The Bat People

Last updated
The Bat People
The Bat People FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jerry Jameson
Written byLou Shaw
Produced byLou Shaw
Starring
Cinematography Matthew F. Leonetti
Edited byTom Stevens
Music by Artie Kane
Production
company
Distributed byAmerican International Pictures
Release date
  • January 30, 1974 (1974-01-30)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Bat People is a 1974 American horror film directed by Jerry Jameson, produced by Lou Shaw, and distributed by American International Pictures. Starring Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew, the film tells the story of a doctor, who after being bitten by a bat in a cave, undergoes an accelerating transformation into a man-bat creature.

Contents

The Bat People is also known by two alternative titles: It Lives By Night and It's Alive. [1] The film was lampooned in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 . [2]

The film was met with negative reviews and was widely panned by critics.

Plot

Dr. John Beck, recently married, decides to take his wife, Cathy, spelunking in Carlsbad Caverns for their honeymoon. While they're on a tour, the couple gets lost in the bat cave. Dr. Beck, who specializes in bats, is bitten by a fruit bat. He then inexplicably begins to transform into a humanoid vampire bat. He visits a doctor who attempts to help his condition. Unfortunately, the doctor's treatment does not seem to be working. In fact, it is aggravating his condition. As he begins to transform, Dr. Beck unwittingly goes on a killing spree, catching the attention of the cruel Sergeant Ward. The doctor begins to wonder if Dr. Beck is just imagining everything and suggests that he seek a psychiatrist. Beck returns to the original cave to seek solace. In the end, Cathy becomes a humanoid vampire bat (after having sex with Beck) and rejoins her husband in the bat cave. [3]

Cast

Release

Theatrical release

The film performed poorly at the box office. [4]

Home media

The film was released on DVD by MGM as a double feature with The Beast Within on September 11, 2007. It was later released by Shout! Factory as a 4-film horror set on April 15, 2014. Shout! Factory released the film for the first time on Blu-ray on July 18, 2017. [5]

Reception

The Bat People was widely panned by critics.

Dave Sindelar, on his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings gave the film a negative review, calling it "forgettable". In his review of the film, Sindelar criticized the film's "leisurely pace", overuse of close-ups, and conclusion. [6]

VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever awarded the film one out of four bones, calling it "[a] Less-than-gripping horror flick". [7]

TV Guide awarded the film two out of five stars, commending the films special effects but criticizing the film's script and "mediocre" acting. [8]

The Terror Trap gave the film 2/4 stars, writing, "this 1974 drive-in horror boasts some beautiful snowy vistas and picturesque desert landscapes. But that's not enough to save it from being overly sleepy, and poorly paced." [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Extra Terrestrial Visitors</i> 1983 French-Spanish science fiction film

Extra Terrestrial Visitors is a 1983 science fiction film directed by Juan Piquer Simón. The film's original draft was meant to be a straightforward horror film about an evil alien on a murderous rampage, but the producers demanded script alterations in order to cash in on the success of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by featuring a child and a cute, lovable alien.

<i>Zaat</i> 1971 American film

Zaat is a 1971 American independent science fiction horror film produced and directed by Don Barton, and co-written by Barton, Lee O. Larew and Ron Kivett. Produced on a $50,000 budget, the film stars Marshall Grauer as a mad scientist who aims to transform himself into a mutation to seek revenge on those who spurned him.

<i>The Brain That Wouldnt Die</i> 1962 film by Joseph Green

The Brain That Wouldn't Die is a 1962 American science fiction horror film directed by Joseph Green and written by Green and Rex Carlton. The film was completed in 1959 under the working title The Black Door but was not theatrically released until May 3, 1962, under its new title as a double feature with Invasion of the Star Creatures.

<i>Night Monster</i> 1942 film by Ford Beebe

Night Monster is a 1942 American black-and-white horror film featuring Bela Lugosi and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Company. The movie uses an original story and screenplay by Clarence Upson Young and was produced and directed by Ford Beebe. For box office value, star billing was given to Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill, but the lead roles were played by Ralph Morgan, Irene Hervey and Don Porter, with Atwill in a character role as a pompous doctor who becomes a victim to the title character, and Lugosi in a small part as a butler.

<i>Parts: The Clonus Horror</i> 1979 film

Parts: The Clonus Horror is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed, co-written and produced by Robert S. Fiveson, and starring Peter Graves, Tim Donnelly, Dick Sargent, Keenan Wynn, Paulette Breen and Frank Ashmore. The film is about an isolated desert community where clones are bred to serve as a source of replacement organs for the wealthy and powerful.

<i>The Corpse Vanishes</i> 1942 film by Wallace Fox

The Corpse Vanishes is a 1942 American mystery horror film starring Bela Lugosi, directed by Wallace Fox, and written by Harvey Gates. Lugosi portrays a mad scientist who injects his aging wife with fluids from virginal young brides in order to preserve her beauty. Luana Walters as a journalist and Tristram Coffin as a small-town doctor investigate and solve the disappearances of the brides. The film was produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures, and was reissued in 1949 by Favorite Films Corporation.

<i>Time Walker</i> 1982 film by Tom Kennedy

Time Walker is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed by Tom Kennedy.

<i>The Eye Creatures</i> 1967 television film by Larry Buchanan

The Eye Creatures is a 1967 American made-for-television comedy horror science fiction film about an invasion by a flying saucer and its silent, shambling alien occupants.

<i>Zombie Nightmare</i> 1987 Canadian horror film

Zombie Nightmare is a 1987 Canadian zombie film produced and directed by Jack Bravman, written by John Fasano, and starring Adam West, Tia Carrere, Jon Mikl Thor, and Shawn Levy. The film centres around a baseball player who is killed by a group of teenagers and is resurrected as a zombie by a Haitian voodoo priestess. The zombie goes on to kill the teens, whose deaths are investigated by the police. The film was shot in the suburbs of Montreal, Canada. It was originally written to star mostly black actors but, at the request of investors, the characters' names were changed to more typically white names. While Bravman was credited as director, Fasano directed the majority of the film. Problems occurred between Fasano and the production crew, who believed him to be assistant director and ignored his directions.

<i>The Slime People</i> 1963 film by Robert Hutton

The Slime People is a 1963 horror film directed by Robert Hutton, who also starred in the film. The film was featured on the first season of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as the 1986 syndicated series The Canned Film Festival.

<i>The Giant Gila Monster</i> 1959 American film

The Giant Gila Monster is an American 1959 monster film directed by Ray Kellogg and produced by Ken Curtis. A famous B-movie of the era, the film stars Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the French contestant for the 1957 Miss Universe, as well as comedic actor Shug Fisher and KLIF disc jockey Ken Knox. The effects included a live Mexican beaded lizard filmed on a scaled-down model landscape.

<i>The Vampire Bat</i> 1933 film by Frank R. Strayer

The Vampire Bat is a 1933 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, and Dwight Frye.

<i>Werewolf</i> (1996 film) 1997 American film

Werewolf is an American direct-to-video horror film directed by Tony Zarrindast and starring Jorge Rivero, Richard Lynch, Federico Cavalli, Adrianna Miles, and Joe Estevez.

<i>Galaxy Invader</i> 1985 film directed by Don Dohler

Galaxy Invader is a 1985 American direct-to-video science fiction film directed and co-written by Baltimore filmmaker Don Dohler. The film's plot centers on an alien who is pursued by hillbillies after his spaceship crash-lands on Earth. The cast is made of entirely non-professional actors, mainly friends and family of Dohler.

<i>Ring of Terror</i> 1962 film

Ring of Terror is a black-and-white 1962 horror film, which centers around a young medical student named Lewis Moffitt who must open a crypt and steal the ring of a deceased man in order to join a fraternity. Directed by Clark L. Paylow from a screenplay by Lewis Simeon and Jerrold I. Zinnamon, the film stars George Mather as Lewis, with Austin Green and Esther Furst in supporting roles.

<i>The She-Creature</i> 1956 film by Edward L. Cahn

The She-Creature, or The She Creature, is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, released by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff. It was produced by Alex Gordon, directed by Edward L. Cahn, and stars Chester Morris, Marla English and Tom Conway, and casting Frieda Inescort and El Brendel in smaller roles. The producers hired Marla English because they thought she bore a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor.

<i>Terror Is a Man</i> 1959 Filipino/American horror film directed by Gerardo de León

Terror Is a Man is a 1959 black-and-white Filipino/American horror film directed by Gerardo de Leon.

Superdome is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film produced by ABC Circle Films. It premiered on ABC as part of The ABC Monday Night Movie series and was used to promote Super Bowl XII. It featured a cast of stars. It was directed by Jerry Jameson and written by Barry Oringer from a story by Oringer and Bill Svanoe.

<i>Octaman</i> 1971 film by Harry Essex

Octaman is a 1971 Mexican-American science-fiction monster film written and directed by Harry Essex, with the costume design by future Academy Award winner Rick Baker. It follows an expedition team that becomes the target of a murderous humanoid octopus. The film received negative reviews.

<i>The Mysterious Doctor</i> 1943 film by Benjamin Stoloff

The Mysterious Doctor is a 1943 American horror film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and written by Richard Weil. The film stars John Loder, Eleanor Parker, Bruce Lester, Lester Matthews and Forrester Harvey. The film was released by Warner Bros. on March 3, 1943.

References

  1. Gary A. Smith, The American International Pictures Video Guide, McFarland 2009 p. 19
  2. "It Lives By Night". Mystery Science Theater 3000. Season 10. Episode 10. July 18, 1999. The Sci-Fi Channel.
  3. The Bat People. N.p. Film.
  4. Aljean Harmetz (Aug 4, 1974). "The dime-store way to make movies-and money". New York Times. p. 202.
  5. "The Bat People (1974) – Jerry Jameson". AllMovie. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. Sindelar, Dave (24 September 2017). "The Bat People (1974)". Fantastic Movie Musings.com. Dave Sindelar. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  7. Jim Craddock (2011). VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever. Gale/Cengage Learning. p. 111. ISBN   978-1-4144-4878-7.
  8. "The Bat People – Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  9. "The Bat People (1974)". The Terror Trap. Retrieved 22 July 2018.

Mystery Science Theater 3000