Wizard-8 The first mistake that "The Willies" makes is staying at a PG-13 rating. Not only will adults feel the horror in this movie is watered down, but so will the kids and teenagers this movie is aimed at! The next mistake is with the movie starting off with three very short stories which are urban legends that EVERYONE has heard of before - no surprises. The movie's subsequent two stories - which take up most of the movie - aren't very entertaining as well. As it has been noted by other user comments, the story of the bullied boy and the monster in the bathroom was obviously inspired by the Stephen King short story, "Here There Be Tygers". There is a monster that doesn't look bad for a movie that had a very low budget, but that's just a few seconds of entertainment. The second story, about a boy obsessed with flies, goes on forever. It could have easily been cut down, but it would still have the problem that the twist at the end is very predictable. Aside from the creature effects, the only thing entertaining about "The Willies" is one in-joke that references the movie THE GOONIES, which Sean Astin also appeared in.

BA_Harrison One of my earliest horror related memories is of reading a comic (I'm guessing it was a reprint of old EC tales) in which a kid who enjoyed pulling the wings off flies ended up having both of his arms torn off (I recall that he may have even been given giant fly wings as replacements, although I may have made that bit up over the years). This story seems to be the inspiration for the second of the two main tales in kiddie-centric horror anthology The Willies, whilst the first, about a boy who discovers a monster in the school bathroom, appears to have borrowed heavily from an early Stephen King short story called 'Here There Be Tygers'. Even the short stories in the pre-credits sequence are based on familiar urban legends—meaning that the film doesn't rate very well for originality. Writer director Brian Peck also loses points for the poor structuring of his film, with the second story in particular long outstaying its welcome.As highly derivative and poorly paced as the film may be, however, The Willies is still just about worthwhile thanks to its tongue-in-cheek approach (loved the Goonies in-joke), nicely developed characters (the solid cast includes future hobbit Sean Astin, and James Karen and Clu Gulager from Return of the Living Dead), some hokey creature effects, and above all, a genuine sense of fun. Plus, it's hard for me to hate too much on a film that, despite being aimed predominantly at a younger audience, actually proves rather disturbing at times: fly-boy Gordy (Michael Bower) surveying his macabre dioramas featuring dead flies is nice and twisted (the Church even has a dead fly attached to a crucifix!) and his fate is as gruesome as it should be (which reminds me... if anyone can shed any light on the name/issue number of that comic I read many moons ago, please drop me a message—I'd love to read that story again).

gridoon Grim instead of amusing, mean-spirited instead of playful, boring instead of interesting. It won't give you "the willies", but it just may gross you out or send you to sleep. And it will certainly make you wonder: "what were they thinking?" (*1/2)

brandonsites1981 Sean Astin gathers his brother and cousin to spend the night in his tent with his uncle (James Karen) watching the kids. With nothing better to do, they tell each other scary stories. The first one involving a monster and the second one involving bugs. Fun little flick, is fairly tame (it does contain one scene of brief graphic violence) and makes a good pick for kids (10 or older) who are fans of scary story books like "Southern Fried Rat". The effects are awful, as is the score and acting, but it just adds to the fun!Rated PG-13; One Scene of Graphic Violence.