Ben

BEN, unlike WILLARD, is actually not as scary. The horror of rodents swarming all over a health spa and the cereal aisle of a supermarket(an early example of product placement for Kelloggs?) is eclipsed by the, ah, poignant story of a boy and his rat. No really. The real story is the friendship between the homicidal Ben and this boy, prohibited from the normal activities of boys his age by a weak heart. Also on hand are Meredith Baxter as the older sister and a subplot concerning two detectives. Shesh, why reduce the movie to an extended episode of POLICE STORY? And of course, that theme song . . . who better than Michael Jackson to sing about that special love between a boy and his rat? And, as one reviewer pointed out, the film is a cornucopia of 70s kitsch, certainly a pleasant secondary benefit of viewing this film.

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!

Michael Jackson's title theme is a moving ode and that it applies to a deadly pet rat makes for an odd, if memorable association in this sequel to the hugely successful "Willard" the year before. Youth Lee H.Montgomery is the new "Willard", essentially imprisoned in his parent's home by a rare medical condition, finding a quirky friendship in a stray rat (Ben) who is capable of marshaling the local rat population into war against mankind.

Joseph Campanella is the no-nonsense police detective, while Meredith Baxter (pre David Birney) plays Lee's older sister. There are a number of familiar faces in the supporting cast (e.g. Paul Carr, Kaz Garas, Ken Tobey etc) and the film's rousing conclusion in the city's sewers with the main antagonist cornered, is a tense climax.

The hyperbole written about this film relegating it to turkey status is unwarranted; while not as textured as its predecessor, it's much like the AIP genre films of the early-to-mid seventies in atmosphere and personnel and should entertain accordingly.

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.

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!