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Willard (2003)

tomatometer

65

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 125
Fresh: 81 | Rotten: 44

In this creepy story of a man and his rodents, Glover seems born to play the oddball title character.

57

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 28
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 12

In this creepy story of a man and his rodents, Glover seems born to play the oddball title character.

audience

48

liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 21,313

My Rating

Movie Info

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

PG-13,

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Glen Morgan

Oct 7, 2003

$6.8M

New Line Cinema - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (140) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (81) | Rotten (44) | DVD (34)

[Y]ou got a real opportunity here to do something really funny -- because Crispin Glover is really fun -- and something scary, but the rats, I guess, aren't up to the task.

March 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In a culture clogged with appropriated effluvia and remake cop-outs, Willard is wittier and nastier than we deserve.

March 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Village Voice
Village Voice
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This new incarnation of Willard emphasizes one thing: no matter how bad the original was, it didn't need to be remade.

March 16, 2003 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The movie keeps it close, clammy and simple, the better to focus on what is unquestionably this little thriller's strongest point: The tragic love between a boy and his rodent.

March 14, 2003 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A silly, snarling romp.

March 14, 2003 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

What elevates this nouveau Willard above similar restorations of used pulp is the way it sustains the original's queasy menace while applying neatly stylized layers of grit and wit.

March 14, 2003 Full Review Source: Newsday
Newsday
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Terrifying and violent horror movie. Rats -- EWW.

December 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

No one can do the funny/scary/crazy/creepy high-decibel wig-out/breakdown scene nearly as well as Glover can.

January 5, 2010 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

The rats multiply at a rate that suggests Willard's basement is the city's red light district.

September 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

This Willard remix is a gothic, creaking, brilliantly macabre and unexpectedly intimate movie.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

If you want a lesson in eccentric acting, or if you are interested in a nightmarish story well told, Willard is a noteworthy effort.

December 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Looking Closer
Looking Closer

The filmmakers may have been too intelligent for their camp material. They spend too much time on background material, an over-developed hero, atmosphere, and in-jokes.

July 5, 2004 Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

Não funciona como filme de terror (sua intenção original), mas torna-se interessante graças à curiosa atuação de Glover e à fotografia sombria. E Ermey é sempre fascinante.

February 28, 2004
Cinema em Cena

...Writer-director Glen Morgan gives us nothing more than a standard horror/revenge of the nerd tale.

January 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Each era gets the movies it deserves... This new version seems to exist in a bubble. It's got atmosphere to spare, but no real compelling reason...

January 4, 2004 Full Review

Glover infuses Willard's relationship with the rats with a perverse sort of sexual energy, and it makes the film that much more disturbing.

September 6, 2003
Las Vegas Weekly

The ultimate payoff doesn't quite equal its heady set-up, but the film is still a nasty little good time.

June 27, 2003 Full Review

Willard will forever have a home in cinema, destined to become a cult favorite running as the quintessential second feature of a double bill with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

June 4, 2003 Full Review Source: FilmStew.com

Crispin Glover's finest work since he told Biff to get his damn hands off her.

May 28, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Snobs
Film Snobs

Willard can be appreciated, no, relished as a stylish throwback to a era when horror movies displayed more brains than blood.

May 7, 2003 Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Willard gets by mostly because of Glover, one of the most interesting characters in his own right when just being himself. I found the movie to be quite amusing, fun to watch and wonderfully acted.

March 29, 2003 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

Morgan's frightening and frivolous fable has an entrancing hysteria that teeters between a mocking macabre and a nail-biting social commentary...a menacing and hypnotic creep show that has perverse fun tantalizing its voyeuristic audience

March 27, 2003 Full Review Source: Movie Eye
Movie Eye

As far as Crispin is concerned, rats spelled backwards is STAR. He owns this movie, every frame, not even upstaged by zillions of real and CGI rats.

March 26, 2003 Full Review

For all its ickiness, Willard is actually that most exotic of movie creatures: a remake that handily bests the original.

March 26, 2003 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing

Crispin Glover is Willard. . .take delight biting into this tasty slice of horror cheese.

March 20, 2003
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

I never expected 'Willard'" to be a page-marker in modern cinema. All I had hoped was that it wouldn't lose its taste for good baloney be-fore I did. We already had the cheese.

March 20, 2003
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

Audience Reviews for Willard

The remake of the 1971 film Willard starring Crispin Glover in the titular role as a social misfit who only has rats for friends is one of those remakes that is actually quite entertaining. While nowadays remakes tend to disappoint, this is an enjoyable film that is can successfully creep you out, because let's face it, rats are just gross. Crispin Glover is quite good here, and I've always enjoyed seeing him in films. He is a talented actor that be humorous and yet creepy, such is the case with Willard. Fans of the original film might like this, and it is a well crafted film that shows us that not all remakes are bad. The film is creepy and at times pretty funny, border lining on cheesy, but Crispin Glover keeps you involved and he is able to convey ridiculousness and seriousness into one performance that keeps you entertained from start to finish. Willard is a good film that keeps elements of the original intact, while freshening up the formula to create something new at the same time. You are most likely to enjoy this film if you loved the original, and though it was a good film, the original left room for improvement and this remake touches on those elements. Remakes tend to be hit and miss, but I really liked this film, it had the right amount of creepy material mixed with dark humor to make it quite a worthy update on a classic horror film. Crispin Glover is great here and he delivers in his performance as the reclusive title character. This is a prime example of a well crafted remake that is fun and entertaining from start to finish due to its cast, direction and well executed story. Although it may be silly at times, there is a certain chill factor within the film that you simply can't ignore.
May 25, 2013
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

three stars
March 25, 2012
YodaMasterJedi
MisterYoda ?

Super Reviewer

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