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Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) is a social misfit taking care of his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta (Jackie Burroughs) in a musty old mansion that is also home to a colony of rats. Willard finds himself constantly humiliated in front of his co-workers by his cruel boss, Frank Martin (R. Lee Ermey), a vicious man who assumed control of the company of Willard's father upon his death, and whose professional interest in Willard extends to a personal financial one. A co-worker, Cathryn (Laura Elena Harring), has sympathy for the quirky Willard.[2] Cathryn becomes Willard's friend and love interest. Willard quickly becomes obsessed with his friendship with a rat he names Socrates. Willard then begins to train and befriend the other rats including an extra large one he calls Ben. Ben begins to assume a position of "leadership" among the other rats, while Socrates remains Willard's favorite. Willard's mother panics when she overhears the rats and later dies by falling down the stairs of the basement. Willard learns soon afterward that payments on the house have fallen far behind, and that the bank will likely foreclose upon the property. Willard then says that Socrates is all he has left. Cathryn stops by and gives Willard a cat named Sculley, he sets the cat inside and leaves. The rats, led by Ben, attack and kill Sculley. When Willard arrives home he notices Ben watching him evilly; Willard begins to distrust Ben thereafter. Desperately lonely, Willard begins to bring Socrates to work with him. Willard finds a note at his desk declaring that he's being fired by Frank Martin from the company his father founded. While he's arguing with Martin, begging not to be fired, Socrates is discovered by a coworker in the supply room. Her screams alert Martin who bludgeons Socrates to death. Willard, his mental state already precarious, is devastated. Willard turns to Ben, who is more than willing to guide the army of basement rats to help Willard avenge himself upon his boss. Willard and his basement rats confront Martin, and upon Willard's command they swarm Martin and tear him apart. Willard, however, mistrusts Ben and attempts to dispose of him and the other rats. He succeeds in killing some, but Ben remains, and turns the remaining rat army against Willard. Willard barely escapes with his life, and kills Ben. But an epilogue reveals that he has retreated into a semi-catatonic state and been placed in a mental institution. There he finds a new white rat, which looks like Socrates and he believes is the rebirth of his one friend. In the end Willard beckons the rat over to him and says "It's not over yet, no! Our time is going to come."Read full review
I loved this movie and the remake is even better than the original. It has everything a creepy dark mansion, things moving around in the celler and a super creepy family. The acting was great. Unfortunately, it had a pg 13 rating which means that the scenes were not as thrilling as they could have and should have been.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
To be honest, I WAS expecting somewhat different scenario. It's almost like Willard and Ben combined and story line seems to be too hurried to make the movie not too long not to loose the audiences attention. Me, I do not mind long movie-that's why it's a movie. If this is the only one among the three one watches, I think it's fine. You don't see all those main actors much. They are all good. Creepy, sicko relief!! Whew!! Had no ides Michael Jackson sung "Ben" Wow!!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
i hate this movie and i plan to never watch it again. ***but why 4 stars?*** it's like: i don't like soccor. i don't want to play soccer. i don't want to see soccor. but... i think soccer is a great sport for kids-- i still don't want to see it. i was impressed with this on all aspects. the acting was really good. the same with the direction, pace, filming, ... what repulses me about this film is that willard is a pathetic creepy guy and it's his own fault. yeah, they try to blame his upbringing. but, he's now the master of his world and it's been that way for many years. he continues to be a jerk and allows the same things to happen over and over. he's pathetic and 'ugly' on the inside. here's the overview: his family had a business. it was all left to him. due to his lack of responsibility he let it slip out of his hands. because he was part of the original owners family he's allowed to continue working. his job performance is substandard and neglectful. he recieves multiple warnings from his boss that: 'willard, you better shape up and start taking your job seriously, or i'll be forced to let you go.' he never listens and he treats the mansion, he lives in, with the same neglect. he decides to get rid of some rats at the mansion. when he gets one, instead of torturing it [which is what you'd expect from a person, like him] he nurtures it. with this friendship the other rats accept him. but... one rat, named ben, has a problem with the new hierarchy. willard uses the rats to do his dirty work and ben's jealousy and or social greed sets the out of control train on the tracks. the term i use to discribe this film is: 'ugly'. you feel dirty after watching it. you don't like or simpathize with willard. you, probably, won't care if willard lives or dies. not all movies are 'feel good' movies. this is a 'feel disgusted' movie. but as shear quality goes: this is as good as the re-make of 'psycho' [which i recommend]. its great for what it is. like 'casey at the bat', when all is said and done: 'there is no happiness in muddville.' but it was a great game.Read full review
A good movie, but not as great as the original. Crispin Glover is weirder than the rats. Still, not a bad film . Grade B.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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