Bats

This is not a very good movie. If I had seen it at a theater, I would have felt ripped off, certainly. But at home, I watched it with an undemanding mood, and with the feeling this was a basic update of a low budget animal-attacking movie of the '70s. Seeing it that way, the movie was good enough to pass the time. No more, but I wasn't bored.

Certainly, there's a lot of the movie that's dumb. Some of the puppets and computer generated effects look really bad. The black character is only there for humor, and his treatment is somewhat offensive. Lou Diamond Phillips can't act. Sometimes you can't tell what's going on with all the close-ups of flapping wings and bad editing.

There are a few good things. Some of the cliches I was expecting actually didn't happen. (For one thing, the authorities are quick to the danger for once.) The cinematography is excellent, and occasionally the movie has a "big" feeling that makes it look more expensive that its $6.5 million budget.

So if you like B movies, are feeling undemanding, and can see it cheaply or for free, you might want to give it a try.

"Bats" was a treasure i found on the shelves of Blockbuster video way back in the 90's, a great time to be obsessed with movies like i was as there was constantly new & exciting looking movies out all the time & with Cool artwork on the covers & one that caught my eye was BATS.

The case looks Awesome & the cast was great with the super stunning & beautiful DINA MEYER, who i loved from Starship Troopers, here she was with the Cool LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS (Young Guns flicks) as the two leads in a Creature Feature about killer mutant Bats & i was sold.

Although "Bats" is a B-movie at heart it still had a very decent budget of around 5 million & every penny is well spent in it's production. The look & setting is perfect B-movie Horror with it's All American little town that gets attacked by mutant bats, it's a great setting that felt like "Critters" or something & our two leads are great together with sexy Meyer as an expert/scientist type & Philips as the tough local Sheriff, a perfect old school 1950's sci-fi B-movie story just transported to the 90's.

The special effects are fantastic as they use everything from practical puppets & c.g.i to real Bats & all expertly done. Great mutant bat designs.

The music is exciting & there's some really thrilling set pieces such as the Town attack sequence!!! A few years later i felt the same sort of sequence of the towns full attack was very similar in another Throwback B-movie Creature Feature called "Eight Legged Freaks" the big budget spider movie. I love these small towns under attack from creatures films & "Bats" is one of my favourites, a real GEM.

"Bats" is pure 90's Monster fun & a great late-night film & a treasure amongst the B-movies of the 90's & with two good leads.

This is what the direct-to-video market was all about, good entertainment & a fun nights viewing.

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 .

As usual, I find myself on the opposing side of the critics. This movie has NO BUSINESS in the bottom 100 here at IMDb! It's FAR from a masterpiece, but it's also just as far from deserving that low a rating.

As is often the case, whenever you have a good monster/creature feature, lurking somewhere in the shadows is a mad scientist. Such is the case in this film. In fact, I found the mad scientist a tad too mad. I think that is the main contributor to the low ratings this movie receives here at IMDb. The "doctor's" performance went WAY over the top. Well, he's supposed to be insane, but he plays it like pure camp, and that's horribly out of place in this otherwise serious work concerning a lab experiment gone awry...or has it?

The animated/CGI bats are well done, and all performances besides the doctor are enjoyable and on target. Unfortunately, he was bad enough to have brought down the whole film.

This is fun, generates some good suspense, and isn't afraid to show you the nemesis. The story itself is quite competent to hold up, and does, IF you can ignore the wretched performance given by Bob Gunton. I must say that I do not believe it to be wholly his fault, as he has given some great performances in the past, and since. The fault must lie with the director, Louis Morneau, who has never done much of note.

I like this film and can enjoy it, in spite of the doctor, and do find myself watching it from time to time.

It rates a 6.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.