This sequel to the rat-themed psychological horror flick WILLARD - which I've not seen, although I liked the remake with Crispin Glover - begins with a recap or reimagining of the end of that movie and ends with a song by a youthful Michael Jackson. In the middle, we get a rather sad and sentimental story about a lonely, friendless and often bullied boy called Danny, who takes solace in the marionettes he keeps in the garage and soon befriends a hyper-intelligent rat called Ben. Meanwhile, the authorities are systematically hunting and destroying a pack of deadly rats they believe to be in the neighbourhood. It's a real slow burner for the first hour or so, but then it picks up for a sewer-bound climax which offers plenty of action and fiery FX as the cops pull out the flamethrowers. The special effects are pretty decent here and this is the most convincing bit of 'rat action' I've seen put on screen, but the film as a whole is too understated to make much of an impact.
Review of Ben
