Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- creepy
- grotesque
- oppressive
- late night horror
- dark movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the remake effective as a creepy character vehicle, with Crispin Glover's oddball performance widely praised even as the rats were considered insufficiently frightening.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Willard's relationship with the mansion's rats becomes the mechanism through which his humiliation and abuse are answered.
The musty old mansion, fragile household, and rat colony make the home itself feel oppressive and contaminated.
Crispin Glover's oddball portrayal gives Willard's social isolation and retaliation a caricatural, unsettlingly comic register.
Willard is verbally abused by his mother, humiliated by coworkers, and fired by the financially predatory Mr. Martin.
Films like Willard, and why
Willard
Shared creepy domestic setting, socially isolated protagonist, psychological horror, and revenge-driven unease.
May
Shared outsider protagonist, grotesque dark humor, horror atmosphere, and escalating retaliation against abusers.
The Voices
Shared sympathetic misfit, disturbing human-animal relationship, macabre humor, and psychological breakdown.
Carrie
Shared oppressive domestic abuse, outsider alienation, revenge themes, and stylized horror-drama tone.
Movie Details
- Director
- Glen Morgan
- Release Date
- 2003-03-14
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (384)
Cast
- Crispin Glover
- R. Lee Ermey
- Laura Harring
- Jackie Burroughs
- Ashlyn Gere
- Laara Sadiq
- William S. Taylor
- Ty Olsson
- Gus Lynch
- David Parker
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Willard about?
- An isolated caretaker discovers that the rats in his decaying mansion can become instruments of revenge against the people who torment him.
- What is Willard like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Willard as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Willard violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Willard as moderate.
- What did critics think of Willard?
- Critics generally found the remake effective as a creepy character vehicle, with Crispin Glover's oddball performance widely praised even as the rats were considered insufficiently frightening.
- Which films are like Willard?
- Films with a similar feel include Willard, May, The Voices, and Carrie.
- How long is Willard?
- Willard runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch Willard?
- In United States, Willard streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
