Willard (2003 film)
| Willard 2.0 | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Glen Morgan |
| Produced by | Glen Morgan James Wong Toby Emmerich |
| Written by |
Stephen Gilbert Glen Morgan |
| Starring |
Crispin Glover R. Lee Ermey Laura Elena Harring Jackie Burroughs |
| Music by | Shirley Walker |
| Cinematography | Robert McLachlan |
| Edited by | James Coblentz |
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Production
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| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $7 million |
Willard is a 2003 American horror film co-written and directed by Glen Morgan and starring Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey and Laura Elena Harring. It is loosely based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, as well as the 1971 film of the same name. It was not billed as a remake by the producers, who chose instead to present it as a re-working of the themes from the original, with a stronger focus on suspense.
Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a social misfit taking care of his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta (Jackie Burroughs) in a musty old mansion that is also home to a colony of rats. Willard finds himself constantly humiliated in front of his co-workers by his cruel boss, Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey), a vicious man who assumed control of the company from Willard's father upon his death, and whose professional interest in Willard extends to a personal financial one. A co-worker, Cathryn (Laura Elena Harring), has sympathy for the quirky Willard. Cathryn becomes Willard's friend and love interest.
Willard quickly becomes obsessed with his friendship with a rat he names Socrates. Willard then begins to train and befriend the other rats including an extra large one he calls Ben. Ben begins to assume a position of "leadership" among the other rats, while Socrates remains Willard's favorite. After he trains the rats sufficiently, Willard takes them to Martin's home, where he unleashed them to chew the tires on Martin's Mercedes. Willard's mother panics when she overhears the rats and later dies by falling down the stairs of the basement. Willard learns soon afterward that payments on the house have fallen far behind, and that the bank will likely foreclose upon the property. Willard then says that Socrates is all he has left. Cathryn stops by and gives Willard a house-trained cat named Sculley, he sets the cat inside and leaves. The rats, led by Ben, attack and kill Sculley. When Willard arrives home he notices Ben watching him evilly; Willard begins to distrust Ben thereafter.
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Wikipedia