Following the surprise success of Willard, the same production company and screenwriter of before made a followup entitled Ben, named after the leader of Willard's rat army. It wasn't that big of a hit on its original release in the summer of '72, but it did manage to win audiences over time, especially with an Oscar nominated theme song. At first glance, one would almost ponder at how they could possibly continue off of the previous film, since it felt like one contained narrative. Looking back at the film now after nearly 50 years later, there is a lot to appreciate about it besides its affiliation in the horror genre.
Set shortly after Willard's end, Ben the rat ends up becoming the best friend of Danny Garrison, a lonely boy with a severe heart condition. However, Ben's colony becomes increasingly violent in search of food, causing the authorities to take Danny and his family into a lot of questioning regarding the black rat's whereabouts. Now having a movie solely centered around Ben would not actually work out well since focusing on a squeaking rat would get tiresome and even hard near impossible to film. Therefore, the actual main character is Danny, who as mentioned before, is a fairly lonely little boy who can't play a lot outside of his interests in puppetry due to his condition. Upon meeting Ben, the two make for a very sympathetic duo, with one being very sentimental towards the usually despised rat as a social outcast. Perhaps the single biggest connection between the two is the theme song named after Ben, written by lyricist Don Black and the film's composer Walter Scharf. This song works so well as a calmly somber tribute to friendship that it's no wonder Michael Jackson's rendition caught on so strongly.
As for the other characters, they act as conflicts to both Danny and Ben in various ways. Although Danny's mother Beth and sister Eve care deeply about him, they both contrast each other with the matriarch wanting what's supposedly best for his condition, and the other being more open minded albeit naive to her little brother's imagination. On the other hand, police detective Cliff Kirtland is so determined to get to the bottom of the killer rats that it causes a lot more protection of Ben from Danny than what would have otherwise been a cute friendship. It doesn't help either once the film plays up the suspense by introducing bullies or showing scenes of Ben's colony practically destroying everywhere and everything in sight as possible. The one area where the film does lose some momentum is ironically the climax where the police attack most of the rats with flamethrowers and other traps. It takes up so much time to the point where it makes the ending feel rushed, making it feel a bit too straightforward for what should have led to a commentary on how humanity perceives wild animals.
It's hard to say whether this film was made on a higher budget than Willard, mostly in regards to the higher level of detail. This film reportedly had way more rats behind the scenes than Willard (about 2,000), and the filmmakers made excellent usage of them whenever the scene calls for a stampede or massacre. Some additional training might have also been utilized in allowing some rats to crawl upon sewers and hovering house objects more than beforehand. Also, a lot of the effects work towards the end was either a general prop or handled with superimposing, a very impressive technical accomplishment of its day. While not quite as chilling as Alex North's score in Willard, Walter Scharf's music direction allows for a lot of emotional resonance through a much more quiet ambience, which then picks up once the film goes into an all out war on the rats. In a world where this social misfit kid has only one friend that everyone else wants dead, the music highlights the disconnect between Danny's peaceful life with the rats and the real world's lust for the rats dead to an uncomfortable degree.
Ben could perhaps be one of the most unusual horror films out there due to such a strange tonal shift between a lighthearted drama of a boy and his rat friend and a killer rat feasting frenzy upon the human population. Fortunately, it has just the right amount of heart and sympathy from the main cast and even Ben himself to make for a watchable followup to an already heartbreaking tale of a strange man. I'd recommend giving this a go after watching Willard, since it actually pays off as a continuation as opposed to a shameless cash grab sequel. Besides, with a new audience to call its own, the film will never be alone.
Set shortly after Willard's end, Ben the rat ends up becoming the best friend of Danny Garrison, a lonely boy with a severe heart condition. However, Ben's colony becomes increasingly violent in search of food, causing the authorities to take Danny and his family into a lot of questioning regarding the black rat's whereabouts. Now having a movie solely centered around Ben would not actually work out well since focusing on a squeaking rat would get tiresome and even hard near impossible to film. Therefore, the actual main character is Danny, who as mentioned before, is a fairly lonely little boy who can't play a lot outside of his interests in puppetry due to his condition. Upon meeting Ben, the two make for a very sympathetic duo, with one being very sentimental towards the usually despised rat as a social outcast. Perhaps the single biggest connection between the two is the theme song named after Ben, written by lyricist Don Black and the film's composer Walter Scharf. This song works so well as a calmly somber tribute to friendship that it's no wonder Michael Jackson's rendition caught on so strongly.
As for the other characters, they act as conflicts to both Danny and Ben in various ways. Although Danny's mother Beth and sister Eve care deeply about him, they both contrast each other with the matriarch wanting what's supposedly best for his condition, and the other being more open minded albeit naive to her little brother's imagination. On the other hand, police detective Cliff Kirtland is so determined to get to the bottom of the killer rats that it causes a lot more protection of Ben from Danny than what would have otherwise been a cute friendship. It doesn't help either once the film plays up the suspense by introducing bullies or showing scenes of Ben's colony practically destroying everywhere and everything in sight as possible. The one area where the film does lose some momentum is ironically the climax where the police attack most of the rats with flamethrowers and other traps. It takes up so much time to the point where it makes the ending feel rushed, making it feel a bit too straightforward for what should have led to a commentary on how humanity perceives wild animals.
It's hard to say whether this film was made on a higher budget than Willard, mostly in regards to the higher level of detail. This film reportedly had way more rats behind the scenes than Willard (about 2,000), and the filmmakers made excellent usage of them whenever the scene calls for a stampede or massacre. Some additional training might have also been utilized in allowing some rats to crawl upon sewers and hovering house objects more than beforehand. Also, a lot of the effects work towards the end was either a general prop or handled with superimposing, a very impressive technical accomplishment of its day. While not quite as chilling as Alex North's score in Willard, Walter Scharf's music direction allows for a lot of emotional resonance through a much more quiet ambience, which then picks up once the film goes into an all out war on the rats. In a world where this social misfit kid has only one friend that everyone else wants dead, the music highlights the disconnect between Danny's peaceful life with the rats and the real world's lust for the rats dead to an uncomfortable degree.
Ben could perhaps be one of the most unusual horror films out there due to such a strange tonal shift between a lighthearted drama of a boy and his rat friend and a killer rat feasting frenzy upon the human population. Fortunately, it has just the right amount of heart and sympathy from the main cast and even Ben himself to make for a watchable followup to an already heartbreaking tale of a strange man. I'd recommend giving this a go after watching Willard, since it actually pays off as a continuation as opposed to a shameless cash grab sequel. Besides, with a new audience to call its own, the film will never be alone.