Ben is a fictional character from George A. Romero's classic film Night of the Living Dead, it's 1990 Remake and even the 2006 Remake.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)[]
Ben arrived at the house some time after Barbara and entered the house with her, locking it behind them. He inquired if she lived there or if she knew where the gas pump key was, to which Barbara didn't answer, on account of her being simply too terrified. He then tries the phone, realizing Barbara had likely already tried contacting the police, then decides to go upstairs, only to find the body, which makes him come back down and begin looking for supplies like food. It's then that Barbara comes into the kitchen, where Ben is stocking up, asking what's happening, which makes him stop for a moment before hearing a noise from outside. Once her looks out, he notices the zombies destroying the headlights of his truck.
He then asks Barbara if she had seen anymore out there, since the only ones he saw were the two who broke the headlights, assuring her he would take care of them. Barbara begins screaming that she didn't know and asking what was happening, leading to Ben going outside and taking out the 2 zombies before going back inside. As he enters, he finds that a zombie has made it's way into the kitchen through the back door, heading for Barbara, which he then begins to take on, dropping his tire iron in the process. Subduing the creature on the ground, Ben grabs the iron and impales the zombie in the head with it, killing it, then notices that another was coming towards the door as well. Ben springs into action, poking the creature in the eye before locking the door. It's then that Ben tells Barbara that they know where they are and that she shouldn't look at the body on the floor, as he takes it outside and sets it on fire, where he learns that the zombies themselves don't like fire. Once back inside, he notices a toolbox and starts rummaging through it, looking for things he will need to board up the windows and doors. As he finds a hammer and nails, he tells Barbara to go look for anything they can use to block the door. When he notices that she's still too horrified, he almost loses his composure before realizing she's terrified. He calmly then tells her that he understands and is afraid as well, but convinces her that if they were gonna survive, they'd have to stick together and work as a team. Ben then begins stockpiling what he finds in the kitchen, including a few wooden boards, as well as an ironing table and a loose door.
Ben takes the loose door and begins boarding it up with Barbara's help, as he nailed it in place, she held it until he was done. Some time later, Ben completes securing the kitchen windows and plans to board up the doors inside if they break into the house, as well as revealing to her that the zombies don't like fire. He then begins telling her that he found the truck outside a diner some time from there and he hopped in, listening to the radio, when a big gasoline truck can down the road with several zombies chasing it and how it ended up set ablaze when it went through a nearby gas station. Ben nearly hit the truck on the way, but was able to stop in time and found the diner. There, he hoped to find some help, but it was surrounded by zombies with no signs of life. He then proceeds to tell her that there were at least 50-60 zombies in his path, so he took the truck and plowed through them. It's then that Barbara reveals to Ben that she and her brother went to put a wreath on their father's grave and how she was attacked in the cemetery. She was then becoming hysterical, which Ben recommends that she calm down, but she only got worse. It got so bad, that she began demanding to Ben that they go and get him, but he was assuring her that he was dead. It's then that Barbara became belligerent, hitting Ben, resulting in him striking her back with enough force to knock her out. He then places her on the couch before securing the room they were in and finding the radio and turning it on to see what was going on in other parts of the world.
He finds that this isn't just an isolated incident, but that it's happening everywhere. He listens, while reinforcing the barricades and takes a look out the window, realizing there are more on their way. Ben decides to take the lighter fluid he found, make a fire in the fireplace, then take a chair from inside the house out to be burned as a way of keeping the creatures back. He dowses the chair with the fluid and fashions himself a torch, lights it and heads outside, setting the chair on fire before kicking it off the porch and heading back inside. He boards up the remainder of the house before deciding to take a break before looking into the closet and finding shoes for Barbara, as well as a Winchester Model 1894 and ammunition for it. He finds Barbara has woken up from being unconscious and tells her that they were doing just fine for themselves and he was going upstairs to take a look. He goes up to find the body of the dead woman, deciding to bring her into another room. It's then that he hears Barbara screaming from downstairs and comes down to investigate, gun in hand. He finds 2 men there, one of which is carrying a machete. It's revealed these 2 are Tom and Harry Cooper, but there was also his wife Helen Cooper and daughter Karen in the basement.
Ben asks them how long they were down in the basement, finding out they were there for a while and that they didn't come up, believing the zombies had indeed broke into the house. Both Harry and Ben end up butting heads about what place in the house is the safest, the upstairs or the basement. They debate this, where both lead well pointed arguments about both the basement and upstairs. Harry then tells them that once he goes into the basement again, he's locking it with or without the survivors. It's then that Tom decides this needs much more debate. When Ben goes into the kitchen, zombies begin to extend their hands inside the house, resulting in both Tom and him taking action against them. Ben is able to shoot one zombie twice, realizing that it didn't work, he kills it with a well-aimed shot to the head. After witnessing this, Ben says to the others that they need to fix the windows, leading to Harry calling him crazy and that the basement is safer. Ben turns and tells Harry if he likes the basement so much, he should go into it then and Harry decides to take Barbara down too, only for Ben to deny him that and access to the supplies upstairs. That's when Tom is stuck making a choice of to go back down there or wait up there with Ben and Barb, as well as Harry telling him that his kid would stand the racket up there. Ben tells him to go back down in the basement where he can be boss, while Ben was boss upstairs.
Before Harry goes back down, Tom tells Judy to come up with him before Ben checks on Barbara, who remains still in shock. As Ben is upstairs, he finds a television set, which Tom helps him with, while asking for help to watch downstairs by the Coopers and Judy watches Karen in the basement. Both bring the TV into the living room,
Night of the Living Dead (1990)[]
In the 1990 remake, Ben arrives at the farmhouse shortly after Barbara and hits one of the zombies in his path with his truck. He parks right outside the house and meets with a rather distraught Barbara and gets her inside. He then notices a zombie inside the house and goes to take care of him, leaving Barbara alone. He attempts to force the zombie out the door, but to no avail and decides to use his crowbar in order deal with him. He impales the zombie in the head with it and pushes him out the door. Reuniting with Barbara, Ben noticed she too had taken down a zombie as well with a poker from the fireplace.
Realizing that the house isn't hers and she didn't live there, he inquires as to if she had a car, which he barely gets a response from her. Momentarily comforting her, he looked at the windows saying that the zombies aren't strong enough to get through the door, but are capable of breaking the glass. He then goes outside and uses his crowbar to impale the zombie he hit with his truck in the head before heading back inside. He soon introduces himself to Barbara and tells her that she needs to fight and keep her thinking straight.
By nightfall, Ben and Barbara have decided to hold up at the house in hopes help comes their way. While at the house, Ben explains to Barbara about what transpired on his way there, including the incident at the diner where his car caught on fire and how the only way to kill the creatures is by getting them in the head. Even he's at a loss at what in the world was capable of making a dead man walk, simply saying that it was "pure hell on Earth". He then tries the phone, realizing it doesn't work before noticing that there is in fact a gun rack hanging on the wall and he believes that there are indeed guns in the house. He decides to go upstairs, but Barbara warns him something is up there, pointing out the blood stained ceiling, dripping down.
When he goes upstairs, he finds a man who's missing his hand and has a hole in his head, with a Henry Repeater in his other hand. Taking the rifle, Ben goes to secure the upstairs, only to be called down by Barbara, screaming her head off. He runs down and knocks back a man who came from downstairs and aiming his gun at them. This is when they are introduced to Harry Cooper, his wife Helen, their daughter, Tom Bitner and his girlfriend Judy Rose Larson. Ben and Barbara learn that the house belonged to Tom's uncle and cousin, who died that day and that when Barbara came yelling for help, admitted everyone in the basement were scared. Ben and Harry were also already at each other's throats at that time and find that there are only 3 zombies outside and with the aid of Tom and Judy, begin boarding up the windows, while Harry decides to go back down into the basement.
Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)[]
Characteristics[]
Physical Appearance[]
1968 & 1990[]
In the original film, Ben is an African-American male, with black hair and brown eyes. He's seen in a white striped dress shirt and dark gray pants with a black belt and black pants. In the 1990 remake, Ben is seen wearing a suit, with a black overcoat, pants and shoes, as well as a white striped dress shirt and red tie. Like the original, Ben is also African-American.
2006[]
Compared to the original versions of Ben, who are African-American males in their 30s, Ben in the 2006 version is a caucasian male, likely in his late 20s-early 30s.
Personality & Traits[]
1968[]
It's unknown as to how Ben was before the apocalypse began, but what is known is that despite being afraid of what was transpiring, was very calm and collected. Though he did lose his temper at times, he always found a way to calm himself, even against the likes of other survivors like Cooper.
1990[]
The 1990's version of Ben, showed to be a bit more aggressive than the original. Much like the original, he maintained a calm and collected attitude about himself, even though the world was falling apart around him. Unlike the original, this one wasn't afraid to use profanity when he was angered and showed to be easily angered by people like Cooper.
2006[]
Trivia[]
- Tony Todd portrayed Ben back in 1990. By 1992, he would become well known for his portrayal of the homicidal specter known as Candyman in the iconic film of the same name.