BEN (1972)

Starring: Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, Arthur O'Connell, Rosemary Murphy, Meredith Baxter. Screenplay by Gilbert Ralston. Directed by Phil Karlson. USA. 94 minutes.

I must have been about 8 or 9 years old when I first caught this on late, late LATE night TV. I was sleeping over my best friend's house and doing what I always did on Friday night: staying up till dawn watching cheezy horror movies.  The first one we caught was the spectacularly spooky The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. The follow up was Ben, something I recall being particulary hip to seeing as it was the sequel to Willard, the touching story and a boy and his horde of seemingly sentient, man-eating rats that had thrilled me a couple of years prior.

The movie opens with a replay of the last few minutes of the first film, and we watch again as that dumbfuck geek  Willard (Bruce Davison)  tries to poison his bestest buddy Ben and his family (makes you wonder who the real rat here was, eh?). But ol' Ben is too smart to fall for that backstabbing bulllshit, reads the label on the box, and judiciously sets his army on Willard for some REAL eats. Hey, meat's meat and a rat's gotta eat, right? Seasoned detective Kirtland (Campanella) and his tender-footed partner Kelly (Paul Carr) show up on the scene, forcing Ben and his buddies to vacate the premises and relocate their nest in the sewer system honeycombing the underside of the cozy suburb. 

One day when he's out sniffing around, Ben comes across the home of David Garrison (Montgomery) - a frail, pale, sickly, sad and lonely little boy recovering from recent heart surgery - who lives with his working mom (Murphy) and cute older sister (Baxter). David spots the inquisitive rodent and, far from being frightened, feeds Ben a piece of his sandwich and thereby makes himself a friend, the only one he has ever known. A clever and creative lad, David builds a marionette replica of his new buddy and puts on little puppet shows for him. Later while fiddling around at the family piano, he even composes a tender love song for his new rat chum ("Ben's Song", which is sung over the end credits by a pre-Phantom of the Opera make-over Michael Jackson). His mom and sister Eve find David's fixation on his new imaginary friend charming. If they only knew...

Soon, however, there is trouble in David and Ben's newfound paradise. Ben's family of thousands has got to eat, after all, and they draw the attention of the local constabulary when they trash local supermarkets and businesses. Detectives Kirtland and Kelly pay a visit to the Garrison home after Ben sicks his buddies on the neighborhood bully when he makes the mistake of hassling David. The boy keeps his lip buttoned, but it's no use. The cops find the rats' subterranean nest and call reinforcements who - in true 1950s monster movie fashion - show up with flamethrowers to prepare a little rat flambe' .

His valiant attempt to warn Ben and his family of the impending danger a complete failure, David returns home heartbroken at the loss of the only friend he has ever known or, given the probable short length of his life, is ever likely to have. And then, lo and behold, who does he find wet and bleeding in his workshop? "Ben!" the little boy cries and scoops the wounded rat up into a towel. Daubing at the rat's wounds with antiseptic, tears rolling down his cheeks, David valiantly fights to save the life of his friend. "You can't die Ben! You're my only friend! I love you Ben!" The camera zooms in and freeze-frames with a close-up on the rat. The end credits roll accompanied by the future-Gloved One's rendition of  "Ben's Song".

While the script by Ralston in generally pretty good, the entire movie is dragged down by routine, pedestrian direction. Ben may not be a made-for-TV movie, but it sure as shit looks and feels like one and, despite its creepy subject matter, doesn't have a single solid thrill in it. Still, it has that simply unforgettable ending. The movie may have been totally mediocre, but I still never forgot that finale, one (if not the) most depressing I've ever seen in a horror film (a genre that is known for downbeat endings). If watching that little dying boy fighting to save the life of that little dying rat doesn't make you want to stick your head through a noose you've got a serious empathy deficit.

Final Rating: ** Two Rat Nests Full of Maggots.

* Dead meat, ripe n' reeking.
** Moribund, but showing a slight flicker of life.
*** Good and healthy.
**** Brimming with vitality.