Taglines: From small things… comes great power.
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.
Willard is a horror film loosely based on the novel Ratman’s Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert and a remake of the 1971 film Willard. It was not billed as a remake by the producers, but as a re-working of the themes from the original, with a stronger focus on suspense.
The film opened at #8 at the U.S. Box office and grossed $4,010,593 USD in its first opening weekend, falling to #13 the following week. It grossed $6,886,089 in domestic box office and $1,660,577 in foreign box office.
About the Story
Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a social misfit taking care of his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta (Jackie Burroughs) in a musty old mansion that is also home to a colony of rats. Willard finds himself constantly humiliated in front of his co-workers by his cruel boss, Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey), a vicious man who assumed control of the company from Willard’s father upon his death, and whose professional interest in Willard extends to a personal financial one. A co-worker, Cathryn (Laura Elena Harring), has sympathy for the quirky Willard.[2] Cathryn becomes Willard’s friend and love interest.
Willard quickly becomes obsessed with his friendship with a rat he names Socrates. Willard then begins to train and befriend the other rats including an extra large one he calls Ben. Ben begins to assume a position of “leadership” among the other rats, while Socrates remains Willard’s favorite. Willard’s mother panics when she overhears the rats and later dies by falling down the stairs of the basement. Willard learns soon afterward that payments on the house have fallen far behind, and that the bank will likely foreclose upon the property. Willard then says that Socrates is all he has left.
Cathryn stops by and gives Willard a house-trained cat named Sculley, he sets the cat inside and leaves. The rats, led by Ben, attack and kill Sculley. When Willard arrives home he notices Ben watching him evilly; Willard begins to distrust Ben thereafter.
Willard (2003)
Directed by: Glen Morgan
Starring: Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey, Laura Harring, Jackie Burroughs, Ashlyn Gere, William S. Taylor, Laara Sadiq, David Parker, Ty Olsson
Screenplay by: Glen Morgan, Gilbert Ralston
Production Design by: Mark S. Freeborn
Cinematography by: Robert McLachlan
Film Editing by: James Coblentz
Costume Design by: Gregory Mah
Set Decoration by: Mark Lane
Music by: Shirley Walker
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for terror / violence, some sexual content and language.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: March 15, 2003
Visits: 75
