Willard (2003)

A young man with an unusual connection to rats uses them at his own sociopathic will.

Director:

Glen Morgan

Writers:

Glen Morgan (screenplay), Gilbert Ralston

Stars:

Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey, Laura Harring

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Crispin Glover	...	Willard
R. Lee Ermey	...	Mr. Martin
Laura Harring	...	Cathryn (as Laura Elena Harring)
Jackie Burroughs	...	Mrs. Stiles
Ashlyn Gere	...	Ms. Leach (as Kimberly Patton)
William S. Taylor	...	Mr. Garter
Edward Horn	...	Colquitt
Gus Lynch	...	George Foxx
Laara Sadiq	...	Janice Mantis
David Parker	...	Detective Boxer
Ty Olsson	...	Officer Salmon

Storyline

This is the story of Willard Stiles who is a social misfit taking care of his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta in a musty old mansion that is also home to a colony of rats. Willard then finds himself constantly humiliated in front of his co-workers and is eventually fired by his cruel and uncaring boss, Mr. Frank Martin, a vicious man whose professional interest in Willard extends to a personal financial one.

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Plot Keywords:

rat | killing a pet | character name as title | forename as title | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

A new breed of friendship

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for terror/violence, some sexual content and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the title sequence, several images from Crispin Glover's book Rat Catching are used. In one shot a copy of Rat Catching - a red colored, hard bound book - can actually be seen.

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Goofs

The coroner's printed form listing Willard's father's personal effects is misspelled "Personal Affects".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Willard's Mother: Willard! There are rats in the basement!

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Crazy Credits

Second Unit Chef Dave Carlson's credit is listed as: Cater to the Stars...DAVID CARLSON

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Alice in Wonderland (2014)

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Soundtracks

Ben
Written by Walter Scharf and Don Black
Performed by Jackson 5
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

One of the rare remakes that's superior to the original

New Line had only six weeks to promote this film -- according to the outstanding documentary on the DVD -- and blew it anyway. They were targeting teenage boys when they should have been targeting older people and teenage >girls<.

Glen Morgan directs in a very interesting stylized fashion almost as eccentric as David Lynch or Tim Burton, and Crispin Glover gives a knockout performance in the title role. It's a dark, twisted story, just as it should be; the original WILLARD lightened up the very strange novel, but this one takes several big steps in the direction of the novel. (Not so far as to have Willard Styles wear a rat mask, though.)

The movie does have some awkward elements; the pacing is a bit off, probably because the structure is askew a bit, but overall, it's a fascinating, creepy movie, very well made with fine performances. And either the original ending or the reshot one would have satisfied me.

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Willard

Filming Locations:

Lion's Gate Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,000,000, 16 March 2003

Gross USA:

$6,886,089

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,564,586

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Hard Eight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1