A lonely boy named Danny Garrison befriends Ben, the leader of the colony of rats 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. However, things gradually take a downward turn as Ben's colony becomes violent, resulting in several deaths. Eventually, the police destroy the rat colony with flame throwers, but Ben survives and makes his way back to Danny. Danny tends to the injured Ben, determined not to lose his friend.
The film's theme song "Ben" is performed by Lee Montgomery in the film and by Michael Jackson during the final scene and ending credits. Jackson's recording of the song became a number one pop hit single. Later included as the on Jackson's second solo album, Ben, it won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song is calm and mellow, which contrasts with the horror content of the film. A live recorded version was released on the albumThe Jacksons Live! and eventually appeared on Michael's Number Ones album. Crispin Glover re-recorded a version of the song for the soundtrack of the 2003 remake of Willard. A music video for this version was produced, which also featured Glover. Pearl Jam's song "Rats" refers to the film Ben; the last line of the song is an obvious reference to the Michael Jackson song "Ben". The line, "Ben, the two of us need look no more", is repeated multiple times as the song fades out.
Reception
Ben received mixed reviews from critics. It currently holds a rating of 63% "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "This isn't a thriller but a geek movie. In a thriller, we're supposed to be scared by some awesome menace to mankind -- the Green Blob maybe, or Big Foot, or the Invincible Squid and his implacable enemy, red wine sauce. But in a geek movie, the whole idea is to be disgusted because the actors have rats all over them." Vincent Canby of The New York Times said, "The way in which you will respond to 'Ben' will depend on a number of variables, including how you feel about the possibility of Los Angeles shutting down, trick photography, dreadful acting by a dreadful cast, the decline and fall of Phil Karlson as a director and a screenplay that never has the courage to acknowledge its comic impulses." Variety wrote that the film had the "same type of suspenseful action" as the original and that Lee Montgomery "plays his part to perfection." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and stated, "' Ben' succeeds as a horror show because it contains the requisite number of rat attacks with the camera holding on victims covered with perhaps two dozen, clinging, scratching, and biting rodents. Omigod, he's covered with rats. Eeeech! But 'Ben' goes beyond mere thrills into the realm of solid drama because of the superb performance of Lee Harcourt Montgomery as Danny Garrison who befriends Ben, the leader of the rat pack terrorizing the city." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "is equally scary and diverting as 'Willard' while being more serious and ambitious." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post thought that the film was "not much of an improvement on 'Willard'" and had "no standout horror sequences." Leonard Maltin's film guide gave the film a negative review, awarding it 1 1/2 out of 4 stars, panning the film's gory visuals. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
