List Price: $14.96 Our Price: $6.97YOU SAVE $7.99!
Buy it
DVD Willard
As accomplished as it is superfluous, Willard is a stylish horror film with plenty of style and precious little horror. Genre buffs will appreciate it as a visually superior sequel/remake of its popular 1971 predecessor, giving Crispin Glover a title role perfectly suited to his uniquely odd persona, in the same league as Psycho's Norman Bates. This time, Willard's the psychotically lonely son of the original film's now-deceased protagonist; a milquetoast introvert who befriends an army of obedient rats--lethal allies when Willard's pushed to his emotional breaking point by his abusive boss (R. Lee Ermey). In keeping with his memorably macabre episodes of X-Files, writer-director Glen Morgan excels with dreary atmosphere and mischievously morbid humor (including an ill-fated cat named Scully), and Glover gives his best performance since River's Edge. But even the furry villain Ben--an oversized rat with attitude--is more funny than frightful... so really, what's the point? With some justification, Glover's fans will appreciate the open door to a sequel. --Jeff Shannon
Very few movies pull me into their setting/world, and really speak to me. The Star Wars saga makes me want to be a do-gooder and fight for the right cause, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle makes me want to ditch work and go on a fast food adventure with my best friend, Desperado makes me want to wander the country, just looking for a place to call home, and Sin City...well, that makes me want to do a lot of things. Willard on the other hand, makes me want to embrace all the isolation I have in me. As emo as that sounds, Willard does the best job of giving us a pathetic character that we want to care for because of his situation. Never before have I seen anyone as interesting as Willard. This movie alone, also started up my Crispin Glover fixation, appreciating him as one of the better actors in the business. I can't see this guy running around in the overly done bullet time frenzy known as Charlie's Angels, yet, I'm curious to see what he brings.
Willard Stiles is a loser, plain and simple. He's in his late 30s, lives at home with his dying mother in a very old house, has no friends, and should've been fired from his job a long time ago. He constantly shows up late, and has enough late hours added up to equal a full work week. Needless to say, things aren't going well for him. His boss is a key problem, Mr. Martin played by the timeless R. Lee Ermey, always getting in his face about how he should take pride in his work since his dad used to be a co-owner of the company. To make matters worse, his house has a bit of a rat problem. After buying traps, Willard catches a rat, but it turns out that there's an entire family living in the basement. He feels sorry for the caught rat, names him Socrates, and frees him. But Socrates comes back. Willard, has a friend. In turn, Socrates gets the other rats to like Willard, and he soon trains them. Train them in what? Oh, only some of the coolest tricks you'll ever see rats do. Running obstacle courses, tearing tires apart, and more. But there's a massive rat in the basement as well- Ben. This thing is huge, and you really don't get a feel for its size until much later on, but trust me when I say it's at least 3 times the size of the others. After having it with Mr. Martin's abuse, Willard has the rats tear his new car's tires apart at night. It's something he thought he'd never do, and Willard begins to feel better about himself. Unfortunately, Ben doesn't like Socrates being #1 in Willard's eye, and begins to do more extreme things to become a favorite. The tragedy is, if Willard were to appreciate Ben, this wouldn't happen, and things that come later on wouldn't get as bad as they do. What it comes down to in the end, is an epic struggle between Willard and Ben.
Many people didn't like this movie, as the 4 million box office record shows. The main thing is, that Willard was billed as a horror movie. If anything, it's a tragedy/drama. I've never felt so connected to a character before, and so many things that happen to Willard really make me feel fortunate about myself. After a big loss in his life, Willard has to deal with a banker at a funeral home. Arguing over money and home problems, the banker suggests that Willard sell the house and start a new life. "START OVER? I'M ALMOST DONE" Willard screams, and it's here that we really see that he's lost all sanity. I was in tears during this scene. Crispin really sells this scene.
New Line has always done a great job with dvd transfers, and they're the best in the business. The movie looks flawless. Blacks are dark and bold, there's no grain to be found, and there's fine detail to be seen. Just look at some of the rooms in Willard's house. I find myself actually reading newspapers because of how clear they are. The audio's just as good, and makes a great use of surround sound. While this isn't an action packed movie, the score has an excellent range, especially when the rats scatter about. I jumped at one point, thinking something was behind me. This really makes me happy to see a movie that did so poorly get this treatment.
The extras are more than you could imagine, and I'll get the small ones out of the way first. There are several deleted scenes with optional commentary by the director and Crispin. A lot of these are very good, and could've added more to the movie, but all were cut thanks to the idiot test audience saying they slowed the movie down. One involves Socrates' mother dying, and Willard saying a few words for her. Rat People: Friend or Foes? is an 18 minute featurette going over rat people. It's mostly rat trainers and people who absolutely love them raving about rats. It's kinda cute. My favorite feature is the Ben music video. Yes, it's based on the Michael Jackson song from back in the day, and it's sung by Crispin himself. It's an insane video, taking place in early Germany in the 1930s, and has many parts played by Ermey and beautiful women in lingerie. This has an optional commentary by Crispin where he talks like a madman, telling us who everyone is, and mentions his upcoming movie (though it's been out for years) What Is It? and his upcoming second album- The Big Love. There's an outstanding commentary track with him, the director, producer, and a few bits from R. Lee Ermey. Ermey has maybe 3 lines here, and his info was recorded separately. Crispin and the director do most of the talking, almost never stopping. I love how Crispin mentions all his crying scenes were real. He's proud of that. Also included is how one more use of a certain word would've net them an automatic R rating. There's too much in this track to cover in a summary, so you'll have to listen to it yourself. It's of Robert Rodriguez-caliber. Lastly, aside from boring DVD-ROM features and trailers, is a massive documentary, ringing in at a time almost as long as the movie itself. It covers -everything-. It's not just a talking head featurette, but instead covers every god damn aspect of the movie: rat training, actors (Crispin wasn't first in line for the part amazingly), the music, clothes, sets, and much more. For me, the music aspect was the most fascinating- the woman who did the score wanted only 3 instruments for the main theme, and she wanted all 3 of them to be the most annoying, according to most people. The saddest part of this documentary though, covers the test audience. They absolutely hated it, and everyone had to make quick edits here and there, which resulted in another test screening getting even worse feedback. Pitiful people.
If you're looking for a great horror movie, look elsewhere. If you're a Crispin fan, or looking for an out-there drama, then you've come to the right place. Willard is sure to please people who can look past the killer rats, and see a great character and his collapse into insanity.
Even better than the original...
In some cases, time and technological advances help a remake improve upon the original. This is one of those cases.
The original "Willard" was clever and frightening in an intellectual sort of way, but the cheest special effects with the rats provided many unintentional laughs, something you do not want when you're watching a horror movie. Now, with CGI and other special effects advancements, the cheesiness has been eradicated, leaving you to enjoy a very good storyline.
Crispin Glover makes one hell of a Willard. Given his off-the-wall personality off-screen, it seems as if he was made for this role. His natural quirkiness plays a hand in making the audience really believe in the character. The character is both disturbing and sympathetic because of this, a nice blend.
Also, fans of the original "Willard" and its sequel "Ben", take note. There's a funny nod to those films here. I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen this movie, but I will say it's a rather funny (and fitting) homage.
A New Breed Of Friendship!
The pathologically shy Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) lives a life from Hell. His mother is a domineering invalid. (Played by Jackie Burroughs as the most horrific mother since Anne Ramsey in Throw Mama from the Train, she resembles nothing so much as Norman Bates' stuffed mother come to life.) His boss (R. Lee Ermey) is an abusive bully. But then Willard befriends the white rat Socrates, and things begin to look up. Socrates brings more and more friends into the basement, including the gigantic Ben, and soon Willard is at the command of a giant army of rats. Even as the chance for vengeance looms, however, so do other, darker dangers, as Willard and Ben become rivals for power.
The original film was played straight, and while not without its pleasures, is also rather slow. The remake is cheerfully grotesque, revelling in its own skewed darkness, and Glover's unholy, torqued presence dominates every frame. Writer/director Glen Morgan's inspired black humour extends to lifting the Michael Jackson song "Ben" from the original Willard's spectacularly awful sequel (a mind-blasting collision between killer rat horror film and the Wonderful World of Disney), and using it in an appropriately macabre context. Though the test- audience-imposed ending hurts a bit, it isn't enough to ruin the bloody fun of what is likely to stand as the definitive rat movie.
Glen Morgan, Ermey, Glover and producer James Wong do a round-table commentary, and the result is both interesting and fun. The wealth of 9/11 references in the film (pointed out by Morgan) raises some interesting allegorical interpretations, and the mixed feelings the filmmakers have about the revised ending is abundantly clear. More commentary is available on the 12 deleted/alternate scenes (including two other versions of the ending). Glover does the optional commentary solo on the bizarre video for "Ben" (which he directed). His commentary is almost as strange, delivered as it is in a breathless rush. "Year of the Rat" is a 75-minute documentary/video diary on the making of the film (and is a much more personal effort than the soulless promotional efforts one encounters so often), while "Rat People: Friends and Foes" is an eccentric look at, among others, people who keep rats (many, many rats) as pets. This last is narrated by Bruce Davison, the original Willard. The theatrical trailer, 3 TV spots and DVD- ROM features round out the disc. The menu is fully animated and scored, and is very much in keeping with the creepy black humour of the film.
If rats bother you, should probably stay well clear of this dark, cackling little gem. But if your sense of humour is at all twisted, and you have a liking for marvellously eccentric character turns, then you're in for a blast.
A sneaky and surprisingly smart horror flick, Cabin Fever sets up all the cliches of its particular subgenre (what might be called the "sexy young people go into the woods" horror movie, featuring hostile redneck locals, dead animals on hooks, cars that suddenly stop running, etc.) and by the end has played a clever twist on every standard element, often to darkly comic effect. What's the plot? Well, five sexy young people (Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, Joey Kern, Cerina Vincent, and James DeBello) go to an isolated cabin where they contract a nasty bacteria that eats their flesh; this, combined with a bad-tempered dog and a party-loving police deputy (Giuseppe Andrews, giving a particularly funny performance), leads everyone into confusion and bloody chaos. Some of the ironic twists... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Rider Strong - Jordan Ladd - James DeBello - Cerina Vincent - Joey Kern Director(s): Eli Roth DVD Release Date: Released the 20 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $9.98 Your Price: $9.98YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
After 11 years in development hell and screenplay drafts by 13 different writers, the long-awaited smackdown of Freddy vs. Jason finally arrives. After making their respective debuts in Friday the 13th (1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger, replacing long-time Jason performer Kane Hodder) and razor-gloved Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) square off in a slasher-franchise combo-deal that only their most devoted fans will appreciate; turns out this is a lightweight match in which nobody wins. It's an average entry in the histories of these horror icons, comparable to half of their previous sequels, and Bride of Chucky director Ronny Yu satisfies purists with plenty of gushing blood and mayhem when... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ken Kirzinger - Robert Englund - Kelly Rowland Director(s): Ronny Yu DVD Release Date: Released the 13 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.96 Your Price: $11.97YOU SAVE $7.99!
Buy it
So here's the deal: A bunch of sassy scientific types, who all look as though tey've spent just as much time lifting barbells as they have beakers, head out into Borneo to find some rare flower that's the "pharmaceutical equivalent to the fountain of youth"--and end up dodging the digestive system of several mutant snakes during mating season. You gotta hate when that happens. If you don't, you soon will, because this in-name-only sequel to Anaconda, 1997's now seminal guilty pleasure, is proof that more does not necessarily mean merrier. The thing isn't even good-bad; it's cheap and completely unmemorable even as popcorn fodder. Director Dwight Little and his posse of his screenwriters have neither the budget nor the imagination to come on like a rip-snorting Aliens... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): KaDee Strickland - Eugene Byrd - Morris Chestnut Director(s): Dwight H. Little DVD Release Date: Released the 21 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.94 Your Price: $17.95YOU SAVE $1.99!
Buy it
The 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre adheres to the pure and simple slasher movie formula: Introduce a gaggle of sexy young people, make vague gestures to distinguish them--Jessica Biel (Summer Catch) wants to get married and doesn't like pot, so she's our moral compass--then start hacking them to pieces one by one. The visual palette includes grimy crucified dolls, fly-specked pig carcasses, body parts floating in murky jars, a tobacco-chewing redneck sheriff, and many slender beams of sunlight cutting through dank, dusty interiors. The camera lovingly photographs Biel's tank-topped bosom and sculpted abs as she's running in terror from a bloated, chainsaw-wielding, human-skin-wearing maniac. This remake lacks the macabre comedy of the original; it's all about... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jessica Biel - Jonathan Tucker - Andrew Bryniarski Director(s): Marcus Nispel DVD Release Date: Released the 30 March 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.96 Your Price: $13.46YOU SAVE $1.5!
Buy it
