’s Willard, hitting many of the same beats, except this time it is undoubtedly a horror movie, with everything made to be scarier, and it’s all elevated to greater heights. Willard doesn’t have to lure the rats into the basement this time, he finds them in there right from the start (the first line is his mother shrieking: “Willard! There are rats in the basement!”) and they are much bigger and meaner this time around. His boss, too, is way more over-the-top, played by the always-great R. Lee Ermey, best known as the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket.
Certain aspects of the story play out in more interesting ways, such as Willard’s budding relationship with Socrates and Ben, and his use of the rats to get back at his boss earlier in the film. One of the changes that stands out to me the most is when Willard’s co-worker gives him a cat. In the original, he just hands the cat to some guy at a phone booth and drives off, but in the remake, he puts the cat in the house, and the rats pursue it and kill it in one of the most upsetting and disturbing scenes of the whole movie. His relationship with a female co-worker is also more believable in the remake. Towards the end, though, things get a little too extreme to be taken quite as seriously. He practically becomes an anti-superhero, like a rodent version of Aquaman. It’s still no less satisfying to see Willard exact revenge on those who have done him wrong.
The Willard remake basically elevates the same material from the original into full-fledged horror, but like the original, it’s still more about the character study aspect on this peculiar, disturbed individual and his bizarre relationship with rats. I’d actually recommend both versions—the original if you enjoy 70’s era thrillers, the remake if you like stranger, twisted horror, and both if you’re intrigued by the premise like I originally was.
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