Very well executed

Please don't spend money on this.

Blistering performances.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This quickly made sequel to the previous year's smash hit "Willard" is generally looked down upon people, even those who were big fans of the original movie. It doesn't take long into watching it to figure out why that is. The biggest problem with the movie is that for the first seventy or so minutes of the running time, there is hardly anything resembling a plot. Instead, the movie seems to be spinning its wheels most of the time. And once stuff DOES start to happen (a plan by the local authorities to wipe out all of the rats), it isn't exactly worth the wait to see. It comes across as pretty flat instead of being scary or exciting. I will admit that despite what I just reported, the movie is never really boring at any moment. But at the same time, it's seriously missing movement and spark. Even rats deserve better screen treatment than they got here.

Screenwriter Gilbert Ralston concocted this sequel to the previous years' big money maker "Willard" in a logical enough way. Since the only main character who survived that film was the rat Ben, Ralston fashioned a story around him. As a detective named Kirtland (Joseph Campanella) investigates the death of Willard Stiles, rat armies are mobilized around the city, laying waste to businesses and terrorizing hapless humans. Ben makes his way to the home of Danny (Lee Montgomery), a young boy with a bad heart. The two become best of friends, and Danny vows to protect his new rodent pal, no matter what he has to do or what lies he has to tell.This quickly knocked out sequel (by cult director Phil Karlson of "Kansas City Confidential" and "Walking Tall" fame) is not in the same league as its predecessor, which isn't unexpected. In fact, it's a positively goofy, silly movie, with a fairly bad script by Ralston (unless it's meant to be seen as tongue in cheek; it's hard to tell). There's some cruddy dialogue, and "Ben" also becomes a painful exercise in preciousness and cuteness when we see what kinds of things the "talented" Danny does to amuse himself. Still, it can't help but be touching on occasion, as the lonely Danny declares Ben to be the only real friend he has.There's quite a bit of decent rodent action in this flick, with the little furry animals claiming a couple of human victims. There's a show stopping sequence in a supermarket, and a pleasingly intense finale in the sewers.Young Montgomery is appealing in his introductory role. Rosemary Murphy ("You'll Like My Mother") and future 'Family Ties' mom Meredith Baxter are fine as his mom and sister. (Baxter and Montgomery deserve some credit for doing those sewer scenes; Montgomery also has a lot of nerve in being willing to give a rat a kiss.) Most of the supporting cast has precious little to do, but it's full of familiar faces: Arthur O'Connell as a reporter, Kaz Garas as Kirtlands' partner, Paul Carr and Norman Alden as cops, Kenneth Tobey as a city engineer, and James Luisi as a city worker.The haunting, lovely theme song sung by a very young Michael Jackson is obviously the most memorable thing about the whole production.Fairly entertaining animal attack horror from the old days of using actual animals and not digital critters.Six out of 10.

It is a shame that this film has not been re-released on DVD. The VHS costs hundreds of dollars, presumably because of the Michael Jackson theme song. And yes, the theme song is wonderful. But not as wonderful as the love story between a rat, Ben and a human boy, Danny.This was released decades ago as a horror film, but the only thing horrifying about it is the way that the humans lose their humanity when confronted by rodents who are just trying to survive.If you love rats, you will be delighted by all the scenes of rats doing what they like to do best---eating, grooming and cuddling. If you have a rat phobia, I would stay away from this one.

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!