L'ultima carica di 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!

BEN opens with the ending of WILLARD, setting up this film's premise: Not satisfied with the death of his former human friend, Ben sends his sewer-full of villainous vermin out to cause havoc and death for mankind.

But wait!

A little boy named Danny (Lee Montgomery), who lives right around the corner from Willard's place, is lonely and needs a friend! He's also got a heart condition and plays the harmonica! So, Ben finds the time between marauding attacks, to be Danny's best buddy. Bully's beware! Picking on the Dan-ster will now get you a visit from the hairy horde of doom!

Meanwhile, police are flummoxed by a series of rat-involved crimes against humanity. This all leads to an apocalyptic showdown in the sewers beneath Los Angeles!

While not as intriguing as its predecessor, BEN is a lot of fun to watch! Especially, if you love rats in big numbers! While groan-inducing, the relationship between Ben and Danny is oddly mesmerizing, that is, if you enjoy puppet shows and listening to Danny wheeze.

Not a bad way to spend one's viewing time, as long as cuddly sewer rats don't offend...

I have pet rats and they are the most sweet and loving creatures. This movie portrayed the love that people can share with rats and it was truly a beautiful movie. Ben was beautiful and Lee was a little cutey too. The lyrics to Ben ring out beautiful and true. This is really a must see for anybody who loves rats or even those who love animals in general. Some people may view this as a horror movie, but it is really soooo much more. A remake of Williard is apparently in the works, so fingers crossed that these wonderful movies will be released on DVD.

I am a big fan of 70s B-movies, especially those of the horror genre. Anyone interested in the early 70s will find this movie a real treat! While not that scary, it does have a number of interesting features, most notably the title song sung by a very young Michael Jackson. The storyline is quite good, not at all boring, and fans of Meredith Baxter Birney (Family Ties) will enjoy seeing her playing the sister of David. As always, I love seeing the funky clothing and interior design of 70s movies, and Ben features lots of great shots of rooms and furniture, fashions, toys, and automobiles of that era. One of the best "retro" parts is the supermarket, where very clear shots of early 70s boxes of Kellogg's cereals are plainly seen. If you want to be scared, rent something else. But if you want to see a groovy 70s movie, this is a pretty good pick.