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?

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Where can you hide?

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

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

The stock USAF aircraft footage was taken from the movie Iron Eagle II (1988).

---

Goofs

Jumper cables connected to a chain link fence will short out as soon as the power is turned on. It will not electrify the fence.

---

Quotes

Jimmy Sands: There. Now it's securer than the god damn Alamo.
Sheriff Emmett Kimsey: Bad example there Jimmy.

---

Alternate Versions

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

---

Connections

References Apollo 13 (1995)

---

Soundtracks

I've Got Reasons
(uncredited)
Performed by Mary Jane Hooper

User Reviews

Very silly but fun.

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.