10 Hidden Gem Horror Movie Remakes You Need To Watch

3. Willard (2003)

We Are What We Are
New Line Cinema

Before there was Anaconda, Cujo, or Jaws, there was Willard.

Originally released in 1971 and based on the book The Ratman’s Notebook, the film saw the titular and lonely 27-year-old (Bruce Davison) befriend a colony of rats in his backyard. However, after constantly rejecting the affections from a brown rat named Ben, the rodent orchestrates his revenge. A sequel titled Ben released one year later, which had Michael Jackson sing the theme song.

Over 30 years later, Willard returned to our screens in the 2003 remake of the same name. This time starring Crispin Glover in an iconic performance, this retelling was a different kind of film than the original. Whereas the ’71 version was brightly shot with a boyish lead, this Willard was Gothic and brooding in style, drawing upon the likes of Hitchcock’s Psycho and The Birds for inspiration.

Though the horror centres around a horde of killer rats, Willard is a tragic and heart-breaking tale about a desperately lonely person who finds companionship in the unlikeliest of places. But the real tragedy of this film is its undeserved bomb at the box office has resulted in this horror being all but forgotten about.

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Contributor

Glasgow-based cinephile who earned a Masters degree in film studies to spend their time writing about cinema, video games, and horror.