MovieFreak.com - "Willard" Platinum Series DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) has been trapped in a dead end job with no friends and no future for years. Willard's life seems hopeless until he makes an eerie discovery: he shares a powerful bond with the rats that dwell in his basement. Now a guy who has been trampled in the rat race his entire life is suddenly ready to tear up the competition, beginning with his boss (R. Lee Ermey).

Willard is an exceptional film in its own right. Based on a 1973 screenplay by Gilbert Ralston, Glen Morgan's script is witty, scary, funny, and seriously disturbing. Much of the same can be said about the film itself, directed by Morgan who makes his directorial debut. His feature writing credits include The One and Final Destination, though he also wrote for TV shows such as Jump Street and The X-Files. The script for Willard works because of the clear focus on the character. In a sense it is also a character study, but one that is unlike any other. Capturing the essence of the character in expert fashion with the right kind of features and moods is Crispin Glover (Back to the Future). Really, I can't see anyone else portraying the character as smooth and ferocious as Mr. Glover.

One of the most interesting aspects of Willard is the character's interaction with an army of rats, though they really are his friends. There is one rat in particular, a white one called Socrates, that Willard grows to adore and admire. You probably wouldn't believe it, but they share some good scenes together. Making his interactions with these rats entertaining and realistic relies heavily on Glover's performance. He essentially acts opposite a tiny animal so there isn't any feedback he can play off of, but he gets the job done admirably. Next to Glover are the rats themselves who perform some really cool things when they're not CGI engineered. Most of the memorable scenes in Willard are with the rats, such as the cat of one of Willard's co-workers trying to avoid an army of rats as it is trapped inside Willard's home. The final shot of that scene is spine-chilling. Add to that the incredible sound effects in the DVD's excellent audio presentation you're set.

Moreover, Glover's co-stars are important to the story. Jackie Burroughs (Lost and Delirious) plays the despicable and nagging Mrs. Styles to near perfection, and in a quirky twist Bruce Davison (X-Men) makes a cameo appearance as Willard's deceased father in the form of a painting (he played Willard in the 1971 original). A charming Laura Elena Harring (Mulholland Dr.) plays Cathryn, Willard's co-worker and only real woman in his life. Last but certainly not least is R. Lee Ermey's performance as Mr. Martin, Willard's asshole of a boss. Ermey really nails the bastard-like attitude the role requires. In their apprehensive relationship, Martin took over the business after the death of Willard's father, lies the film's central conflict. That conflict is among one of the script's strengths.

Another conflict is Willard's dislike of Ben. Ben is the biggest of all the rats and pretty soon becomes a problem for Willard. After a particularly demoralizing meeting with Mr. Martin and certain death of a loved one, Willard vows to take revenge. His revenge sets up another memorable scene, which involves an incredibly huge number of rats crawling down Willard's body and out of an elevator. This scene and many others showcase the talent of Glen Morgan as a director as really gives the film an incredible look. Production design by Mark Freeborn and cinematography by Robert McLachlan also look incredible. Additionally, Shirley Walker's score is both creepy and uplifting. If there is any weakness in the film it would have to be the pace. The film only runs 100 minutes, but some slow scenes exist, although they don't detract much. Altogther, Willard is accomplished, effective, weird and creepy.

New Line Cinema presents Willard in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Right off the bat I have to say this presentation is pretty damn good. Colors range as variably as from black to white and from blue to yellow. The color definition is an interesting choice here. Willard wears all black. His basement is quite dark. Night time scenes are shot in pitch black darkness. Black levels have quite a lot of depth in this presentation.

Some of the more brighter colors appear in shots of the cold outside (white and blue), Willard's living room (a kind of subdued yellowish look), his place at work (a mixture of grey, black, and white), etc. One more thing to note is the well-defined color detail. Print flaws are really shorthanded here and I didn't notice any sincere concerns. A few areas in the film contain some evidence of grain, but it never distracts. Willard looks absolutely cool. This is a very flattering and deserving presentation.

New Line Cinema presents Willard in English EX 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Here Willard scores a perfect 10. I thought the reproduction of the sound effects across the soundfield is very effective and important. The rear speakers give off sounds like thumps, scratches and rat noises with a good amount of bass and dynamic range. Also in that category is clear dialog that's always easy to understand. Shirley Walker's film score also floats highly in the soundfield. Additionally, the soundtrack gives a lot of attention to the front speakers that handle sound reproduction very nicely. The overall presentation here is quite exceptional. Top notch.

For some reason New Line Cinema didn't include Willard on its Infinifilm banner and instead comes in a Platinum Series, but that's okay because the DVD contains enough cool extras.

First up is the filmmaker commentary with Glen Morgan, Producer Glen Morgan, Crispin Glover and R. Lee Ermey. All four of them sit down in an informative and fun chat about the film. Some technical stuff is revealed as are fun stories and other cool anecdotes. Those who enjoyed the film should give this track a listen. It's worth it.

Next is one of those rare documentaries that offers a really cool look at the behind-the-scenes of a film. Think of The Hamster Factor documentary on the 12 Monkeys DVD. The Year of the Rat documentary here is shot and directed by film student Julie Ng who Glen Morgan hired. It runs for a good 73 minutes and features an incredibly satisfying, in-depth look at the making of Willard. In it viewers find out about the hardship of finding the right actor to play Willard, the arrangement of the shooting schedule, location scouting, designs of the sets, the film beginning principal photography, the crew having a good time (at one point at the expense of a crew member who adds effects to some tree branches), wrapping up, the editing process, Shirley Walker scoring the film, testing the film to poor results, the marketing and release of Willard, and a somewhat touching and quite personal epilogue from Glen Morgan as he discusses the PG-13 rating and others things. All in all, a terrific documentary.

The second documentary is called Rat People: Friends of Foes?, which lasts about 18 minutes and is narrated by Bruce Davison. The docu explores the mentalities of rat lovers and haters. Some people have as many as 200 pet rats while some of the exterminators tell of some horrific experiences. Added video footage shows a house completely taken over by rats, which is quite a chilling sight. Overall, this docu is quite original and certainly very pertinent to the film.

Then there are 12 alternate/deleted scenes with optional commentary. Glen Morgan and Crispin Glover really get into these scenes and their discussions are interesting. Morgan points out one scene in particular that had to be edited severely in order to obtain the now less favorable PG-13 rating. Among these scenes is a really nice one with Willard and Cathryn along at work discussing many things.

Also worth mentioning is a roughly 2.5-minute music video for Ben by Crispin Hellion Glover. The optional commentary by Glover is a mile-a-minute and pretty funny. Rounding out the extras is the film's theatrical trailer, 3 TV spots, and some DVD-ROM online features, such as Script-to-Screen and a trivia challenge.

You can select to view the film with optional English and Spanish subtitles. The 100-minute feature is organized into twenty-five chapters.

Willard is not a film for everyone, but I enjoyed a lot of what it presented. Crispin Glover is simply terrific and Glen Morgan's direction is very good. The film is creepy and weird, but totally effective as a horror film. Video/audio quality is excellent. The extras are enjoyable and downright cool. Make it a purchase, fans.

THE MOVIE	7
THE VIDEO	9
THE AUDIO	10
THE EXTRAS	8
OVERALL (not an average)	8