Cast: Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermy, Laura Elena Harring
Director: Glen Morgan
Producers: Glen Morgan, James Wong
Screenplay: Glen Morgan, based on the screenplay by Gilbert Ralston
Cinematography: Robert McLachlan
Music: Shirley Walker
U.S. Distributor: New Line Cinema
As high camp, Willard might have something going for it, but not as a horror movie. I don't recall much about the original 1971 picture upon which this is based (I saw it on TV some time in the mid-'70s), but I remember being freaked out during a scene in which rats menaced Ernest Borgnine. At the time, it seemed like a scary B-grade film, and it left an impression. Of course, that's probably because I was only 10 years old. This new incarnation of Willard emphasizes one thing: no matter how bad the original was, it didn't need to be remade.
Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a lonely boy (cue the Andrew Gold song). He has no girlfriend, no hobbies, lives alone with his ailing mother, and is chronically late for work. The latter is noticed by his unforgiving, hard-line boss, Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermy). But Frank can't fire Willard because he's the son of his late partner, the company's co-founder. So Frank is stuck with Willard, like it or not. Even social misfits like Willard need friends, and he finds one in a white rat that is scavenging for food in his basement. He names the rodent Socrates, and cares for him. Soon, Willard has befriended literally hundreds of the animals, and they are willing to do his bidding, whatever that may be. When Frank takes his humiliation tactics a little too far, Willard decides to activate his rat army.
The most clever aspect of Willard is an in-joke that 95% of the audience won't get. On several occasions, we see portraits of Willard's late father. These are an artist's representation of actor Bruce Davison – the man who portrayed Willard in the original movie. Crispin Glover, his replacement, is one of Willard's biggest problems. Glover, who has a penchant for playing strange individuals, uses this opportunity not to inhabit a genuine character, but to create a caricature. Willard is a buffoon – a collection of stock mannerisms and overacted rage that would be more at home in a parody. It's virtually impossible to take Willard seriously (on any level) with Glover in the title role.
Then there are the rats. Some people are phobic about spiders, snakes, bees, scorpions, bats, etc. My personal distaste is for rats – and there wasn't a single moment during Willard when I was even slightly creeped out. No need to clench my teeth or avert my eyes. The vermin in this movie are either immaculately groomed or the obvious product of digital technology. And what's frightening about a computer-generated image? (Cat-lovers will also be irritated by director Glen Morgan's obvious canine bias. He lets an annoying dog escape intact from a rat encounter while an orange tabby becomes dinner.)
It's inaccurate to say that I was disappointed by Willard, since my expectations weren't high. Nevertheless, how can someone normally unsettled by rats be unaffected by the sight of hundreds of them swarming? Shouldn't the film have some power in this area, if only on a visceral level? And, because of Glover's relentlessly over-the-top portrayal, we don't have the opportunity to sympathize with Willard. The original film may have been grade-B horror, but a "B" is too high a mark for the remake. At least in 1971, the rodents were flesh and blood instead of pixels.
© 2003 James Berardinelli