Released to USA theaters during Halloween in 1999, "Bats" is a nature-runs-amok flick about government-funded mutated bats that have escaped and are harassing the citizens of a West Texas town. The Sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) teams-up with a bat expert (Dina Meyer) and her amusing sidekick (Leon) to save the town and, actually, all of North America. Bob Gunton plays the semi-mad scientists who created the genetically-engineered diabolical creatures.
This is a solid creatures-on-the-loose movie with a quality cast and a lot of thrills, but it never rises above run-of-the-mill for a few reasons: For one, there's no interesting subtext. This is a film about mutated bats threatening a town and the people who try to vanquish them; that's it. While there's nothing wrong with such an approach, it can only be successful IF the creatures are interesting enough, like 1972's excellent "Gargoyles," but I personally don't find bats that interesting. Don't get me wrong, the filmmakers did their best to make the creatures as malevolent, hideous and formidable as possible, but they're still bats. Another negative is that there's no female eye candy beyond the alluring main protagonist, Dina Meyer, and they don't do anything with her besides showcasing her stunning face. I'm not suggesting nudity or anything pornographic here -- not at all -- but professional filmmakers are able to take advantage of the female resources at their disposal and this film doesn't do that.
"Bats" strikes me as a decent TV creature feature -- decent, not great or even really good -- and I find it hard to believe that it was a theatrical release.
The film runs 91 minutes and was shot in Utah.
GRADE: C+
This is a solid creatures-on-the-loose movie with a quality cast and a lot of thrills, but it never rises above run-of-the-mill for a few reasons: For one, there's no interesting subtext. This is a film about mutated bats threatening a town and the people who try to vanquish them; that's it. While there's nothing wrong with such an approach, it can only be successful IF the creatures are interesting enough, like 1972's excellent "Gargoyles," but I personally don't find bats that interesting. Don't get me wrong, the filmmakers did their best to make the creatures as malevolent, hideous and formidable as possible, but they're still bats. Another negative is that there's no female eye candy beyond the alluring main protagonist, Dina Meyer, and they don't do anything with her besides showcasing her stunning face. I'm not suggesting nudity or anything pornographic here -- not at all -- but professional filmmakers are able to take advantage of the female resources at their disposal and this film doesn't do that.
"Bats" strikes me as a decent TV creature feature -- decent, not great or even really good -- and I find it hard to believe that it was a theatrical release.
The film runs 91 minutes and was shot in Utah.
GRADE: C+