Ben

OK I'm a sucker for a good b movie,and i loved this movie,better then the first one;Willard.well this time the fleeing rats led by Ben end up underneath the city storm drains.Ben then befriends a terminally sick boy played by Lee H Montgomery,who helps him.this time the rat army is much bigger.i wont reveal the ending but its a rather good one.the rest of the cast is very good,Meredith Baxter as the boys sister,Joe Campenella is the cop in charge,and Arthur O'Connell is the pushy newspaper reporter.Ben and his fellow rats should've received awards for their performance.and don't forget this features the late Micheal Jackson song called Ben.i call this a friendship between a boy and a rat.i recommend this movie to all fans of the horror genre.8 out of 10

This movie was awesome! Really! The main kid (Lee Montgomery) makes the whole "best friends with a rat" story seem believable! And, he does a puppet show! He spins around while playing the harmonica! Cool haircut, too. He's radical!

Worth watching just to see him write the song to Ben at the piano while Elise Keaton looks on.

Rent it!

Ben (1972)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

As the tagline promised, "Where WILLARD ended... BEN begins." This sequel to the 1971 film takes place moments after the original film ended as the police arrive at the home of Willard and realize the damage done by the rats. Before long the rats, being led by Ben, befriend a young boy (Lee Montgomery) but at the same time they're terrorizing the city as the police try to figure out what to do.

BEN is the perfect example of a film making money and a sequel being rushed into production to try and make some more money. Whereas WILLARD was a rather interesting character study, BEN falls into a rather cheap, money-maker that has very little story, although if you're a fan of rats then there are plenty of them here as well as a lot more attacks.

For me personally, BEN was a major disappointment but I guess you had to go into the film somewhat expecting that. After all, WILLARD featured some great performances, an interesting story and it worked on most levels. Sadly what made that film work is pretty much missing here as we're given a rather generic story and it's one that you the viewer really can't connect with. I'm not even sure kids could connect with the young child here or any of his family members.

Director Phil Karlson at least keeps the film moving at a good pace and for the most part the performances are good. There are several more rat attacks here and for the most part they are mildly entertaining but there's no question that the climax lacks any real suspense and it drags on for way too long. By the time the end credits start we finally get to hear Michael Jackson singing his love song.

This is one of those films that you hear about for years but never get the chance to see. I've been aching to see this for ages, but never came across it until recently. It's not a bad little piece of early '70s horror, really. Actually, I only have two major gripes: First, the kid. He made me want to feed him to the rats for the majority of the film. The strange marionette obsession, the circus-like songs he 'wrote', the annoying heavy breathing when he'd supposedly overexerted himself....the kid's weird and in a male-Shirley-Temple kind of way. He's creepier than Ben ever thought about being. But I suppose it was meant to make his outcast status believable, in which case it works beautifully. No other kid in their right mind would hang out with Danny! My second gripe is with the climax of the film. Frankly, it just runs on too bloody long. Seems like watching the same scene over and over for twenty minutes, which is monotonous. Aside from these two small quibbles, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed 'Ben'. I've never had a horror villain make me cry before, but Ben not only had me all weepy at the end but I was rooting for him pretty much the whole movie. He's just so darn cute!

Ben is, apparently, the sequel to Daniel Mann's Willard, from the previous year.

It picks up where the previous story left of.

With a young boy, named Daniel- stricken to his home from illness- having befriended Ben, the leader of the pack of rats- trained by Willard Stiles in the previous film.

The rats are running havoc through town- having already killed 3 people.

And the police and city workers are having no luck tracking the pests down...they are just too intelligent.

Seems they have taken to the sewers, to get around the city more efficiently.

So the authorities pull out all the stops...flamethrowers and all...to rid the city of this menace, once and for all.

Unless Daniel has any say in the matter, that is...

While among the better films that qualify for the animal attack canon. It's still only moderately entertaining. And is probably most notable for it's theme song. Sung by Daniel (J. Lee Montgomery) in the film. But recorded by Michael Jackson for the credits- and released on his album of the same name the same year- for which it received a Golden Globe and Academy Awards Nomination.

The acting from the kid was pretty good though...and it really makes you wonder where the hell they got all those rats from?! Cause there are loads!!! Worth a watch if you are into rats...or hate them and like to be scared...otherwise, it's passable.

5 out of 10.