Bruce Davison memorably portrays the title character in this entertaining animal-themed thriller that was a big hit back in its day. Willard Stiles is a wimpy, awkward doormat of a man, regularly chewed out by his demanding boss Martin (Ernest Borgnine) and harangued by his clingy, equally demanding mother Henrietta (Elsa Lanchester). He has zero friends in the world, until he decides to take pity on the scores of rats infesting his property. He even gives the two most dominant characters names: "Socrates" is a gentle white rat, "Ben" a more aggressive brown rat. Willard soon becomes able to get the rats to do his bidding, which comes in handy in such matters as revenge.

It's not hard to see why "Willard" would have connected with audiences back in 1971. The relationship between the boy and his rodents is admittedly touching, and the head rats Socrates and Ben are very well trained (as well as rats can be trained). Now, granted, you don't always sympathize with Willard. Sometimes he comes off as a real jerk. But you feel bad for him often enough to enjoy his revenge. For example, getting the rats to ruin a backyard dinner party held by Martin. You also hope that his budding relationship with a lovely temp employee (the appealing Sondra Locke) will better his situation, or at least brighten him up a bit. For this viewer, it didn't matter so much that the film "lacked style"; it was still a reasonably entertaining story (based on the book "The Ratman's Notebooks" by Stephen Gilbert) told in capable enough fashion by screenwriter Gilbert Ralston and director Daniel Mann. The music score by Alex North is simply wonderful.

Borgnine provides excellent support, obviously having fun with playing a mean, conniving boss who seems to take a perverse pleasure in humiliating Willard in front of others. Lanchester is just right during the amount of screen time that she gets. Michael Dante, Jody Gilbert, John Myhers, J. Pat O'Malley, and others comprise a fine supporting cast.

The clear lesson to be learned from this one is simply this: if you have very few friends in this world, do NOT turn your back on them, no matter how small they may be.

Followed by a sequel, "Ben", just one year later, and a second adaptation of the book in 2003 (with Crispin Glover as Willard, R. Lee Ermey as Martin, and Jackie Burroughs as Henrietta).

Seven out of 10.

When I was about 7, my father dropped me and my brother off at the theater to see Willard. He didn't come in with us because the movie had the well-deserved reputation for being disgusting. He told us that he was dropping us off to teach us a lesson--NEVER ask to see disgusting movies AGAIN!! Unfortunately, my brother and I loved it--and not just the gore (which is very mild by today's standards) but because the story and acting were good.

Bruce Davison carried the role of Willard quite well, though particularly exciting to watch was Ernest Borgnine as the nasty jerk of a boss. Seeing him become rat food 2/3 of the way through the movie felt VERY satisfying.

In addition, I appreciate how the writers helped us to have some empathy for Willard and he was NOT portrayed as some psycho--he really felt torn by his nasty exploits.

So, I would recommend this film to guys. Period. Women just don't seem to have much appreciation for armies of flesh eating rats. Go figure.

SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: There was a sequel (of sorts) for this movie. BEN stars the lead rat on further adventures. However, instead of devouring people, he meets a talentless child and becomes his "special friend". I'm getting ill just thinking about it. AVOID THE SEQUEL AT ALL COSTS! Don't say I didn't warn you!

This is VERY reminiscent of problem with the original Village of the Damned. It was a great movie in which evil children terrorized a small town, but in the sequel (?) Children of the Damned, the kids just want to be loved and understood. Oooooooo, the PAIN is INTENSE just thinking about that movie!

Willard Stiles (Bruce Davison) is an introvert. His mother is bedridden. Her friends throw him a surprise birthday party and berate him for losing his father's business to Al Martin (Ernest Borgnine) who hired Joan (Sondra Locke) to take over his work. He has no friends but finds friendship with the rats in the backyard. Soon, his friends are multitudes willing to do his bidding.

The idea is there but this is shot in a flat, uninspired manner. The actors are either first rate or on their way. Borgnine is gloriously evil. Davison is a little green around the edges. This should be a lot more compelling. There should be more tension. It's got some creepiness but I would like more.