Ask almost anyone which animals or creatures they are most afraid of and they are more likely to say spiders or rats rather than tigers or bears and anyone with a real aversion to rats might best be advised to give "Willard" a miss. Daniel Mann's 1971 classic about a boy and his pet rats, a whole army of them, that he trains to take revenge on anyone who wrongs him, is a Grade-A horror comedy with a Grade-A cast headed by a young and brilliant Bruce Davison as Willard. Others in the cast include Sondra Locke as the girl he attempts to have a relationship with, Elsa Lanchester, (superb as ever), as his demanding mother and a brilliant Ernest Borgnine as his thoroughly nasty boss. It was successful enough for a sequel, "Ben", named after one of Willard's rats, but despite a title song sung by Michael Jackson, it never really lived up to its predecessor.
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