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''Willard'' is a 2003 American
psychological horror film Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgen ...
co-written and directed by
Glen Morgan Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served as ...
and starring
Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors'' ...
, R. Lee Ermey and Laura Elena Harring. It is loosely based on the novel ''
Ratman's Notebooks ''Ratman's Notebooks'' is a 1968 short novel by Stephen Gilbert. It features an unnamed social misfit who relates better to rats than to humans. It was the basis for the 1971 film '' Willard'', its 1972 sequel ''Ben'', and the 2003 remake of the ...
'' by Stephen Gilbert, as well as on the novel's first film adaptation, '' Willard'' (1971), and its sequel, ''
Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...
'' (1972). It was not billed as a
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
by the producers, who chose instead to present it as a reworking of the themes from the original with a stronger focus on suspense.


Plot

Social misfit Willard Stiles, who cares for his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta in a musty old
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
, is constantly humiliated and mercilessly taunted in front of his co-workers by his vicious and cruel boss, Frank Martin, who took over the Stiles family company after Willard's father Alfred committed suicide in 1995. After discovering and failing to exterminate a growing rat colony in the basement, Willard befriends and quickly becomes obsessed with a white rat he names
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
, considering him his only friend. At work, Martin locks Willard in the elevator, though Willard's sympathetic co-worker Cathryn eventually releases him. That evening, he watches Socrates begin tearing up a newspaper, prompting him to train the now expansive horde of rats, including Ben, a large
Gambian pouched rat The Gambian pouched rat (''Cricetomys gambianus''), also Common name, commonly known as the African giant pouched rat, is a species of nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus ''Cricetomys'', in the Family (biology), family Nesomyidae ...
who envies Willard's favoritism towards Socrates. After training the rats sufficiently, Willard takes them to Martin's home and orders them to chew up the tires on Martin's new
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
. The next day at work, Willard gleefully watches Martin arrive late and tired. While Willard explains to the rats that they must move out, Henrietta overhears him, assuming he plans to get rid of her. Startled by noises from the basement, Willard finds her dead the next morning, having fallen down the basement stairs. At the wake, Willard learns that Henrietta refinanced the family home to pay off Alfred's debts and that the bank will likely foreclose upon the property. In Henrietta's bedroom, Willard finds an envelope from the coroner's office containing the effects found on Alfred's body, including the still-bloody pocket knife he evidently committed suicide with. Distraught, Willard attempts suicide with the knife until Socrates stops him. Attempting to comfort Willard, Cathryn describes her own mother's death and gives him a pet cat, whose own mother helped Cathryn to grieve. Willard reluctantly takes it, with Socrates safely stowed in his pocket. In a scene set to the title song from the movie ''
Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...
'', the rats, who have taken over the entire house, pursue and fatally overpower the cat. Desperately lonely, Willard starts bringing Socrates to work with him. Despite a contract written by Alfred stipulating that he remain employed by the family company, Willard finds a note at his desk from Martin declaring that he is being fired. While Willard desperately argues with Martin, Martin's secretary Barbara Leach discovers Socrates in the supply room. Her screams alert Martin, who fatally bludgeons Socrates as Willard helplessly watches. Willard finally snaps and hatches a plan to avenge Socrates with Ben. Loading the numerous rats into a company van, he confronts Martin and orders them to swarm upon Martin and kill him. At home, Willard kills the remaining colony before rat-proofing his entire house. Exhausted after the night's events, he is finally awoken by the doorbell. Terrified by the shadows of two policemen, he remains standing in the hallway until the evening, seemingly feverish. Cathryn appears, informing Willard that Martin's body was found and that rumors had arisen that he was either murdered or eaten by animals. Coming face-to-face with Ben, Willard tries to leave the house before realizing that the rats have chewed out his car tires. Accosted by the two policemen, Willard retreats into the house and frantically attempts to prevent the rats from entering. Trapping himself in the kitchen, Willard is confronted by Ben, whom he tries to kill with a rat trap. Believing Willard is insane, and aghast at the rat infestation, the police leave to call the
Bellevue Hospital Center Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
and health department. When Cathryn tries to enter the house, they warn her against entering, asking whether she wants to be eaten alive. Horrified, she connects the rats to Martin's death and realizes Willard's complicity. Ben viciously attacks Willard as he tries to escape. The police officers and Cathryn look on as Willard, outlined in the upstairs window, kills Ben with his father's pocket knife. The final scene reveals Willard in a psychiatric hospital, seemingly semicatatonic and refusing to eat. A white rat appears in his cell, crawling into Willard's sleeve as Socrates used to. Believing that his friend has been reincarnated, Willard joyfully drops his semicatatonic state and begins telling the rat his plans for an escape.


Cast

*
Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors'' ...
as Willard Stiles, a lonely outcast who is constantly abused by his boss Frank Martin, whom he feels stole the manufacturing business built by his father, and his beloved mother. He befriends a colony of rats, especially a white rat named Socrates and a large rat named Ben, though the latter soon becomes an antagonist. When Socrates is killed by Martin, he uses his rats to get revenge. * R. Lee Ermey as Frank Martin, the cruel and psychopathic CEO of Martin-Stiles Manufacturing. He constantly insults and humiliates Willard for arriving late to work, and seems set on firing Willard and seizing his house, but is eventually eaten alive by Willard's rats. * Laura Elena Harring as Cathryn, one of Willard's co-workers, who sympathizes with him and comforts him after his mother's death. She quits her job in solidarity for the ill-treated Willard, although she later discovers his involvement in Martin's death. *
Jackie Burroughs Jacqueline "Jackie" Burroughs (2 February 1939 – 22 September 2010) was a British-born Canadian actress. Early life Born in Southport, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England, she emigrated to Canada on 26 August 1948 with her mother Edna, ...
as Henrietta Stiles, Willard's ill yet verbally abusive mother. Frail and eccentric, she berates her son for being single and feels that his life has been wasted. She is nevertheless anxious over her son, presumably related to the suicide of his father several years before. * Kimberly Patton as Barbara Leach, Frank Martin's cynical secretary who is often rude and passive-aggressive to both Willard and Cathryn. * William S. Taylor as Joseph Garter, a trustee of the Stiles estate who informs Willard of his dire financial situation after his mother's death. *
Ty Olsson Ty Olsson (born January 28, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Benny Lafitte in ''Supernatural'', real-life 9/11 victim Mark Bingham in the A&E television film '' Flight 93'', and Ord in the PBS Kids animated children's series '' ...
as Officer Salmon, a policeman who tries to talk to Willard, presumably regarding Frank Martin's death. He asserts unambiguously that Willard is "nuts".
Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...
, who portrayed Willard in the original 1971 film, makes a non-acting
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
as Willard's late father, Alfred Benjamin Stiles, in a portrait above the house's fireplace.


Release


Box office

The film opened at number eight at the U.S. box office, grossing
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
4,010,593 It fell to 13 the following week, and finished with $6,886,089 in domestic box office and $1,660,577 in foreign box office.


Critical reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 129 critics. The consensus reads: "In this creepy story of a man and his rodents, Glover seems born to play the oddball title character". On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, it has a score of 61% based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "D−" on an A+ to F scale.


Awards

* Crispin Glover was nominated for Best Actor at the 2004
Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
. * Robert McLachlan won the CSC award at the Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature. * The DVD release was nominated for a Golden Satellite award for Best DVD Extras at the 2004 Satellite Awards.


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control 2003 films 2003 horror films Remakes of American films American natural horror films American psychological horror films American psychological thriller films Films about mice and rats Films based on horror novels Films based on Irish novels Films set in New York City Films scored by Shirley Walker Horror film remakes New Line Cinema films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films