Ben

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!

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.

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).

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.

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!