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| Willard (2003)
  
Starring: Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey Director: Glen Morgan Rating: PG-13 Category: Horror  |
Rats aren't going to scare me. They never have. They didn't when I saw the film "Rats," and they never will later in my life. This still holds true even after seeing the creepy trailer for the new Rob Zombie horror flick. "Willard" is a remake of the 1971 film that was a hybrid between comedy and horror, but unfortunately for director Glen Morgan, he can't seem to choose which genre he prefers.
Willard (Crispin Glover) is a single, anti-social reject who still lives with his mother, working in a low-end job at his dead father's business under Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey), a tyrant boss who gives him nothing but hell everyday. Not a good combination when you're looking for some friends, unless of course you've chosen to befriend a horde of rats, which the demented Willard does.
After losing his job, Willard's sense of self-control snaps and he unleashes his army of rats on all the people that tore down his life. The problem is, we only get to see the rats in action once, which stands as one of the many problems with the film. Instead of creating some great blood and gore to make up for its lame plot, "Willard" has just one climatic scene between Willard's rats and Martin, a disappointing lack of action.
In fact, about the only smart decision in making this movie was the casting of Crispin Glover, best known as the father of Marty McFly in the "Back to the Future" trilogy and his comeback as the "creepy, tall man" from "Charlie's Angels." Glover's amazing ability to portray the misfit persona does wonders for the film, giving the audience at least one positive thing to watch while he trains his horribly computer-generated army of rats.
While the idea behind "Willard" isn't completely stupid, it's very hard to watch a man talk to rats for 90 minutes. In fact, this is one of the first films that very nearly made the temptation to leave too overwhelming for me to wait for any real action to occur. Unless you're a huge horror fan and can take even the worst of what the genre has to offer, wait for this one hit the video. Watching Crispin Glover at his best is arguably worth the rental fee, but that's about it.
~Jason Zingale
jzingale@bullz-eye.com
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