Halloween 2019: October 29th

Willard (2003)

For a brief, shining moment, Glen Morgan and James Wong were primed to become the hottest genre filmmakers in Hollywood. The two wrote some critically acclaimed episodes of “The X-Files” before breaking out with the critically and financially successful “Final Destination.” After that, remakes started to emerge as the trend-of-the-day in horror. And the movie Morgan and Wong wanted to remake was “Willard.” For whatever reason, I was really excited for this movie in 2003. I had never seen the original, wasn't super familiar with the cast or crew, and have no special affinity for killer rat movies. Yet, for whatever reason, I was an early champion of 2003's “Willard” and continue to sing the film's praises after seeing it. It's somehow been sixteen years and I still think this movie is underrated.

While reading “Ratman's Notebooks” last week, I was surprised to find the 2003 version of “Willard” was the more faithful adaptation. Morgan's movie excises the protagonist's nickname-lending career as a thief and downplays the office romance. It takes several elements from the original movie, such as Willard's more sympathetic personality, the role of a clock in the family house, Mr. Martin's speech to the office, or a pet cat. Over all, the book's events are modernized and streamlined but a number of minor incidents left out of the previous adaptations are maintained here, such as an encounter with a yapping little dog. This is still the story of Willard Stiles, outcast and mama's boy, befriending rats and seeking vengeance on his mean boss, before Ben turns on him.

What really impressed me about “Willard” in 2003, as an anxious, intensely nerdy teenager, was Crispin Glover's portrayal of the titular character. The film is a display for Glover's quirky acting style. The camera emphasizes the rather rat-like angles of Glover's nose and chin, the actor fully embraces Willard Stiles' awkwardness. He stammers his dialogue, twitches, broods, all with that particular Gloverian elegance. When confronting his boss, he quivers with either fear or overwhelming anger. Crispin delivers at least two brilliant monologues. Glossy with sweat, he rants at an insurance salesman about how his life is nearly over. Later, after Mr. Martin fires him, he slams into a door while having an epic meltdown. It may seem over-the-top but I saw so much of myself in his anxiety-ridden performance, of someone who barely knows how to interact with other people, who can't quite hold it together in public.

More than anything else, “Willard” takes us inside the title character's deeply lonely world. Willard lives in a world without love. His mother, played by a wonderful disgusting Jackie Burroughs, heaps scorn upon him. She makes fun of his name and even spits on him at one point. His boss, played by an amusingly shouting R. Lee Ermy, is a bully that hates Willard because he seems weak. The film has the balls to have its main character consider suicide, in a touchingly direct scene. This is why he immediately bonds with Socrates, petting him and loving him within the first night they meet. The little rat is the first creature to ever show him any kindness. When Socrates is killed, Willard's heart shatters. His revenge is cathartic, his declaration of “liking himself” being bracing. 1971's “Willard,” and even Gilbert's original book, seem to keep the audience distant from Willard's isolated existence. The remake makes us relate, and maybe even love, this sad and pathetic outsider.

2003's “Willard” also leans into the absurdity of the premise more than any other version. The movie might function better as a weirdo comedy than a horror movie. There is an edge of dark humor to Willard's endless humiliation. As in the scenes where he quietly considers his options for exterminating the rats. The way his co-workers also suffer under Martin are mildly amusing. The fate of poor Scully the cat is a sick and twisted joke if I've ever seen one. As a horror movie, meanwhile, “Willard” doesn't have too many tricks up its sleeve. We are so much on Willard's side, that we're never afraid of him. Mr. Martin is such a bastard, that you can't squirm too much when the rats crawl all over him. The scenes of the fuzzy rodents sneaking out of toilets or filling a kitchen might make you uneasy if you have a rat phobia. Otherwise, the film isn't scary nor it is trying to be.

This strange streak of humor is most evident in the power struggle between Willard and Ben. The film smartly combines Ben with a bigger rat that played a small role in the book. Now, Ben is a very intimidating Gambian pouched rat. And he's a shockingly good actor, the rodent glaring with angry intent more than once. Ben constantly challenges Willard's authority, pretty much from the moment they meet. He climbs into a bag, refuses to stay in the cellar, enters the bedroom, chews up a walking stick, and violates Willard's inner sanctuary multiple times. Eventually, as Willard turns on the innocent rats, the film cheekily aligns him with post-9/11 terrorist with nods towards box cutters and Tora Bora. It's a breed of overheated melodrama, as the film never lets you forget this is a man fighting for control with a rat here.

“Willard” was a box office failure. It's almost as if audience weren't interested in a remake of a movie nobody remembers with the star power of the dad from “Back to the Future.” It didn't help that the studio insisted the film be re-cut for a PG-13. The lack of squirm-inducing rat attack gore didn't affect the movie too much. An obviously tacked-on pseudo-happy ending, the finished film's weakest element, certainly did though. In the years since, “Willard” has developed a cult following of sorts and even recently earned a special edition Blu-Ray. I think the film is severely underrated. It's production design is awesome. An Elfman-esque score from Shirley Walker couldn't be more on-point. The performances are fantastic. It's funny, weird, and gruesome in equal measure and an obvious improvement over the original. [8/10]

Macabre (1958)

After almost twenty years spent working as a hired gun in Hollywood, directing television and B-westerns, William Castle reinvented himself as the King of Gimmick Horror. He cemented his legacy by tying low budget but well-made horror flicks like “House on Haunted Hill,” “The Tingler,” and “Mr. Sardonicus” with outrageous in-theater gimmicks with wacky names like “Emergo!,” “Percept-o!,” or “The Punishment Poll!” And that legacy started with “Macabre.” Castle promoted the film, which he partially financed by mortgaging his house, by having each ticket buyer sign a life insurance policy, in case they died of fright during the movie. Actresses playing nurses were camped outside each screening and hearses were often parked in front of theaters. The scheme worked, “Macabre” grossing over five million dollars and launching Castle's career as an independent horror meister.

Dr. Rod Barrett is at the center of quite a lot of small town gossip. His first wife, Alice, died during the birth of their child, Marge. (He quickly became engaged to another woman, named Sylvia, adding to suspicion.) Not long afterwards, his former sister-in-law, the blind and promiscuous Nancy, passed away under mysterious circumstances. On the night of Nancy's funeral, Dr. Barrett receives a threatening fun call. His daughter Marge has been kidnapped and buried alive. He has exactly five hours to rescue her. Along with his nursing assistant Polly and his former father-in-law, the funeral director, Rod seeks to save his daughter before it is too late.

“Macabre” begins in the world of mundane, with multiple scenes set in streets and small rooms of this suburban town. The direction is rather flat, ordinarily looking, in these early moments. Yet, as soon as “Macabre” heads towards its darker story points, the visual design changes. The cemetery is overgrown, the graves pushed together. A thick layer of fog floats over this desolate location. It's a very spooky setting and one that constitutes most of “Macabre's” horror elements. Inside this foggy, classical tableau, Castle occasionally injects startling imagery. These are the times when “Macabre” probably came the closest to the unlikely possibility of scaring its viewers to death. A bleeding corpse appears propped up in a shadowy tomb. A decomposed skull peers out of a small coffin. Most chillingly, a child's teddy bear appears on the steps of her mom, caked with dirt. These moments certainly made an impact on this horror nerd.

Despite its ghoulish advertising campaign, “Macabre” is really only marginally a horror movie. If anything, it feels more like a noir at times. The movie's plot can get a bit convoluted at times. Early on, a mess of red herrings are introduced. There's a nervous mortician with gambling debts and a local cop who is clearly a bit of a bully.A mess of romantic entanglements are slowly revealed. From Dr. Barret's dead wife, to his sister-in-law's affair with that same cop or her caufere, to the doctor's current fiance, nanny, and assistant. Each are cast in a suspicious light from time to time. The shady and gloomy visuals befit noir just as much as they do horror. And it's not like “Macabre's” twisting story of mixed alliances, and eventually moral uncertainly, wouldn't fit in either.

Sadly, “Macabre” ultimately chokes on its own plotting. During a tense scene of Barret and Polly snooping around the spooky cemetery, including ducking into an open grave, the film suddenly lapses into a lengthy flashback, detailing Nancy's back story. It uses the harp sound effect and the gauziness around the frame and everything. There are several of these flashbacks throughout, further detailing Nancy's romantic life or the fate of the doctor's first wife. Eventually, it starts to destroy the pacing. It's hard for the story to feel like it's moving forward – especially when there's pointedly a time limit, emphasized by the repeated looks at a ticking clock – when it's constantly going backwards. By the time we get to the twist ending, things have gotten so knotted that it's hard to follow exactly how we've gotten to this point.

Then again, I suspect we are not meant to take “Macabre” so seriously. The end credits feature goofy animation while Les Baxter's score put an unusually jovial twist on the stereotypical funeral march. “Macabre's” entire existence was based in gimmickry. The novel that inspired it, “The Marble Forest,” was written by “Theo Durrant.” That would be a pseudonym for twelve different authors, each one writing a separate chapter. I don't know how close the film is tot he book but that might explain why the story gets so needlessly complex. “Macabre” is better as a test run for Castle's later, better films, showing that he could pack houses with his crazy gimmicks and generate some spooky atmosphere. I wonder how that remake would've turned out? [6/10]

Creepshow: All Hallow's Eve / The Man in the Suitcase

It seems to me the world is very ready for the return of the horror anthology show. Fake “anthology shows,” that actually devote an entire series to a story, have already proven popular. Various attempts have been made to reboot “Tales” from both the Crypt and the Darkside only for legal entanglements to sink them. “The Twilight Zone” has returned. Hell, even “Amazing Stories” is coming back. Out of this confusion, a hero rises. Greg Nicotero and Shudder had the bright idea to finally fulfill George Romero and Stephen King's dream of launching a “Creepshow” TV series. The Creep is maintained as a silent, ghoulishly grinning host, mostly seen in comic-style wraparound segments. Shudder's “Creepshow” has been a success, driving record-breaking numbers to the streaming service and already receiving a second season order. 

Naturally, the series featured a Halloween episode in its first season. “All Hallow's Eve” follows a group of trick-or-treaters calling themselves the Golden Dragon Club. The group – which includes a sarcastic black kid, a budding romantic couple, and a strangely silent child in a sheet ghost outfit – make vague references to some sort of ritual. They are greeted, at every house they stop by, with expressions of horror and fear. Eventually, it becomes apparent that the Golden Dragons are not of-this-Earth anymore. And that they are seeking revenge on certain people within the town.

The most disappointing thing about “All Hallow's Eve” is that a twist is obviously coming and it's not too hard to see what. Clearly, the townsfolk fear these trick-or-teaters for some reason and it's  difficult to guess why. However, the contrast behind the light-hearted interactions of the kids and the uneasiness they cause everywhere they do is a nice touch. The group of youngsters are all fairly lovable. The sardonic and always hungry Binky is especially amusing. The flashback that reveals the gang's origins is well done, shot in black-and-white save for one element. Considering “Creepshow” is a homage to E.C. Comics, it's only fitting that this story ends up being one of bad people being punished for their misdeeds. The episode's ending is nicely bittersweet too.

The second story of the episode, “The Man in the Suitcase,” comes from director David Bruckner. It's has an amusingly bizarre premise, of a heartbroken stoner discovering a twisted-up man in his airport luggage with a surprising ability. Once again, the monstrous, special effects-filled reveal is heavily foreshadowed early on.  It's still fun to watch the oddball premise unravel itself. Seeing the increasingly sadistic way the suitcase-bound man is increasingly tortured is fun. Much like the first tale, the segment ends by punishing the wicked for their crime in a suitably ironic fashion. Brucker leans harder into the comic book visual style found in the original “Creepshow” film, making the second half of this episode far superior to the first. Even if it lacks the cool Halloween atmosphere. [7/10]

The Visitant (1981)

Sick of the jump scare heavy horror shorts that get passed around the internet these days, I decided to skew slightly older with most of my shorts-selection this year. Such as with “The Visitant.” Made in 1981 by an 18 year old student with all of 500 dollars, the short concerns a man visiting the grave of his late father. He is haunted by the spirit of his late son, which he literally chases through the cemetery. Soon, a barrage of other spectres begin to haunt and pursue the man. Shortly afterwards, it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary visit after all.

Knowing the backstory behind “The Visitant” certainly makes it a more impressive achievement. For such a low budget, amateur production, it looks shockingly professional. The camera work is nicely expressive. There are multiple tracking shots, including a few attached to moving vehicles,  which really impress. The make-up effects look quite good, especially the axe-wielding ghoul with the missing eyeball. “The Visitant” keeps throwing spooky apparitions at the audience, never giving the tension a chance to subside. “The Visitant's” low budget shows in its over-reliance on voice-over narration, which basically explains the plot, and a twist ending that you see coming a mile away. Yet this is a pretty cool little short, all things considered. Director Paul Bunnell has made a handful of shorts and two features since 1981, a few of which are horror or horror-adjacent. I'll have to see if I can track those down. [7/10]