Willard

The other day at work, a coworker and I were talking about horror movie remakes. My coworker said that there was only one good one, Rob Zombies Halloween remake. I agreed because the only thing popping into my head were awful remakes like Prom Night, The Fog, etc. But on my drive home, I was reminded of a horror remake that is actually better than the original, 2003's Willard.

Willard Stiles, Crispin Glover, is an awkward outcast. By day, he works at a company that his late father started, which is now being ran by the gruff and overbearing Frank Martin, R. Lee Ermey. Frank would like nothing more to fire Willard, but since he is the founder's son he keeps him on and makes his life a living hell. Things aren't much better at home where Willard takes care of his ill and verbally abusive mother, Jackie Burroughs. One evening she sends Willard to the basement to kill a rat, but instead of doing him in, Willard becomes friends with him and names him Socrates. Willard discovers that Socrates isn't the only rat in the house and he trains this small army to do is bidding.

Glover is one of my favorite actors, and with this movie he has never had a role so tailor made to suit his eccentric acting style. He is so much fun to watch. The rest of the cast is great too, but this is Glover's show, and he runs away with it. He even does a cover of Michael Jackson's song Ben, which was written for the sequel to the original movie, that is both creepy and fun.

Director Glenn Morgan, who also did the remake of Black Christmas, does a great job with the material. He gives the film an old school, horror vibe that works in its favor.

This is a rare remake that stands on it's own and kind of makes you forget about the original. There is a nice nod however.You never see Willard's dad, with the exception of a painting, which is of Bruce Davison, who played the title role in the original. A nice touch.

Willard is a terrific horror remake and a great a great vehicle for Glover.

It's available on dvd.