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Willard

Play trailer Poster for Willard PG 1971 1h 35m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Nagged by his mother (Elsa Lanchester), bullied by his boss (Ernest Borgnine), a young man (Bruce Davison) trains mansion rats to kill for him.
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Willard

Willard

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Critics Consensus

Willard has an intriguing character study lurking within - but much of those elements, like many of the movie's characters, are swallowed up by rats.

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Critics Reviews

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Vincent Canby New York Times The movie, however, persists in crossing its lines of stimulation, resulting in a series of little short-circuits that effectively limit pleasure to an occasional line or bit of business. May 9, 2005 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times What is it in this film that touches some deep-buried nerve in the public psyche? Why does wholesome family entertainment fade away, while rats make millions? Rated: 2/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Ragged. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 28, 2021 Full Review David Bax Battleship Pretension Mann's shoddy staging, haphazard framing (he seems to be allergic to close-ups) and low-contrast lighting sap the drama and tension from most of the movie. The ending is cool, though. Sep 28, 2018 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com It's brave work, and the role seems tailor-made for the actor, who's enjoyed an entire career playing easily winded jerks, with Willard's descent into authority and panic vividly captured. Sep 28, 2018 Full Review Jim Knipfel Den of Geek It's a complex and sympathetic character study and for a few misfits in the audience, it gave us a protagonist we could finally identify with and a film that helped define our later lives. Sep 28, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Elvis D Esta adaptación de la novela Ratman's Notebooks es una película que va bastante orientada al drama y no es exactamente una historia de horror hasta que los últimos minutos de película. Aunque puede ser un error catalogarla como una película de horror, tiene una trama bastante buena que desarrolla de manera articulada al personaje protagonista. De entrada Williard es un personaje con el que se puede empatizar al instante. Es un joven solitario cuya vida está en declive y no es respetado en su trabajo. Las ratas se convierten en su única compañía y termina entablando un fuerte lazo con Sócrates y Ben. A lo largo de la película se puede comprender las frustraciones que Willard sufre y lo llevan a usar a las ratas poder desquitarse con quienes lo menosprecian. Todo es mayormente algo pequeño e inofensivo hasta que Willard decide tomar una decisión definitiva. La película ofrece una muy buena historia sobre un individuo marginado que encuentra consuelo en la compañía de las ratas y es una de las mejores historias que el cine ha ofrecido. Willard es una película que se siente única por tener una idea que se siente original y que no se ha visto en otras películas. Llama la atención que una persona marginada encuentre compañía en las ratas que son criaturas bastante rechazadas por ser consideradas repulsivas. La novela indaga más en la psicología de Willard y cómo él es un rechazado, tiene sentido que no pueda encontrar consuelo en nadie más excepto en las ratas. La película no indaga mucho en la psicología de Willard, pero sus expresiones y reacciones reflejan parte de los sentimientos que tiene reprimidos. Nada más Joan es la única persona que le demuestra compasión a Willard. Si se lo piensa bien, Willard es en realidad una historia trágica bien elaborada. Las buenas actuaciones y el uso de ratas bien entrenadas hacen que la película no tenga ninguna imperfección. Su única falla sería no tener el factor tenso y psicológico de la novela, pero es una adaptación que respeta la historia original. Willard es otro clásico poco recordado que vale la pena ver por su fascinante historia. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 8/10. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/25 Full Review Felix G It's amazing how underrated this movie is. Yes, kind of bad acting. Some would say the script could be better, I think it was good. But the rest of the movie is great... the methaphor of the city being filled with more and more rats, until some point in which you don't even notice it and all the trash, danger, bad smell and disgust the bring to the society is what it transforms it. The rats are the people, and they are the rats. But when you let them transform you into one of them you just end up destroying yourself. Great movie Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/02/25 Full Review Jolin S If you’re a horror movie fan this is an okay film to watch. It’s not the type of movie you want to watch over and over like top notch horror movies. You should watch it and make your own opinion. Like I said it’s worth watching but I don’t think you would want it in your collection unless you can find it priced under $5.00. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/13/24 Full Review Jacob B I didn't really like this movie all that much. I do sometimes watch movies more out of a sense of obligation rather than because I genuinely wanted to see them but that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy the film along the way. In this case, it was very much a movie I had to watch just so that I could eventually get to the film adaptations of a novel called Ratman's Notebooks that people actually talk about; the direct sequel called Ben with the Michael Jackson song and the 2003 remake which was worked on by X-Files writers. But anyway, the 1971 film adaptation is rather dull with the "killer rats" premise not even entering the picture until the climax. From what I understand, this was true to the source material where the book was mostly satirical up until this point but not everything that works in one medium translates well to another, since I didn't get the vibe that anything was presented satirically at all. For me, it was clearly meant to be taken at face value. And even then, that premise is woefully anticlimactic for reasons I won't spoil. The synopsis has done enough of a bang-up job on that front as it is. It's a shame really because the actors are clearly trying, the rats are well-trained with the film doing a good job making them look cute and the titular character is sympathetic...except for the part where he hands over an adorable cat to a stranger but at least there's a pragmatic purpose for that and at least he didn't cruelly abandon it in the middle of the road. Yeah, I'm a bit sensitive about that kind of thing. Must've watched too many videos from The Dodo. But for the most part, Willard is a rather mundane film about a guy and his secret pet rats having to deal with relatable problems like being denied a promotion from his boss and not wanting to sell his house. Were it not an adaptation of preexisting source material, I'd question why they even added the horror angle at all other than to make the film more marketable. Just goes to show that some movies really can benefit from a remake and 1971's Willard is apparently no exception. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/09/24 Full Review Dave S Life isn’t easy for young Willard (Bruce Davison). On top of being an introverted loner, he has his hands full with an overbearing boss, a mother who continually harangues him, a job that he can’t seem to handle, and serious financial problems related to his home. Oh, yeah…and his best friend is a rat named Socrates. To settle some scores, the troubled protagonist trains Socrates and his countless herd of vermin to do his bidding. While Davison gives an appropriately unhinged performance, the movie falters as the result of some highly implausible scenarios (rats who seem to fly when attacking, for example), a bright color palette that doesn’t match the atmosphere, and a wildly inappropriate music score that sounds like it was lifted from a ‘50s sitcom. This is a slow burn of a movie and the climax, unfortunately, doesn’t pay much in the way of dividends. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/04/24 Full Review Marsh m Love it and I cried when socrates died Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/01/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Willard

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Movie Info

Synopsis Nagged by his mother (Elsa Lanchester), bullied by his boss (Ernest Borgnine), a young man (Bruce Davison) trains mansion rats to kill for him.
Director
Daniel Mann
Producer
Mort Briskin
Screenwriter
Gilbert Ralston
Production Co
Bing Crosby Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 16, 2017
Runtime
1h 35m
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