Ben (1972)

Ben (1972) Full Recap

After getting tired of some rats, he once controlled to kill his boss, a man named Willard decides to get rid of them. Before he can do this, the rats become aware of his plan, and their leader, Ben, seems pissed at him. One night, when Willard sees hundreds of rats in his basement, he tries to tell Ben that he no longer wants them around, but the rat attacks him. Since they won't leave easily, Willard goes to get some rat poison, which he plans to add to their food.

While he's trying to mix the poison with the rat food, Ben realizes what Willard is about to do, and he squeaks loudly to alert the other rats in the house. Willard seems pissed by this, and he tries to use a broom to hit Ben, but the rat escapes. Willard eventually gets Ben trapped, but before he can do anything, he sees some rats running toward the room. Willard quickly closes the door, but the rats still force their way in.

As he tries to hit them, they pounce on him until he falls to the ground and gets killed. Shortly after, some of the residents in the neighborhood silently gather outside Willard's house after hearing what happened to him. Suddenly, the silence is interrupted by an angry boy who says he'll kill the rats. His family eventually drags him away, and a woman named Beth also tells her kids, Danny and Eve, that it's time to go home.

Danny says he still wants to wait a little longer, but Beth insists that they have to head home. Meanwhile, a detective named Cliff begins an investigation to figure out what really happened to Willard. As he checks out the crime scene, he looks disgusted at the manner in which the rats killed Willard. After he gives his assistant, Joe, a diary he found in the house, a journalist named Billy asks Cliff if his men can take photos of Willard's dead body for his newspaper.

Cliff says he can, and Billy gets someone to do it. After this, Cliff tells Billy to try to play down the story, but he says he can't do that because two people have now turned up dead in the same way. Cliff believes a story on what happened will make people panic, but Billy says that panic sells papers. As Billy then tries to look at Willard's diary, Cliff collects it from Joe and keeps it.

Almost immediately, a cop enters the house to inform Cliff that they've checked the whole house, but there are no signs of rats. Cliff finds this surprising, but it turns out that Ben and the other rats have hidden themselves well inside the wooden walls in the house. Cliff then tells the cop to check the other houses in the neighborhood to see if there are any signs of rats. As the cop leaves, Billy asks Cliff what's so important about the diary, but the detective says that he and his men have to study it first.

Billy feels offended by this, and he tells Cliff that he'll make sure he gets everyone's attention in his papers the next day. After he leaves, Joe asks if Cliff really wants to give the diary to the press, but he says he won't, because it contains a lot of nonsense about a rat named Ben. Joe then asks what he thinks about the entire situation, and Cliff says he still doesn’t know what really happened. As Joe and Cliff leave, they assign two cops, Kelly and Reade, to watch the house till morning.

After this, Kelly asks Reade if he's scared of rats, but he says he's not, because they're easy to handle. He adds that when you give them a chance, they'll always run away from humans. Kelly jokes that he doesn't think the rats know that, but Reade mentions that every animal will run away when it's given the chance, and that humans are the only ones who act differently. Much later, while Reade is going around the house, he hears a strange sound in the bushes.

As he moves closer, he sees that it's just a cat, and he lets it go freely. Surprisingly, the cat runs into the house, and Reade finds this strange. As he thinks about going to check what lured the cat inside, Ben happens to be staring at Reade secretly. After the cop enters the house, he sees the cat standing near a wall and trying to see what's inside.

The cat eventually runs away, but Reade looks curious and wonders if there's something behind the wall. As he hears some strange sounds coming from behind the wall, Reade opens a part of it and sees the rats. He immediately tries to kill them, but Ben alerts the other rats in the house to attack Reade. Unfortunately, Reade is unable to handle them, and he calls Kelly for backup.

Kelly doesn't hear him, and as Reade looks scared, he starts shooting at the rats. This still doesn't seem enough to take them down, but Kelly eventually hears the gunshots. Before he gets to the house, though, Reade has already been killed by the rats. Much later, Cliff, Joe, and Billy get to the scene again with some cops.

As Kelly tries to explain what happened, he struggles to hold back tears, and Cliff consoles him. Cliff then orders his men to take down the wall panels to see if there are still other rats in the house. He also tells Joe to call the exterminator because he wants the entire house gassed from top to bottom. Interestingly, Ben hears this and goes to inform the other rats that they have to leave the house.

Meanwhile, Billy asks Cliff if he wishes to disclose something to the press. Cliff says he doesn't have anything to say, but Billy asks about Willard's diary. Cliff says he's sure that Billy won't believe what's inside the diary, but the journalist mentions that he still wants to know. Cliff then says that Willard trained thousands of intelligent rats, but Billy mentions that he wants to read the diary by himself.

After Cliff gives the diary to him, Billy looks shocked and can't seem to believe the things he's reading about the rats and how Willard once used them to kill his boss. Much later, the exterminator arrives at the house, and Ben leads the other rats to find a different place to stay. The next day, Danny runs around the living room in his house, but Eve tells him to stop. Danny looks sad when he hears this, but Eve tells him to come and check out what she's doing.

As Danny sees the clothing designs she's working on, he complains that no one will buy them because they look silly. Eve says that a lot of good clothes look silly, but Danny still laughs at her designs. Eve then tells him that she left a sandwich for him in the workshop. As he heads out, he sees his toy plane in the garden, and he picks it up to play with it.

Interestingly, Ben and the other rats are hiding in the bushes and looking at Danny, but he doesn't know. Shortly after, Beth arrives home from work and sees that the cops are still in the neighborhood. She seems worried about this, and as she enters the house, she asks for Danny, and Eve says he's outside. Beth complains that she prefers to have him inside because it feels safer there, but Eve believes Danny will be fine.

Beth then asks how Eve is doing, and she says she's okay. Despite this, Beth seems worried about Eve, and she says that her daughter needs to go out sometimes instead of always staying indoors to watch Danny. Eve says she doesn't mind doing it because Danny is her brother, but Beth still insists that she needs to do things for herself sometimes. Just then, Beth stares out of the window and watches Danny playing outside.

As she looks sad, Eve tells her not to be worried because she's sure that Danny will survive. It then turns out that Danny actually has a severe heart condition, and he only recently had surgery on his heart. Almost immediately, Danny enters the workshop and starts playing with marionettes while singing. After he's done, he sees Ben in front of the workshop.

Danny seems to like the rat, and he invites him inside the workshop, even though Ben just stays by the door. Danny then gives him some food, and Ben appreciates this. As Ben then squeaks loudly to thank him, Danny also pretends to be communicating with the rat, who he calls his friend. Later that night, Ben and the other rats see a food truck leaving the town, and they quickly sneak into the back, but the driver is unaware of this.

After a while, the driver tries to take something from the back, but as the rats bite his hands, he looks terrified and causes a serious accident by crashing into another car. When the cops get to the scene, the driver still looks terrified, and he's unable to say anything. Cliff, Joe, and Billy also happen to be there, and they seem particularly worried about how the onlookers are staring at the driver. The next morning, Beth tells Eve that one of their neighbors just mentioned that her family is moving out of the neighborhood.

Eve doesn't think the situation is that serious already, but Beth tells her not to be complacent. Suddenly, a cop rings the doorbell, and Beth goes to check what he wants. The cop then asks if she has seen any evidence of rats around, but Beth says she hasn't. Despite this, the cop says he'd like to bring some men around the next day to spread some rat traps and some poison.

He asks if anyone is going to be at home, and Beth says that Eve will be there. As the cop says he'll bring his men in the morning, Beth asks if it’s something to worry about, but he says that it's just a precautionary measure. After the cop leaves, Beth tells Eve that she has to head out to work. She says she'll try to come home early, but Eve mentions that she doesn't have to.

Almost immediately, Danny enters the house and tells his mom and sister that he has a friend. As Beth asks who it is, Danny says it's a rat. Beth and Eve are shocked by this, but Danny mentions that his rat friend had to leave because he had things to do. As Beth seems worried and asks where he saw the rat, Eve tells her that she's sure Danny isn't talking about a real rat.

Danny says it's real, and that he even talked to the rat. He says he has never had a rat friend before, and Eve mentions that his name might be Ben. Danny asks who Ben is, and Eve says that, according to some pages from Willard's diary in the newspapers, he's the leader of the rats in the neighborhood. Danny says it's a nice name, and he mentions that he recently heard someone on the radio, saying that there are more rats than people in the world.

Beth tells him to stop talking about rats, and she gives him his medicine to use. Eve still notices that her mom is worried, and she tells Beth that she's sure the police will handle the rat situation in the neighborhood. Beth says she might have to close the workshop, but Eve tells her that there's nothing rats would want there. Beth still seems concerned, but Eve says that they can just cover all the food around the house very well.

Later that day, Ben and the other rats head to the town and see a supermarket with a lot of nice things inside. They immediately look interested in breaking into the store, but they decide to wait a little longer. Much later, Danny starts playing the piano and singing a song he just made up for Ben. After a while, his mom arrives home from work and sees that he's still awake, even though it's already past his bedtime.

Beth complains about this because the doctor told her to make sure Danny goes to bed early, but Eve says they can just wait until he's done playing the piano. Beth looks unsure about this, but Eve says that a few minutes won't make a difference. She then goes to meet Danny to ask what he's playing, and he says it's a song he just made up for Ben. As he then sings the song, Beth looks happy to see that he's enjoying himself.

Later that night, Ben and the other rats break into the supermarket through the vents. They then wait for everyone to leave before they start eating all the cereal in the store. A while later, a cop walks around the area and sees the rats eating most of the things inside the store. He looks shocked and immediately calls for backup while saying that there are millions of rats in the supermarket.

The next morning, the cops arrive at the supermarket, and Cliff, Joe, and Billy look surprised when they see what happened. Meanwhile, Ben and the other rats head into the sewer to make it their new home. Later that day, Danny plays with the marionettes again, and he also sings inside the workshop while Ben listens to him. After he's done singing, Danny shows Ben the newspaper and asks if the rat and his friends were the ones who stole from the supermarket.

Ben just squeaks gently, and Danny realizes that his rat friend was responsible for it. He also figures out that his friend is actually the leader of the rats in the neighborhood. Danny says he doesn't really care about what Ben and the other rats do, but that they have to learn not to take too much from one place because it upsets people. He eventually says he wrote a song for Ben, and as he sings it, he dances around the workshop.

As he gets tired and breathes heavily, he sits down and tells Ben that the doctors recently cut open his chest to fix his heart. He also shows Ben the mark on his chest and mentions that he now needs to do things slowly to be okay. Later that day, the cop from the previous day arrives at the house and sees Eve. He then tells Eve that it's time for his men to set traps around the house.

He asks again if there are any rats around, but Eve says there's only one imaginary rat there. The cop looks confused, but Eve mentions that her brother collects imaginary animals. The cop then says that the rats they're looking for are real. Shortly after, Danny sees the cop outside his house, and he puts Ben inside a box so that he won't be seen.

As he leaves the workshop with the box, the cop doesn't suspect anything, but Danny sees some men working around the house. He then asks what they're doing, and the cop says they're rat-proofing his house. The cop asks if Danny has any dogs or cats, but he says he doesn't. The cop then tells him to ensure that no neighborhood pets come close to the house because they've just put some rat poison around the building.

He adds that if Danny sees any rats, he has to tell his sister immediately. Danny says he already told her about Ben, but the cop tells him to stop joking around. He also mentions that Danny only has to report to his sister when he sees a real rat. Danny says he already did that, and the cop looks confused.

One of the men at the house then tells Danny to be careful when walking around because he has kept some traps near the flowers. After they leave, Danny drops the box and shows Ben what a trap looks like and how it works. He also tells Ben never to go close to any of them. Following this, Danny drops Ben near the bushes, so he can go home with his friends.

Almost immediately, a bully named Henry sees Danny and asks what he's doing there. Danny doesn't say anything, but Henry snatches the box from him and sees that nothing is inside. He then insults Danny for always staying indoors, and as he tries to hurt him, Ben sends his rats to attack Henry. Just as they bite Henry, he looks scared and runs away, but Danny finds this funny.

Danny then thanks Ben for helping him, and he heads inside to meet Eve. Shortly after, Henry's mom reports what happened to the police because she has already had to bandage the bite marks on her son's leg. As Cliff and Joe get to the house, Eve tells Danny to confirm if he saw some rats attacking Henry. Danny says he didn't see anything, but Henry calls him a liar.

He adds that Danny was the one who called the rats to attack him. Cliff then asks Danny what really happened, and he mentions that Henry fell into a rose bush. Henry says it's a big lie, but Cliff asks if Danny has seen any rats around. He says he has seen Ben, but that he already told his sister about it.

Henry sounds pissed and says that he's sure Danny keeps rats in the garage. Cliff then asks if Danny can take them to meet Ben, and he says he can. After this, he takes them into the workshop and shows them a fake rat, which he calls Ben. Cliff looks disappointed by this, and he eventually leaves with Joe.

Later that night, Ben and his rats break into a candy factory, and they scare everyone there away. Shortly after, Eve goes to Danny's room to ask if he remembers their deal that they can't lie to each other. Danny says he does, and Eve asks if he lied to Cliff. Danny says he doesn't have a deal with Cliff, and Eve realizes that he lied.

Danny then says that the cops are spreading poison around and trying to kill all the rats in the neighborhood. Eve mentions that the rats are dangerous, but Danny says that some of them are okay. Eve asks if he's hiding something and if he wants to talk about it, but he says he doesn't want to. Eve cannot believe this, but Danny changes the topic and asks if he's going to die.

Eve says that everyone dies, but Danny asks if he's going to die soon. Eve says she's sure he'll be fine as long as he's careful, but Danny mentions that he wants to know what the doctor really said. Eve then mentions that the doctor said Danny will need another operation, and that he might not survive. Danny then says that he'll make sure he doesn't die, and Eve tells him that she loves him.

After she leaves the room, Ben shows up at Danny's window, and Danny brings him inside. He then talks about how he told a big lie to protect Ben when Henry tried to report him. Ben eventually spends the night with Danny, but no one knows about this. The next day, Cliff gets frustrated about the rat situation in the town, and he says that he wants all the drains to be checked thoroughly within the next 24 hours.

Later that night, Ben leads his rats to break into a pastry shop. After they're done there, they enter a nearby health spa, and everyone inside runs away when they see the rats. The next day, Ben brings a few rats to meet Danny, and he puts them in his toy train to play with them. After this, Danny says that it's time for them to go, but before they leave, he tells Ben that he wants to know where he and the other rats live.

Following this, Danny hides Ben inside his shirt, and the rat leads him to the entry point into the sewer. As Ben goes inside, Danny follows him because he really wants to see where his friend lives. The place looks quite disgusting, but Danny doesn't seem bothered by this. When he gets to the place where Ben and the rats are staying, he looks shocked to see that there are many of them living there.

After he also looks around the place, he tells Ben that he has a big family and a nice house. He then leaves the sewer and heads home looking dirty, but no one sees him. Later that night, Ben brings some rats to Danny's house, and he allows them to sleep on his bed with him. Meanwhile, Beth complains about how Danny left his window open the previous night.

Eve asks if she has already talked to him about it, but Beth says that Danny doesn't listen to her. She adds that she wishes she could spend more time with him because it feels like she's losing a bit of him every day. Eve then tells Beth that Danny actually listens to her, but he just has a strange way of showing it. She says that he has a lot of amazing talents, but Beth mentions that she would trade all of them for one good heart.

Eve tells Beth not to worry about it, and she says that she'll go to Danny's room to ensure that the window is closed. When she gets there, she sees some rats on Danny's bed and looks shocked. As she sends them away, Beth enters the room and asks what happened. Eve then says that she saw some rats on Danny's bed, but Danny tells his mom and sister that it was just Ben and his family.

Beth asks if he left his window open, and he says he did. Beth seems pissed by this, but she also realizes that Danny lied about what really happened to Henry the other day. After a while, she calls Cliff and Joe to the house, and they ask Danny where Ben is. Danny says that Ben means no harm, but Cliff still asks where the rat came from.

Danny refuses to give up any information on Ben, but Cliff sounds pissed and mentions that the rats have already killed three people. Danny says it can't be Ben and his rats because they can't do things like that. Beth cannot believe this, and she tells Danny to tell the cops whatever they need to find the rats. Danny refuses to do this, and as Cliff gets pissed, he calls some of his men and tells them that he wants the storm drains checked out again.

Joe then asks if Danny has met other rats aside from Ben, but he denies this. Cliff still seems pissed and complains that the rats bit Henry's leg the other day. Danny says that the rats are small creatures who can't hurt anyone, but Cliff gets frustrated and tries to snatch Danny's harmonica from him because he's not taking the case seriously. Eve stops Cliff from doing this, and he eventually leaves with Joe.

Shortly after, two men enter a drain hole to search for the rats. Unfortunately, one of them gets killed by the rats, but the other one escapes. When Cliff gets to the scene, he starts planning an attack to send some men into different drain holes with flamethrowers and shotguns. He also makes an arrangement for the rats to be drowned if their other plans don't work.

Following this, the police department sends a patrol vehicle to each neighborhood to warn the residents to stay indoors throughout the night. As the patrol car passes Danny's neighborhood, he looks sad and disappointed because Ben and the other rats might get killed that night. He then runs to his room, but as Eve follows him, she realizes that he has escaped through the window. Eve is shocked by this, but as she goes outside, she sees Danny running away.

He eventually enters the sewer, and even though Eve finds the place to be disgusting, she follows him. Coincidentally, Cliff has already sent his men into the drains to begin the plan to kill the rats. After a while, Danny finds Ben and warns him to leave with his family because the cops are coming for them. Ben just squeaks silently, but Danny keeps begging him to leave.

As he then hears Eve calling his name, Danny leaves Ben and goes to meet her. Eve looks relieved to see him because some rats were about to attack her, and they try to find their way out of the sewer. Eve and Danny also try to move carefully because Cliff's men have started using the flamethrowers inside the sewer. Meanwhile, Ben alerts all the rats that they're under attack, and they start running away.

Ben (1972) Ending Explained

Some of them get killed in the process, but others fight back and kill a few cops. One of the cops manages to survive, and he heads out to warn Cliff that the rats are killing the men in the sewer. Cliff says he has to check what's happening down there himself, and Joe follows him. As Cliff asks Billy if he's coming along, the journalist says that he's only paid to write about heroes, and that he doesn't have to become one.

Cliff and Joe then head down to see what they can do to help. Almost immediately, Danny and Eve get out safely and head home to meet their mom, who is already crying because she thought something bad had happened to them. Beth looks happy to see her kids, and she asks if Danny is hurt. As she says she'll call his doctor, Danny says she doesn't have to.

Eve also mentions that Danny is now stronger because he was the one who saved her. Shortly after, Cliff comes up with a plan to trap the rats in a distribution tank. As his men force them down there, the rats get trapped. With this, the cops are able to use their weapons to kill them.

After this, Cliff and Joe head back to the top looking relieved. Joe then says that he hopes they never have to go to war against people with guts like those rats. He adds that he's sure they would’ve lost the fight if the rats were four feet tall. Billy then says that, at the end of the day, the rats only wanted a place to live.

Cliff says it's what everyone wants, and they all look happy to have conquered the rats. Later that night, Danny looks sad and goes to the workshop to hug his fake rat. Suddenly, he sees Ben lying in front of the workshop after barely making it out of the sewer alive. He also happens to be the only one who made it out, but he's already badly injured.

Danny quickly carries him to the table and says that Ben will get better. He says he'll get better too, and that they'll both be fine. As he then cleans the cuts on Ben's body, Danny says that Ben is the only friend he has, and that he loves him. After Ben and his fellow rats kill Willard, they start moving around the city to survive.

They end up killing a few people in the process, and they also steal a lot of things from different places. Interestingly, Danny finds Ben in his workshop one day, and they immediately become friends. Despite knowing that Ben and the other rats are wanted by the police because of everything they’ve done, Danny protects them and refuses to tell Cliff where to find them. Much later, Cliff and his men find the rats and kill them, but Ben still manages to escape and find his way back to Danny’s house.

Or was he right to have done his best to protect the only friend he had?