Willard
When the cat's away, the rats will play.
Willard (2003)
Timing:
1:40 (100 min)
6.102/10
298
298
6.268/10
3258
3258
6.1/10
21000
21000
Country
Production
Genre
Horror, Drama, Thriller
Budget
$20 000 000
Revenue
$8 546 666
Director
Glen Morgan
Actors
Scenario
Producer
James Wong, Glen Morgan, Toby Emmerich, Bill Carraro, Richard Brener
Operator
Robert McLachlan
Composer
Artist
Catherine Schroer
Audition
John Papsidera, Heike Brandstatter, Coreen Mayrs
Editing
James Coblentz
All team (65)
All team (65)
Short description
Desperate for companionship, the repressed Willard befriends a group of rats that inhabit his late father's deteriorating mansion. In these furry creatures, Willard finds temporary refuge from daily abuse at the hands of his bedridden mother and his father's old partner, Frank. Soon it becomes clear that the brood of rodents is ready and willing to exact a vicious, deadly revenge on anyone who dares to bully their sensitive new master.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role of Ben was played by a Gambian pouched rat. This species of rat can reach a length of 43 centimeters, not including the tail, and weigh 2.7 kilograms. They are easily trained and are used to detect anti-personnel mines.
- All the photographs in Willard's father's house feature actor Bruce Davison, who starred in the original 1971 film.
- Joaquin Phoenix and Macaulay Culkin both turned down the lead role.
- Originally, Doug Hutchison was planned for the lead role, and the script was written with him in mind.
- The film features the song "Ben" performed by Michael Jackson, which he wrote specifically for the sequel of the same name.
- The main female role was intended for Kristen Cloke, the wife of director Glenn Morgan, but she was unable to star in the film due to her pregnancy. Ultimately, Kristen played the role of a psychiatrist, a fragment of which was not included in the final version.
- Joaquin Phoenix and Macaulay Culkin turned down the lead role.
- The filmmakers suggested depicting Willard (played by Crispin Glover) to resemble a rat and demanded that the makeup artists make the character as unattractive as possible – emphasizing incorrect facial features with pale skin, dark circles under his eyes, and a large nose.
- Over 500 rats were used during filming. They were all highly trained and divided into several groups depending on the actions they were to perform on camera.
- Each rat involved in the filming of the movie was marked with a sequential number on the lower part of its tail for the convenience of the filmmakers.
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