The upcoming remake of the 1971 film Willard (staring freakin Crispen Glover!!!) strikes me as a very good literal Sorcerer film... what with the evil intelligent rat Ben who causes trouble...

Read this review, especialy this bit:

Trapped by his demanding mother (Jackie Burroughs), Willard Styles (Crispin Glover) is a shy loner who lives a miserable existence as an office clerk at his dead father's company. His luck changes for the better (sort of) when he discovers that he can communicate with the rats in his basement, but he is soon caught in the middle of a power struggle between Socrates, the harmless white rat with whom he develops a special bond, and Ben, the huge, evil rat who defies his authority. Willard becomes so pre-occupied with his newfound powers that he is oblivious to the charms of a beautiful office temp (Laura Elena Harring), and the pressures upon him build to the point where he can't help but unleash his army of rats upon those around him.

Yeah, this is definitely a Sorcerer movie. I hadn't even read Sorcerer when I first saw the preview, and I said to myself, "Looks like Sorcerer to me." Of course, now that I've actually read the game (and fallen in love with it) I must see the film.

Plus: Crispin Glover! C'mon... that's worth the price of admission right there.

Hello,

'Course, previews are only previews. I'd like to mention a couple of things regarding Willard ...

1. The '71 movie is required Sorcerer viewing. This is an excellent example of a movie that really doesn't need to be remade (although like everyone else I'm stoked about C.G. in the part). So my advice is to go rent it, watch it, enjoy it, before the release of the remake, and then appreciate the remake for the glossy retread it will be.

2. Ben is not a plain old evil Rat Demon. The evil in the story comes from the usual places for early 70s trash/vision cinema: mom, the boss, and the society of man in general. In my view, people who thrillingly expect King-style oogly chills at seeing rats devour someone are missing the point.

Best,
Ron

Three words: Laura Elena Harring.

She can be my demon anytime.

Jared A. Sorensen wrote: Three words: Laura Elena Harring.

She can be my demon anytime.

Feng wrote:

Curse you Sorensen, Laura is MINE! Now put down the black candles and goat's blood and back away slowly. And before you ask, Alyson Hannigan, Naomi Watts, Parker Posey, and Claire Forlani are mine, too. Also Gillian Anderson. And Emma Caulfield. Um... I'll send you an annotated list.

Ron Edwards wrote:
The '71 movie is required Sorcerer viewing.

Hi there,

How can all you guys type with just one hand like that?

Maurice, that'd work really well for Dread, but what do you think of my point above? That Ben is not the source of evil in the story?

Best,
Ron

I'd say Ben (hehe) is a vehicle through which Willard succumbs to evil- becoming that which he hates. Ben provides him with a means to elicit revenge, and in doing so become tainted. Ben is an evil opportunist, not the source of the movie's dehumanizing evil. The final nail. A real rat.

-Ben

Ron, it's been so long since I've seen that movie that I hesitate to say too much, but I think you're right about the source of evil. Ben acts out of love for Willard, and it trying to right the wrongs that have been heaped upon Willard over time.

Well - if I remember the original (really hazy here, and conflated with the sequel and ::sigh:: the Michael Jackson song) - it wasn't so much that Ben was evil as that Willard couldn't see any point to Ben except for him to be evil.

That's very Sorceror...

Stuart

Well, I saw it. *sigh*

They tried to do a Tim-Burton style movie without Tim Burton. He would have been able to do morbid humor without sacrificing the movie's edge. People laughed and squirmed when they should have been dumbstruck and creeped out.

Crispin Glover did good, but he tried too hard. The boss (drill sargeant from Full Metal Jacket) chewed scenery and in general did his part well. Everyone else was scenery, except the rats. But even the rats had a Disneyesque cuteness to them at times. Other times, they got it right.

This movie needed edginess, it needed to be R-rated and it needed Crispin to dig deep and be unpleasant. It needed to be "One Hour Photo" with rats. It needed Todd Solonz to direct it. Still, it was better than most of the crap out there, so I'll take it, corniness and schmaltz and all. Hopefully, when I see the original movie, it'll have more of an edge to it.

And gods help us, they had the song "Ben" in the movie twice: it's original song, and the Crispin Glover remake.

No, I'm not kidding. That should tell you all you need to know about the unfortunate camp strewn throughout the movie.

Sadly, it's still good. But they tried for tongue-in-cheek, and they should have gone straight for horror, or left the horror/humor mix for someone who can make it work, like Tim Burton.

But, to keep all of the above on-topic, it still kept the basic themes of Sorcerer in the movie: Willard dividing his "good side" into Socrates and his "bad side" into Ben. Ben desiring Socrates' privileged position, love and desire turning into hate and revenge. Socrates dying due to Willard's inability to take action. Very, very Sorcerer.