Bats (1999)

Genetically mutated bats escape and it's up to a bat expert and the local sheriff to stop them.

Director:

Louis Morneau

Writer:

John Logan

Stars:

Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, Bob Gunton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Sheriff Emmett Kimsey
Dina Meyer	...	Dr. Sheila Casper
Bob Gunton	...	Dr. Alexander McCabe
Leon	...	Jimmy Sands
Carlos Jacott	...	Dr. Tobe Hodge
David McConnell	...	Deputy Wesley Munn (as David Shawn McConell)
Marcia Dangerfield	...	Mayor Amanda Branson
Oscar Rowland	...	Dr. Swanbeck
Tim Whitaker	...	Quint
Juliana Johnson	...	Emma
James Sie	...	Sergeant James
Ned Bellamy	...	Major Reid
George Gerdes	...	Chaswick
Kurt Woodruff	...	Major #2
Joel Farar	...	Bartender

Storyline

Bats, the result of a government experiment gone wrong, have suddenly become intelligent, vicious, and omnivorous, and are attacking people near Gallup, Texas. Bat specialist Sheila Casper and her assistant Jimmy are brought in but can they stop the bats before the military comes in and, in their ignorance, makes things worse?

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Plot Keywords:

mad scientist | texas | small town | sheriff | bat | 

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Taglines:

You're their inflight snack

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of bat attacks, and brief language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Moon

Filming Locations:

American Fork, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,250,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,717,902, 24 October 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,155,690

Company Credits

Production Co:

Destination Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dina Meyer dyed her hair blonde for her role as Dr. Sheila Casper.

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Goofs

Dead deputy found in bar can be seen breathing.

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Quotes

Jimmy Sands: Clip their wings? Man, could you just shoot their damn heads off? And don't miss.

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Alternate Versions

The theatrical and VHS versions are rated PG-13 while the DVD version is the R-rated cut.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures (2004)

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Soundtracks

If Love Is A Red Dress (Hang Me In Rags)
Performed by Maria McKee

User Reviews

Seen it all before.

Well, killer bats attacking people. Says it all really. This is a completely mediocre, unexciting, unoriginal example of the normally-harmless-animals-eating-people genre.

The special effects are ropey by today's standards and with it actually being difficult to convincingly depict bats (or even sometimes just a single bat) savaging a human the camerawork uses frantic, in-your-face close-ups of flapping wings and biting teeth, jumping from shot to shot and not allowing you to see what's going on properly. This soon becomes irritating.

Unfortunately, mediocrity permeates every aspect of this film. The acting isn't great, but it's not awful. The same goes for the script. As a result, it doesn't even descend into the so-bad-it's-good category (although there are one or two laughably bad moments). The film doesn't take itself too seriously though and there are a few attempts at humour.

In summary: not very good but not the worst film you'll ever see and hence, probably not worth watching.