OK I'm a sucker for a good b movie,and i loved this movie,better then the first one;Willard.well this time the fleeing rats led by Ben end up underneath the city storm drains.Ben then befriends a terminally sick boy played by Lee H Montgomery,who helps him.this time the rat army is much bigger.i wont reveal the ending but its a rather good one.the rest of the cast is very good,Meredith Baxter as the boys sister,Joe Campenella is the cop in charge,and Arthur O'Connell is the pushy newspaper reporter.Ben and his fellow rats should've received awards for their performance.and don't forget this features the late Micheal Jackson song called Ben.i call this a friendship between a boy and a rat.i recommend this movie to all fans of the horror genre.8 out of 10

There are MANY reasons I hate this movie:

1. The original is an excellent film (though I'm sure no self-respecting movie reviewer thinks so). I HATE IT when sequels are that poor.

2. The sequel's whole focus is lost. Instead of the unstoppable army of rats from the original, it is a story of a little boy and his friend, Ben the Rat. Ben the Rat, if you will remember, was responsible for organizing a rat army to EAT Willard in the original--and NOW he's a cuddly pet?!

3. I don't particularly like most child actors, but this cretin is among the worst! To top it off, the annoying runt SINGS a love song (of sorts) to his buddy the rat! Singing a love song to a rat is WRONG on so many levels (and I think it's illegal in some states).

4. I wanted to see some people get eaten (particularly the talentless kid).

5. Michael Jackson sings the theme song. I don't like hearing a white lady sing very much, thank you. Of course, by the time you read this, Mr. (Ms.?) Jackson might no longer be a white lady but a rhino or even as aardvark thanks to modern plastic surgery.

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.