Two classic 1970s horrors, Willard and Ben make their UK home entertainment debut in newly-restored versions on DVD and Blu-ray
Director Daniel Mann’s 1971 classic horror film Willard, based on Ratman’s Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, inspired a new generation of horror films with animal predators and stars Bruce Davison as the eponymous Willard alongside Ernest Borgnine, Elsa Lanchester in one of her last-ever appearances and Sondra Locke.
Meek misfit Willard Stiles doesn’t have much going for him. His overbearing mother (Lanchester) constantly screams at him, while his boss (Borgnine) bullies him. Willard eventually turns to a colony of rats for friendship and with training they will soon do anything for their new friend. It’s time for Willard to get even…
With its world-famous theme song sung by Michael Jackson, Ben the sequel to Willard was originally released in 1972 and stars Lee Montgomery as Danny Garrison alongside Joseph Campanella.
Danny is a lonely young boy with a heart condition who finds a friend in Ben, a rat once trained by misfit Willard Stiles. His new best friend protects him from bullying and keeps his spirits up through hard times. But all is not well in Ben’s colony and the other rodents terrify the town with a series of violent attacks. The police are determined to wipe them out. Can Ben survive? Who will prevail in the battle of rat versus human?
Both Willard and Ben arrive together as a Limited Edition Blu-ray Box-set (and include collector's posters of new artwork by renowned artist Graham Humphreys) and as individual releases on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as on-demand and download courtesy of Second Sight Films, and include the following special features.
WILLARD • New 4K scan of the original camera negative • Audio commentary with actor Bruce Davison • Interview with Actor Bruce Davison • Theatrical trailer, TV spot, Radio spot • Stills gallery
BEN • New HD transfer and restoration using the best surviving archive print • Interview with Actor Lee Montgomery • Commentary with actor Lee Montgomery • Theatrical trailers, TV & radio spots • Stills gallery
