Bats

I really liked this movie. Of course, if you're cynical, you might be better off not going to see this. Just stick with whatever movie you saw a long time ago that you think is better than everything now a days. On the other hand, if you really like movies for what they are, you'll probably have fun watching this movie. Everybody in the audience I was in seemed to have a great time watching this as did I. The dialogue was funny and not ALL that predictable. The acting was not bad, it was actually pretty good. I really liked Dina Meyer in this (although she looked better with curly hair). Anyways, this movie will be liked by kids and anyone who goes to the movies as a form ENTERTAINMENT. I'll probably see this once more and get it when it comes out on DVD. Don't let ME influence you, though. You should always make up your own mind. (8/10).

I think the Oscar race just got a little tighter when Bats was released into the market. This is clearly one of the best films that has come out this year. You can forget about the cynicism of American Beauty, the brilliance of Fight Club, the ingenuity of Three Kings and the mania that is Sixth Sense, Bats is set to go down as one of the greats up there with Jaws, Patton, Rocky, Annie Hall and Amadeus. I think future generations of Hollywood directors and writers are going to turn to BATS to see how it is done. John Carpenter's Halloween and Spielberg's Jaws used to be the bench mark when it came to horror, but this has put a whole new perspective into how to scare someone at the theater. When I left the theater my knuckles were a ghostly white from gripping the arm rests and when I looked on the ghastly faces of the hundreds of people leaving the theater, they all had the same expression. They were frightened. The show ended at about midnight and we were all anxious to get into our cars because we were afraid those cunning bats were waiting to get us, right outside the theater. Now that is good film making. Jaws made me afraid of the ocean, I think Bats is going to make me afraid of the night sky. I have never seen bats that look this real in a movie. Those fangs were so real looking that most of the budget must have gone into the production of those intricately designed bats. Fangs, eyes, and even their hissing sounds were realistic. What a fantastic film. If this isn't nominated at Oscar time for best picture and director, then I would say that something is up with the academy. I am still in awe and utter fear as I sit here and write this review of Bats. This is one of the scariest films that I have ever seen. WOW!!!

Okay, I just had to do it. I had to.

Bats is really one of the worst films to come out this year. But this is a film that is so easy to rip on that I thought it would be fun to do the exact opposite and just confuse the hell out of the readers for a minute or so. The only award this may be winning this year is the Raspberry awards. But you know what? Going into this film, I was expecting a really, really, really bad film. I only got a bad one, so that was unexpected and a nice surprise. I think I, like most other horror movie nuts enjoy a good "bad" horror flick at times. There is just something about cheese that is fun at times. And for that reason, Bats delivers. Everything you have heard about the film is true. It is all bad. The bats are laughable, the story is a joke and the writing is awful, even the commercials looked pretty bad. But there is one good thing going for it, and that is that it had a subtle homage to Jaws in it. The guy that first gets killed at the beginning is named "Quint" and when they do an autopsy on him, it wreaked of Hoopers little angry deposition in Jaws when he tells them that it wasn't a boating accident. And if you can pick up on little subtleties like that then the film is more fun. Really, this isn't all that bad, I mean it is bad, but there are really worse out there. Have you ever seen Truth Or Dare? I mean the movie where mental patients get a hold of a grenade and blow their own heads off? Well that is really bad, I mean really, really bad. And as I said, this is just bad. But I saw it in an empty theater during the day. Seriously, there was just me and a friend. And at AMC in Toronto, they have retractable arm rests so that you can put them back and use the seats as a couch, which is what we did. It was very comfortable and we enjoyed the movie quite a bit more that way.

Bats will probably be gone by the time this review gets to IMDb so you may not have a chance to see it at the theater, but if you are in a campy horror movie mood, then rent this when it comes out on video. You may enjoy it. I hope you didn't take my accolades too seriously at the beginning of the film, it was all in good fun. And remember, sometimes bad movies can be fun to see. You don't have to think, you don't really have to feel either. And you get to laugh at stupid people doing stupid things. Bats is a great example of that. If Bats is even ever mentioned in the same sentence as American Beauty come Oscar time, there will be a federal inquiry and Mr. Logan and the backers of this movie may go to a maximum state prison and his punishment would be to watch this movie every day of his sentence. Now that would be funny.

Bats is a very generic late-'90s killer animal flick that follows most of the genre rules to the letter. All of the expected characters are present and correct—untrustworthy government scientist, brave local sheriff, doomed-to-die deputy, dedicated (and sexy) animal expert, wise-cracking sidekick—and the plot develops in an extremely predictable manner, opening with young couple alone in the dark falling victim to the bats, before introducing a whole townful of potential victims, and climaxing with our brave heroes risking their lives in a showdown against the deadly critters.

It all gets very silly at times, with perhaps the most unbelievable scene being the securing and electrification of a whole school by just four people in the space of a few hours, but it still proves to be quite a bit of fun, director Louis Morneau keeping the action moving at such a swift pace that such nonsense is fairly easy to forgive (unlike the director's tendency to 'skew', stretch and blur the image during the frenzied bat attacks, which I found bloody irritating).

What really helps to elevate this formulaic nonsense to slightly-above-average are the solid cast and some fairly decent special effects. Dina Meyer (of Starship Troopers fame) and Lou Diamond Phillips make for a likable protagonists, and Leon is far less objectionable as 'token comedy relief black guy' than one might expect. As for the bats, they're a mixture of more than reasonable CGI and nifty puppetry from KNB; my only gripe, FX-wise, is a lack of splatter—a bit more gore would have been very welcome.

What is all the commotion about with regard to this movie? So many people seem genuinely ticked off at it....and I am just curious about their expectations before seeing it. My expectations were realistic...meaning I didn't expect much, nor was I disappointed in my expectations. This film is bad, yet in a way fairly entertaining. Like many films of its ilk it is not trying to be taken too seriously. We can tell this by the compact acting styles, the huge loopholes in plot, and the horrendous dialogue. None of the actors are particularly good. The CGI effects are dismal, and when the bats attack close-up one cannot see anything in the blurred action. Watching it I almost felt it looked a bit like Gremlins, only to be taken seriously and without the professionalism of all concerned in that film. On the other hand, there are many ways your time could be used less effectively...personally I like watching bad movies....especially a bad movie you can sit through and not be bored out of your mind with. Bats is just that ...a bad movie you can sit through.

Absolutely surprising carnivorous bats tale , derived from abysmal story . The film starts in Skull Valley , Arizona, where the scientific Casper (Dina Meyer) and his assistant Jimmy (Leon) are investigating about bats . They're brought by a government scientist (Bob Gunton) to a small town called Callup , in Texas . There appears a pack of carnivorous bats that prey on citizens , terrorizing the small community . The chiroptera specialist Casper , his helper , along with a policeman (Lou Diamond Phillips) attempt to stop the genetically altered flying foxes before the military comes into action , bombing the caves.

This is a slam-bang chiller about flying foxes , full of scares and lots of blood and gore . It delivers the goods with suspense , tension and hair-raising chills ; plus , the astonishing special effects of this nature , as the ferocious bats seem alive . It's an eerily effective thriller , quite entertaining , though many will undoubtedly find repulsive when the bats attack and eat their victims . The tale can't bear such close scrutiny , but while this thrills ride is going, you won't mind . With a final budget of 5.25 million, the film went on to gross well over 30 million worldwide in theatrical , DVD , Digital and Television sales . Although considered somewhat unsuccessful at the time, the film recouped its entire budget during its first week of release . The vampire bats are splendidly made by means of Animatronics in charge of Robert Zurtzman , Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger . The bats in the film were a combination of Animatronics, CGI , and 2 live bats. The 2 original bats in the film were brought over from Indonesia . The acting is uneven , an attractive Dina Meyer , Lou Diamond Phillips as the patrolman who along with the scientific facing off the creepy bats and killing them in their caves . Bob Gunton is an oddball baddie acting as a mad doctor and the comic relief in charge of Leon .

Interesting screenplay by John Logan , today writer for blockbusters (Aviator , Last Samurai , Star Trek : nemesis , Time machine) . Produced in just under 6 months , the picture continues to hold one of the top spots for fastest produced 35mm feature films to receive a wide-release . The motion picture was well directed by Louis Morneau , in his best movie . He's a B series director, with no much success (Hitcher 2 , Retroactive , Quake , Soldier Boyz , Carnosaur 2). With similar premise , ten years earlier (79) was shot the movie titled ¨Nightwing¨¨ directed by Arthur Hiller with Nick Mancuso , David Warner and Kathryn Harrold , but it was a flop, this one is a superior film .