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

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.

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!

A good and interesting sequel dealing with a lonely boy named Danny Garrison lives with his mother called Beth Garrison (Rosemary Murphy) and his protective sister Eve Garrison (Meredith Baxter). Danny befriends Ben, the rat leader of the swarm of rats that had been trained by Willard Stiles. Ben becomes the boy's best friend, protecting him from bullying and keeping his spirits up in the face of a heart condition. Meanwhile, two police inspectors, Cliff Kirtland (Joseph Campanella) and Joe Greer (Kaz Garas) begin investigating strange deaths that are occurring in the neighborhood. Little by little, things gradually take a downward turn as Ben's swarm becomes violent, resulting in several deaths. Teamed up - to Tear 'em up! Double-Featured for the Curious and the Courageous !. Where "WILLARD" ended... BEN begins. And this time, he's not alone!. Rats will help him to revenge!. A new breed of friendship !. From small things... comes great power !. This Spring, Stand Up And Bite Back !. When the cat's away, the rats will play !.

Michael Jackson sings the original Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning song in this sequel to "Willard" about a boy who develops a deep attachment to a female rat, the leader of a pack of human-killing rats. The film's standout, eminently television-inspired cast includes Joseph Campanella (Mannix), a young Meredith Baxter (Family Ties), Kaz Gras (The Last safari), Arthur O'Connell (Anatomy of a Murder), Kenneth Tobey (The Thing from another World) and Lee Montgomery (Burnt offerings) as the protagonist Danny , a lonely boy who befriends Ben, the leader of a violent swarm of killer rats, among others.

The film will have to flee whom don't like the rats because they appear in everyone shots , close-ups, foreground and background of the flick. There are thousands of rats, in fact the scenes with the rats took upwards of 40 takes to get them all right. Over 200 rats were used in the film and subjected to extensive training before being put on the set. The rats were set into categories for the actions that they would perform.

The motion picture was decently directed by Phil Karlson, although not with much originality, since it follows similar parameters as the original prior entry . Phil ensures that the claustrophobic suspense engendered by the sewers, underground pipes and channels with hundreds of rats becomes almost unbearable towards the end. There were no half measures in this filmmaker . He would make adventure movies or violent and noir films. As he directed Westerns as ¨Gunman's walk¨ , ¨They rode west¨, ¨Texas rangers, ¨Iroquois trail¨; a passable spy movie: ¨The Silencers¨ and Gansters genre or Noir films as ¨Phoenix city story¨ and ¨Scarface mob¨. Failure alternated with hits through his career, though Karlson's direction was more than successful in ¨ Walking tall¨ with invaluable help of Joe Don Baker. And this ¨Ben¨ (1972) rating: 6.5/10 . The flick will appeal to the enthusiasts of the previous ¨Willard¨, resulting in a worthy follow-up.

The first film of the series is ¨Willard (1971) by Daniel Mann with Bruce Davison, Ernest Borgnine, Sondra Locke; the surprise box office hit would inspire a huge amount of animal-themed terror movies in the early 1970s and 80s. Followed by ¨Ben¨ (1972) by Phil Karlson with Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, Arthur O'Connell, Rosemary Murphy, Meredith Baxter. And a remake: ¨Willard¨ 2003 by Glen Morgan with Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey, Laura Harring, Jackie Burroughs. In Willard's mansion, hanging above the fireplace, is an oil painting of his father, Martin Stiles. This painting of his father is actually that of actor Bruce Davison, who portrayed the titular character in the original version of Willard (1971).

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...