The Rhino's Review of "Willard" -- Rhinotainment

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Date Posted: 13:18:08 03/23/03 Sun
Author: The Rhino
Subject: The Rhino's Review of "Willard"

Sometimes it is hard to judge from a trailer whether a film is going to be worth your time or not. Some trailers give you all the goods up front and you are left with nothing but a lifeless film with high spots that you have already seen for free. Other trailers knock you out and make you say "I will see that movie on opening weekend." That's the type of trailer that made me want to see "Willard."

"Willard" is an update of the 70's film about a man with remarkable powers over a legion of rats. But keep in mind, this is no Dr. Doolittle, as the woman towards the front of the theater with the screaming child soon found out. But this is really no horror film either. This is the creepiest of character studies with little gore and a lot of plot. Something that horror movies today lack in large quantities.

Crispin Glover plays the title character, an imminently sad and lonely man. While his age is not given, he would appear to be a thirty-something man who still lives at home, taking care of his is dying mother, a rather heartless busybody who can't take care of herself, but finds enough energy to not let her son grow up to be a man. Willard hasn't a friend in the world, has a miserable job working for the company his father co-founded and gets bullied by the other partner, Mr. Martin (the always awesome R. Lee Ermy). His existence is truly sad.

At the beginning of the film, you hear Willard's mother (played by Jackie Burroughs, who looks half-past dead) telling Willard that there are rats in the house. She has yet to see one, but she can SMELL them. Willard indeed sees some rats and heads to the store to pick up some rat traps. It should be noted that Glover's facial expressions in this film tell you exactly what's on his mind. That being the case, as he is attempting to set the oversized rat traps, you can tell that he is uneasy about it, thinking it cruel. Later that night, you hear several traps pop at the same time. Willard inspects the traps to find that all of the bait has been taken, but ne'er a rat was trapped. After trying a new trap, glue paper, Willard catches an albino rat, but his sympathy for the vulnerable rodent overtakes him and he frees the rat. This is the point where he makes friends with the rat, who he names Socrates.

After a hard and humiliating day at the office, Willard comes home and heads towards the basement to let off some steam. Socrates is there, along with about a dozen rats. Through a series of events, Willard discovers that the rats will do anything he tells them to do, and he doesn't even have to play a flute to move them (nyuk nyuk). He instructs the rats to move in a certain direction, they do. He instructs them to tear something apart with their razor-like teeth, they do. When instructed, they follow the leader, Socrates. The rats are not only becoming his friends, but his army, and Socrates is leading the way.

Then there's Ben. Ben is one big friggin' rat. You have Socrates, who can fit in the palm of Willard's hand and then you have Ben, who would rest comfortably on the length of Willard's arm. This is no computer enhanced rat, this is the real thing. Ben is big, powerful and comanding. He is the size of a poodle. He's also a bit jealous because he's not Willard's favorite pet and that even though he is the biggest dog...er, rat, in the yard, he's not the leader. This plays heavily through the duration of the film.

Willard goes to work one day to find a lovely young lady (Laura Harring) sitting at his desk. It seems Willard has gotten behind in his work, something Mr. Martin reminds Willard about by humiliating him in front of the entire office. This lady is a temp, and her job is to help get Willard back on track. Mr. Martin loves to humiliate Willard. See, Willard has a job for life, as part of the contract that he signed with his late partner, Willard's father. But Martin has never cared for Willard, due to his meek and cowering ways. Willard never had the guts and the gusto that his old man had. Martin is a hard nosed, bullying asshole, the kind that liked to stick a nerd's head in the toilet in gym class, and a guy like Willard is like cheese to a rat. Yeah, I know.

With years of pent up frustration over the death of his father, the cold-heartedness and impending death of his mother, his hatred of his job and especially, his boss, Willard is about to blow. He knows deep down inside that he doesn't have the guts to do that, but he has a legion of oblivious furry friends that will do anything he tells them to. Two rats turn into a dozen, a dozen turn into a few dozen and before long there are hundreds. Willard has unbridled power for the first time in his life, but how he uses it is up to him.

I loved this movie. Going into it, you know it is going to be creepy because the stars of the film are hundreds of rodents. That's creepy gross. But there is an unspeakable creepiness to this film. From the gothic house to the mother who looks like a walking corpse to the idea of a man who can control part of nature, the film is as dark as a black cat in a cave. There are a number of harrowing scenes, one especially involving a feline gift from Harring. The poor cat doesn't have a chance, but she gives it her all before the rats can get her. I don't know if you can train a cat to show fear, but this cat looked petrified and it stole the entire scene from the human actors. And anytime the evil looking gargantuan Ben is onscreen, you feel your skin crawl. He has the presence of a rabid dog or a cobra. You know that if he gets hold of you, it's your ass!

As far as the humans are concerned, Crispin Glover shows why he is one of Hollywood's best kept secrets. The secret's out, folks. Glover has mentioned numerous times while doing press that he loves silent pictures. I can't help but believe that he would do a bang-up job in a silent film. His face was the story. He will be overlooked for this film because he has always been overlooked. He's a quirky outsider, a spawn of guys with brilliant minds like Harry Dean Stanton, who get quiet praise, but no mainstream love. I am content with that as long as he can continue to make great films like this.

R. Lee Ermy delivers a classic villain role. He is always superb. His character work in "Willard" falls in line with his classic roles from the past, including "Seven", "The Frighteners," and his best work as Sgt. Hartman in "Full Metal Jacket." He is an American treasure. Harring is the only disappointment in the film. Her role is small and pointless. I almost get the impression that she was put in the film as something beautiful to distract from all the darkness. Her role could have been nonexistent and the film would have played the same.

That aside, I was thrilled with the movie and I would recommend it for the non-squeamish creep fans. But if I could soapbox it for a minute, get a babysitter and leave the kids at home. Small children shouldn't be subjected to a film like this, nor should the audience who has to hear them scream at all the scary scenes. Be a considerate moviegoer.

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