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Post by classichorrorfan on Jan 12, 2022 8:59:23 GMT -5
This is a 1970s made for TV horror film that is actually some pretty scary stuff for just a made for TV horror film from the 1970s. It is about a rat who leads a herd of other wild rats to kill, and befriends a human boy who gets bullied by too many other humans, and kills off most of the bullying humans for harming him. There are a lot of scar and intense scenes in there like when they raid a meat truck, attack and kill the driver while he is driving, along with touching scenes when the boy at Ben the rat are talking about why they are doing what they are doing. Other things most people don't know about this film are that it is a sequel to an earlier made for TV horror film called "Willard," and young Michael Jackson sung the theme to this film before he became nearly as famous and popular as he turned out to be later. I have been aware of this film for a long time, but never saw it before until now, and I am glad I finally got to see it in its entirety. It is very worth a look for fans of the classic horror genre.
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Post by endo on Jan 12, 2022 12:58:47 GMT -5
I saw this way back in the day with my sister on TV. Haven't seen it since. Your review makes me want to see it again.
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Ben
Jan 13, 2022 7:47:04 GMT -5
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Post by classichorrorfan on Jan 13, 2022 7:47:04 GMT -5
It is currently streaming on Tubi and Crackle for free.
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Post by Silent Scream Queen on Jan 13, 2022 9:35:31 GMT -5
Thank you for this classichorrorfan. I had no idea the song Ben was from this film. I saw an orchestra do a version of this song on TV once, as a tribute to Michael Jackson. I wonder if they realised it was about a killer rat. The original film was based on a novel called Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert. Pulished in 1968. I've never read it, or seen it around, it was later re-titled Willard to cash in on the film.
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Post by classichorrorfan on Jan 31, 2022 10:02:08 GMT -5
Thank you for this classichorrorfan. I had no idea the song Ben was from this film. I saw an orchestra do a version of this song on TV once, as a tribute to Michael Jackson. I wonder if they realised it was about a killer rat. The original film was based on a novel called Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert. Pulished in 1968. I've never read it, or seen it around, it was later re-titled Willard to cash in on the film. I am not totally sure on if that song was originally written for this film or if they just acquired permission to use it. That could be interesting to look up some time, though.
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Post by endo on Jan 31, 2022 18:15:26 GMT -5
According to Wikipedia, the song was written for the movie by Don Black and Walter Scharf. Also, I didn't know that the movie Ben was a spin-off of the 1971 movie, Willard.
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Ben
Jan 31, 2022 20:55:39 GMT -5
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Post by classichorrorfan on Jan 31, 2022 20:55:39 GMT -5
Yes. You didn't know that was Willard grown up at the beginning?
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Ben
Feb 1, 2022 1:41:00 GMT -5
Post by endo on Feb 1, 2022 1:41:00 GMT -5
It's been so long since I've seen either movie, I guess I never put it together. Or maybe I did but just forgot all about it.
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Ben
Feb 2, 2022 8:03:41 GMT -5
Post by Silent Scream Queen on Feb 2, 2022 8:03:41 GMT -5
Wiki also says it was offered to Donny Osmond first, but he was unavailable. Ben won a Golden Globe for Best Song and was nominated for an Oscar. Jackson was 14 when he recorded it. I wonder what he thought of the film.
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Ben
Feb 2, 2022 8:13:53 GMT -5
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Post by Silent Scream Queen on Feb 2, 2022 8:13:53 GMT -5
I was wondering what films Michael Jackson might have enjoyed, and I suspect they would probably be more child-orientated, like Home Alone. I did a quick search and someone said he was a Bruce Lee fan. And there is a really stupid photoshop of him with Lee going around. Jackson was only 14 when Lee died but is an adult in the photo. Actually Ben the film was released a month after Lee sadly passed away. There is another possibility with that photo, and it is that Bruce Lee faked his own death and is still alive, and it was taken years after his supposed "death". In which case Lee is probably living in the same place that Elvis and Jim Morrison have sneaked away to, after also faking their own demises. Maybe Jackson is there too!
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