Well, it still wasn't the most controversial Horror Remake from 2003. I'll get to that one later.
This is Willard, specifically the Remake made 29 years after the Original. See my take on that Film here.
This one comes to us from Glen Morgan, a man most known for Producing, Writing and- later- Directing for The X-Files. This is one of two Films he's made so far- both are Remakes.
Mind you, the Producers- so, him- claim that this is less of a Remake of the Film and more of a 'reworking of the original concept.'
Look- that's true of John Carpenter's The Thing, but I don't quite see it here. Other than changing a few things here and there (plus one big thing), it is just a Remake.
Anchored by Crispin Glover aka Letterman's favorite Guest, it sure is going to be weird. Will it be good though? To find out, read on ...
The fact that Willard only has what would be considered an 'entry level' job speaks to that.
He finds a white rat in one of the traps and befriends it, naming it Socrates (since it is so smart).
He also names a large rat Ben and feeds them all in secret in the basement.
More beratement and abuse comes for his Boss (to be fair, he is Ermey- that's kind of his thing) and he's even docked a week's pay for being late too much!
Do you get the symbolism? It is pretty subtle...
He uses Ben and the army to break in and slash/bite out the tires of his Boss' car.
He also nearly kills a dog, but this Film would never actually kill another animal...until a few Scenes later.
Willard finds that Ben won't obey him, and he can't stand that.
He has some trust issues...with his rats.
Ben just does whatever he wants, and Socrates tries to keep the peace.
Willard is fired and also finds out that his Parents owed lots of money to, well, everyone. He's going to lose the House!
He tries to kill himself with the same pocket knife his Dad used (they kept it AND didn't clean off the blood?!?!?) but Socrates stops him.
Oh shit- that rat is two days away from retirement, isn't he?!?
Yep. He's found at work and killed by Ermey, not knowing the Willard connection (of course).
This pushes Willard over the edge and he sics his rats on him, watching them kill him as he is behind the same caged door from earlier.
Things take a turn when he tries to kill off all of the rats, since they can tie him to the murder. That or he feels bad...but, nah.
Like in the Original, this, of course backfires.
Unlike in the Original, however, he survives and kills Ben. No Sequel for you, buddy!
(Just ignore the Alternate- read: better- Ending where he dies)
A good Film, even if it is often style over substance at times. The Film looks really unique, a blend of Old-World Wes Anderson and Tim Burton, I suppose.
The Plot is nothing too complicated. It really relies upon you connecting with and caring about Willard. Glover really disappears into the role, so kudos for that. He really feels like a fully realized person...in a Plot that it mostly bullet points.
For instance, the Boss never gets too much depth, and we only get hints of the intrigue around him. How did he steal the company? How did he drive Dad to suicide? Is he just genuinely an asshole?
That said, the Film really thrives with the use of practical effects. They use real rats for 99% of it (it seems) and the Movie benefits from it. Given when it was made, it could easily have looked silly and cheap for modern viewers with dated CGI.
What's funny is that Ben is 'played' by a rat that is so big and rare (in the U.S.) that many people thought that it was animatronic. Nope- all real, baby!
Willard is mostly a bipolar Morality Play about the man, but kind of suffers at the end when he doesn't, you know, learn a lesson. At all.
On the plus side, Glover kills it!
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| So much emotion! |
Next up, let me get to some non-Horror before October. What's in the pile that needs some attention? Stay tuned...
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