The Willies (1990)

I hadn't ever seen The Willies (1990) before. When Tubi recommended it to me when I was sort of determining what to watch in a double feature for Tuesday night after "C.H.U.D" (1984), I thought, an anthology with Sean Astin? Sure, why not?! This is that period in his career between "The Goonies" and "Rudy". He's one of three kids telling "spooky stories" in tent in his backyard. The film starts out with the trio swapping quickies about a customer at a fast food restaurant eating a cooked rat, an old man (John Hughes' regular, Bill Erwin) in a cup seat at a haunted amusement park ride actually scared to death by a host of horror movie cliches (the zombie who loses an arm, a vampire getting her neck sliced open in the film's most gruesome spot (given the MPAA okay, I guess, because her blood was green), and an ax wielding maniac), and a poodle owner "drying off" her bathed, wet poodle in a microwave (!!!) with quite a gooey explosion as a result. The way each of these little stories is shot, with a tone quite childish in nature if still rather yikes for a PG-13 horror anthology aimed at kids, the quirky personality of the overall product was a welcome surprise. I was also quite taken aback by a darkness in the main two stories told after the opening credits. There is bullying, adults clashing with kids, and kids actually dying. But I will mention that because these are stories made up by kids in a tent, a lantern burning just enough for us to see them, what happens to the likes of three brats picking on Danny Hollister (Ian Fried) in the first tale and a rotund, mean-spirited, always-stealing, always-mouthing-off jerk named Gordy Belcher (Michael Bower) when his nasty attitude towards flies (and a farmer with a special manure that grows garden vegetables quite big thanks to his secret ingredients seemingly developed through some type of mad science) comes back to haunt him in the second tale are presented as spun yarns not to be taken seriously.

Gordy pulls wings off flies, kills them, and sets them up as "characters" in little buildings and sets (like a diner, church, and a rock concert) in his basement. Gordy is able to earn the trust and sympathy of a nice girl he gets to eat a cookie laced with dead flies at a lunch table outside school, kicks open fencing for Farmer Spivey (Ralph Drischell) to steal manure from one of his sacks, steals items from a department store, laughs at what his scaring a cat does to an insect exterminator driving down a road and a woman carrying groceries, and shushes his mother when he's not outright rude to her. Gordy's dad lays into him for being such a dweeb, while his mom tries to take up for him, all the while, knowing he's a pill. He is hysterical when that poor girl eats the cookie, just reveling in her disgust, later suspended (appropriately) for this detestable act. Oh but does he get some of what is coming to him...giant flies, a creation of the manure, in Gordy's room! The conclusion of this is startlingly grisly.

The first tale, although I didn't start with describing it, isn't bad at all. While I wish Clu Gulager had more to do than just appear in the bathroom of his school as a principal realizing something very tragic has happened after the fact, James Karen is a treat as a janitor who is quite a bit more than he seems. Karen is a janitor who has to help Danny down from being extended by a firehose thanks to three bullies who love to torment him. This trio also share class with him, never letting Danny get a break from harassment. During a test, Danny really has to urinate, so his frustrating teacher, Miss Titmarch (Kathleen Freeman), a difficult and intimidating woman who seems to dislike him -- why certain teachers don't like certain kids has always been a problem in schools -- eventually relents and lets him go. But what Danny doesn't anticipate is a monster in one of the stalls, and "human head and hands disguise" in the janitor's closet!. Despite Danny's attempts to tell Titmarch and others of the monster in the bathroom, his teacher and the three bullies get an up close and personal contact with it. Let's just say the monster leaves behind quite a bloody mess! The monster is actually quite impressive, very detailed in design, and the process with how the Karen mask is put on over the damned thing's head, with the actor participating, is a makeup showcase. If you were bullied in school, the bathroom scene, as Danny traps them inside with a toolchest, as the monster mayhem ensues, has an end result many might have imagined in time's past...I know I have dreamt of a monster eating bullies who picked on me. Kathy Freeman as Danny's unmerciful and spiteful teacher is perfectly cast...how she just mistreats Danny and fails to believe him, leading to her own doom, is also quite a fulfilling piece of business.

I thought of the "Want to see something really scary?" opening to "Twilight Zone: The Movie" with how the final scene at the end unfolds as Astin presents his friends with his "Uncle Harry", who will reveal the "monster behind the mask" much to their shock as the film concludes.

I have read comparisons to RL Stine, "Goosebumps", and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" Kiddie horror that doesn't go too far but rides right up to that line, The Willies, while not totally devoid of some potent horror (the monster inside janitor skin does kill and Gordy "loses some weight"), I think would be a-okay for older kids and young teenagers. Adults might also find some delights in the warped sense of humor that exists, the effective monster, and Gordy's ghoulish hobby...spending time with Gordy, you definitely see a pathology forming. I truly believe Gordy could have eventually been a killer. 3/5

I never came across this film during my rental store haunts. I'm actually struck by how I could have missed it all these years. I rectified that, though, Tuesday night. I could see The Willies being a big nostalgic favorite for some growing up. I could even see the film as a Halloween season favorite. Sean Astin's attachment to it does help. Cameron and Gold from "Growing Pains" have a cameo in a dream of Gordy's.