action" as the original, and that Lee Montgomery "plays his part to perfection". Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 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". However, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 1 stars out of 4, writing: "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 (The Phenix City Story) as a director and a screenplay that never has the courage to acknowledge its comic impulses". Gary Arnold of The Washington Post thought that the film is "not much of an improvement on Willard" and has "no standout horror sequences". Leonard Maltin's film guide also gave the film a negative review, awarding it 1 out of 4 stars, and panning the film's gory visuals. The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in the following list: 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: "Ben" – Nominated See also List of American films of 1972 References External links 1972 films 1972 horror films 1970s horror thriller films American horror thriller films American natural horror films American sequel films 1970s English-language films Films about mice and rats Films directed by Phil Karlson Films scored by Walter Scharf Cinerama Releasing Corporation films 1970s American films