Search - Willard

A young man uses his vermin pals to exact revenge upon the people who've domineered his life in this remake of the 1971 cult classic. Starring Crispin Glover in the role originated by Bruce Davison, Willard concerns the mundane, repressed existence of the twentysomething title character, who lives at home with his nagging mother (Jackie Burroughs) and works at a shipping company for a stern, authoritarian supervisor (R. Lee Ermey). When Willard becomes fascinated with a gaggle of rats living in his decrepit home, they become both his friends and his aggressors, as he sics them upon anyone who crosses his path. But one rat, Ben, isn't so amenable to Willard's orders, and a horrifying test of wills begins. Willard was brought to the screen for the second time by writer/director Glen Morgan and producer James Wong, who previously worked together on episodes of The X-Files as well as the features Final Destination and The One. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Crispin Glover - Willard
R. Lee Ermey - Mr. Martin
Laura Elena Harring - Catherine
Jackie Burroughs - Mrs. Stiles

First and foremost, New Line Cinema should be commended for the amazing job they did in assembling the overabundant wealth of extra features for their DVD release of Willard. Having performed only moderately well at the box office, this quirky and fun little chiller certainly deserved a better fate than it received in theatrical release, if not for anything else than the dementedly unhinged performance by the engagingly eccentric Crispin Glover. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the image is pristine, with Robert McLachlan's moody photography translating well to the small screen. Viewers can virtually smell the stagnant air in Willard's crumbling estate, and the image possesses spot-on skin tones, solid blacks, and vivid colors. Given that this is a release of such a recent film, it likely goes without saying that the quality of the print is near flawless, with no signs of speckling or wear. In a film that relies on the fear of rats to jangle its viewer's nerves, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack will certainly offer its fair share of hair-raising moments as virtual tidal waves of rodents scurry from speaker to speaker.

So now that we've covered the film itself, how about those juicy extra features? Kicking things off with an audio commentary track featuring director Glenn Morgan, producer James Wong and actors Crispin Glover and R. Lee Ermey, there is little silence in the lively conversation. From Morgan citing his various Hitchcockian shots to Glover keeping close track of the real tears he shed during filming, this may not be the most technical commentary ever recorded, but it rarely fails to entertain. Optional commentary is also provided over the 12 deleted scenes from the film, most of which were removed to either speed up the film's pace or keep it from receiving an R rating. An assistant to the director compiled production footage for the informative making-of documentary "The Year of the Rat" (which runs over an hour), and the appeal of the featured rodents is explored in "Rat People: Friends or Foes," which includes a fascinating interview with Chicago's infamous "Rat Lady" among many other rat advocates and exterminators. A music video for Crispin Glover's rendition of the song "Ben" is also included, with optional, rapid-fire commentary by the singer/director. In addition to multiple trailers and television spots, viewers can access script-to-screen and trivia features via DVD-ROM materials. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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