Willard (2003)

Director:

Glen Morgan

Writers (WGA):

Glen Morgan (screenplay)
Gilbert Ralston (1971 screenplay)

Release Date:

14 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A new breed of friendship

Plot:

A young man with an unusual connection with rats, uses them at his own sociopathic will.

Plot Keywords:

Rat | Revenge | Vermin | Office | At Work

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Crispin Glover	...	Willard
R. Lee Ermey	...	Mr. Martin
Laura Harring	...	Cathryn (as Laura Elena Harring)
Jackie Burroughs	...	Mrs. Stiles
Ashlyn Gere	...	Ms. Leach (as Kimberly Patton)
William S. Taylor	...	Mr. Garter
Edward Horn	...	Colquitt
Gus Lynch	...	George Foxx
Laara Sadiq	...	Janice Mantis
David Parker	...	Detective Boxer
Ty Olsson	...	Officer Salmon

Also Known As:

A Vingança de Willard (Brazil) [pt]
Ta troktika (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Willard (Spain) [es]
Willard (France) [fr]
Willard (Germany) [de]
Willard (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Willard'in fareleri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for terror/violence, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

USA:100 min | UK:96 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | USA:PG-13 (NO. 39665) | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Lion's Gate Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The film was originally conceived as a R rated picture and was shot with that rating in mind. However, following the success of other PG-13 rated horror movies like The Ring (2002), executives at New Line asked the director to tone down the violence and language for the more commercial lower rating. This was done by shorting the demise of R. Lee Ermey's character Mr. Martin and cutting some of his lines.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the rats are tearing the newspaper, the amount of damage to it is inconsistent. At one point they've torn all the way through the blue banner at the top of the page; later it is whole again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Willard's Mother: Willard! There are rats in the basement!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Ben

A Weird Tale About Loneliness, Friendship, Greed and Revenge

Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a lonely and deranged man living in an old mansion with his sick mother Henrietta Stiles (Jackie Burroughs). His father committed suicide after losing his own company to his former partner and friend Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey). Due to a clause in the selling contract, Willard can not be fired from his job while his mother is alive. However, Frank abuses of Willard, humiliating and spending a horrible treatment with him in front of his colleagues. The basement of Willard's house is infested of rats and mice, and Willard capture a beautiful white mouse in a trap. Willard rescues the mouse, calls him Socrates and becomes his friend. Socrates is a leader and the other rats obey him, except the huge Ben. The animals are trained by Willard, who uses them for his revenge. This weird tale about loneliness, friendship, greed and revenge has the same style of most Tim Burton's movies. It is a black comedy very dark, quite gothic, having weird characters, but great performances and good effects. Although dealing with a nasty theme (rats and mice), it is not a disgusting film. It is not recommended for all audiences, but I liked it a lot. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `A Vingança de Willard' (`The Revenge of Willard')