Creepy Crawly Number 9 - The Rat (that took orders)
Willard
* The creepy crawly up for show; if you
thought mice were enough to make your skin crawl, their bigger, nastier cousin
– the Rat – is not your friend. Even if the song “Ben” by Michael Jackson is
used in this film to portray a giant rat named Ben, with the words “You’ve got
a friend in me”, for the squeamish viewers out there, realise the rant named Ben in this film,
as well as the thousands of others, are NOT your friend. But, they do become
friends with a lonely, hopeless and troubled young man, named Willard. The
hairy creepy-crawlies find their way into the house of Willard and his sick old
mother. After his attempts to trap and/or kill the rats in his basement fails,
Willard sees a white rat struggling in a trap, and feels sorry for him. Releasing
him then letting him re-join his family, the rat repays the favour bestowed upon
it by Willard and becomes the man’s pet.
Without a friend in the world, and no
signs of a girlfriend anywhere in sight, Willard forms a bond with the white
rat he names Socrates. Soon enough, the word under the street spreads, and more
rats show up to the house.
The film is headlined by character actor
Crispin Glover, and if the name doesn’t ring a bell, then remember the young
guy who played George McFly in “Back to the Future”? Oh yeah.., that guy! Working
steadily since the 1980’s in supporting roles, usually as the villain, Glover
finally gets the film that seemed tailor made for his quirky style and thin,
bony physique. Even if this 2003 release of Willard is something of a remake of
the original 1972 film, that early version was based on a novel called
“Ratman’s Notebook’s”. If you watch the trailer for the 70’s version, it’s got
camp and cheesiness all over it, which was the style of movie making at the
time. This version is dark, morbid and filmed in a clever style by the
director. It uses everything about Crispin Glovers appearance and acting chops
to perfect use, and you believe he would be the type of man to become friends
with rats.
* How they are portrayed in this film; rats are known to be scavengers, scurriers
and survivors. In a tough world where everyone hates you because of how you
look, Rats have it pretty tough. They usually keep to themselves, not being as
brave and cunning as mice who enter your house; rather Rats stick to the places
they know and like, such as sewers, abandoned houses and street gutters. But as
they are all drawn to the house and the man Willard, the rats find they get
their needs met by following the orders of the demented individual. Somehow
able to understand him and follow his every request, the rats willingly go in
and out of places and tear things up
at Willard’s command. However, their loyalty to Willard is built on a very
special bond, and the moment Willard dishonours that, he becomes just another
tasty treat in their beady, little eyes.
* The humans who try to squash them; Willard uses his newfound allies in order to seek revenge on his boss who makes his life hell. Working at the company his deceased father started, Willard sits quietly at his desk punching in and punching out of a menial office-life existence. But as his sick mother demands more of him, he starts showing up late to work. His boss doesn’t like this, and openly shames and blames Willard in front of his colleagues. There is only so much one man can take, and after years of being the victim, Willard will step out of the shadows with his legion of Rat Soldiers, and finally get what is owing to him.
* The grossest moment; Willard isn’t necessarily bloody or gory, but the sight of hundreds of rats crawling in and out of every spot of each scene they feature in, is enough to make you wriggle in your chair. In an interesting twist on the Cat hunting the Rat feud, an innocent cat finds its way into Willard’s home. Soon discovering the thousands of rats inside who are no longer afraid of anything, the cat tries to high tail it out of there. But as hard as it tries to escape, the rats work together to chew the floor out from underneath the feline, and it meets it’s demise by falling into a pit of brown fur and wriggly tales. It’s a moment that makes you cringe and feel sorry for cats, even if just for moment – I felt for the cat even thought most of the time I don’t like the animals anyway, so I kind of enjoyed watching this one go out this way. Sorry cat lovers!
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