Willard

This film is based on the novel -Ratman's Notebooks, by Stephen Gilbert. Bruce Davison is Willard Stiles, a 27-year-old mama's boy whose repressions are bottled up inside and come to the fore in his nervous nail-biting. As one character describes Willard, "Willard is basically an extrovert, but it's ...more

The cycle of "nature's revenge" films started with The Birds, but it was the success of the low-budget Willard that really made the genre a force in 1970s cinema. In its day, Willard was a powerful little horror movie; if time and subsequent horror films have dimmed its power somewhat, it still packs a decent punch. Although the rats are the stars here -- and they are so effective that the animal trainers deserve special praise -- Willard still boasts a very moving and well-modulated performance ...more