Willard (2003)
(Glen Morgan ; 2003)
(New Line Home Entertainment)
-Overview-
Willard is a timid man still living with his mother who is being forced out of his father’s company by his ruthless boss. Upon discovering a group of rats living in his basement, he ends up befriending one of them, naming him Socrates. Soon the biggest rat you’ve ever seen shows up, which Willard decides to name Ben. Ben has a bit of a mean streak as we soon find out when Willard’s rat army starts to do his bidding, punishing those who spite him. But Willard’s strained relationship with Ben just may be the end of him.
I’m usually not much for remakes but never having managed to track down the original 1971 version I can’t pass judgment. Crispin Glover is brilliant as always as the pathetic, dejected Willard, and I do believe he was perfectly cast for the role. Laura Elena Harring is beautiful as always as Willard’s love interest, but unfortunately not as sexy as usual (her best performance in that respect goes to David Lynch’s brilliant Mullholland Drive). Devoid of any T&A the film does contain some mild gore, and some rather impressive effects regarding the army of rats. Worth checking out for newbies or old school horror fans. The DVD is worth it for Glover’s music video alone. Make sure you also watch the video with the commentary on as Crispin tries to fit about 10 minutes worth of commentary into about 3 minutes worth of video.
-Sound-
Excellent. Presented on Dolby Digital 5.1 surround.
-Picture-
Excellent again. Pretty much standard nowadays with DVD technology. Presented in widescreen 1.85:1
-Special Features-
- Commentary by director Glen Morgan, producer James Wong and actors Crispin Glover & R. Lee Ermey
- 12 deleted/alternate scenes with optional commentary
- "The Year of the Rat" making-of documentary
- "Rat People: Friends or Foes?"
- Music video
- Trailers
- DVD-ROM: Script-to-screen veiwing option with storyboards, weblinks
-Packaging-
Standard DVD keep case.
Sound: 8
Picture: 8
Packaging: 5
(Rating scale is out of 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best)