Bats (film)

Last updated
Bats
Bats poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLouis Morneau
Written by John Logan
Produced byBradley Jenkel
Louise Rosner
Starring
CinematographyGeorge Mooradian
Edited byGlenn Garland
Music by Graeme Revell
Production
company
Distributed byDestination Films (United States) [1]
Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (international) [2] [3]
Release date
  • October 22, 1999 (1999-10-22)
Running time
91 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States [1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5.25 million [4]
Box office$10.2 million [4]

Bats is a 1999 American horror film [1] directed by Louis Morneau, written by John Logan and produced by Bradley Jenkel and Louise Rosner. The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, Bob Gunton and Leon. It was the first film released by Destination Films. A hostile swarm of genetically mutated bats terrorize a local Texas town, and it is up to zoologist Sheila Casper, who teams up with town Sheriff Emmett Kimsey, to exterminate the creatures before they take more lives. The film grossed $10 million against a $5 million budget, and received generally negative reviews from critics.

Contents

Plot

After people start to die in the fictional small Texas town of Gallup, the prime suspects are bats. The CDC calls in chiropterologists Dr. Sheila Casper and her assistant, Jimmy Sands, to investigate the situation. Dr. Alexander McCabe is secretive about the situation, but admits that the bats were genetically modified by him to become more intelligent and also omnivorous so they would not be in danger of extinction any longer. Sheila is disgusted by this, but it seems that McCabe had the best intentions.

Aided by Sheriff Emmett Kimsey and CDC specialist Dr. Tobe Hodge, Sheila and Jimmy begin to search for the bat roost. The first night they are attacked and manage to capture one and plant a tracking device on it. However, as soon as they let it go, it is killed by the other bats, who understand the strategy. Emmett decides that Gallup needs to be evacuated, and the mayor is told to broadcast a warning to all residents to stay indoors and secure their houses. Unfortunately, no one listens. The bats invade the town and, within minutes, chaos ensues and several people are killed, including Dr. Hodge, who sacrifices himself to save Sheila.

The National Guard arrives and begins evacuating the town. They give Sheila and her bat hunters 48 hours before they destroy the town in hopes of killing the bats. Sheila sets up headquarters in the school. The military has promised to center the infrared cameras of a Chromo-B340 satellite on the area around Gallop to help locate the bat roost. Even when the roost is located, however, Sheila is at a loss how they can exterminate all the bats, of which there must be several thousand: bombing the roost will only scatter them, leading to the creation of other roosts and spreading the infestation through the rest of the country; while the most popular bat poison is only marginally effective against bats, but highly lethal to humans. Sheila thinks the best solution is to lower the temperature inside the roost, since doing so will cause the bats to hibernate instead of flying away, before they freeze to death.

Jimmy arranges for an NGIC Industrial Coolant that uses freon, carbon dioxide, and oxygen to be dropped off as soon as the roost is located, in a cave that Emmett recognizes as an abandoned mine. Everything is set to begin at 0600 hours—except that the government has other ideas, which do not include waiting until dawn. During the night, they wire the mine with explosives set to trap the bats inside and freeze them. Unfortunately, the bats kill all the soldiers at the location and then attack the school. Sheila and the others use electrified fences and blowtorches to keep the creatures at bay, but it is revealed that McCabe, actually insane, has created the bats to be the ultimate predator, specifically designing them to kill humans. McCabe flees outside, falsely believing that he can control the bats, only to be killed himself.

When Sheila, Emmett and Jimmy arrive at the mine the next morning, they are informed by the military that they were not able to turn on the coolant unit, so the plan now is to bomb and gas the mine starting in one hour. Emmett calls the military and tells them that they will be able to activate the unit, but they are unable to get the air strike called off. Sheila decides that one hour is enough time for them to get the coolant unit started, so she and Emmett suit up and enter the mine. Jimmy stays outside to monitor their progress and to blow up the mine entrance should it become necessary. Although they find themselves up to their waists in bat guano, they are successful at starting the coolant. As they make for the exit, the bats pursue them. The moment they exit, Jimmy detonates the explosives, collapsing the mine entrance and trapping the bats inside, freezing them. One final bat survives the freezing temperatures and burrows out of the ground, only to be crushed to death by the group's car as they drive away.

Cast

Release

The film premiered in the United States on October 22, 1999. [1] In its opening weekend, Bats grossed about $4.7 million. It grossed $10.2 million in the US. [4]

The film was released on VHS and DVD on February 22, 2000. [5]

Reception

Bats holds a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews and has an average rating of 3.3/10. The critical consensus reads: "Neither scary nor creepy". [6] Metacritic, which assigns a rating from 0 to 100, gave the film a 23, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews", based on reviews from 26 critics. [7]

Sequel

A TV movie sequel to this film, Bats: Human Harvest , was made by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2007.

Related Research Articles

<i>Posse</i> (1993 film) 1993 film

Posse is a 1993 American Western film directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles. Featuring a large ensemble cast, the film tells the story of a posse of African-American soldiers and one ostracized white soldier, who are all betrayed by a corrupt colonel. The story starts with the group escaping with a cache of gold, and continues with their leader Jesse Lee taking revenge on the men who killed his preacher father. The story is presented as a flashback told by an unnamed old man. The title of the film refers to a group of people who are summoned to help law enforcement officers. This film was the first film to be released by Gramercy Pictures.

<i>Congo</i> (film) 1995 film by Frank Marshall

Congo is a 1995 American science fiction action-adventure film based on the 1980 novel by Michael Crichton. It was directed by Frank Marshall and stars Laura Linney, Dylan Walsh, Ernie Hudson, Grant Heslov, Joe Don Baker and Tim Curry. The film was released on June 9, 1995, by Paramount Pictures and tells the story of an expedition team and a mountain gorilla owned by one of it's members who go to the Congo jungles to find a missing expedition and the ruins of an ancient civilizations where diamonds might be located while encountering the gray gorillas that lurk near there.

<i>Matewan</i> 1987 American drama film by John Sayles

Matewan is a 1987 American independent drama film written and directed by John Sayles, and starring Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell and Will Oldham, with David Strathairn, Kevin Tighe and Gordon Clapp in supporting roles. The film dramatizes the events of the Battle of Matewan, a coal miners' strike in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia.

<i>The Minus Man</i> 1999 American film

The Minus Man is a 1999 thriller film starring Owen Wilson and Janeane Garofalo. It is based on the novel by Lew McCreary, and directed by Hampton Fancher, who also wrote the screenplay. The film centers on a serial killer whom Fancher describes as "a cross between Psycho's Norman Bates, Melville's Billy Budd and Being There's Chauncey Gardner".

<i>Casper: A Spirited Beginning</i> 1997 American film

Casper: A Spirited Beginning is a 1997 American direct-to-video fantasy comedy film based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. It serves as a prequel, though breaks continuity with the 1995 Universal/Amblin film Casper. The film stars Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Michael McKean, James Earl Jones and Pauly Shore, with supporting roles of Richard Moll, Sherman Helmsley, Brian Doyle-Murray, Edie McClurg and Ben Stein. The plot explores additional details surrounding the titular character's origins. 20th Century Fox had previously acquired film rights to the character from Universal. The film was produced by The Harvey Entertainment Company and Saban Entertainment and released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on September 9, 1997, and was panned by critics.

<i>Silverado</i> (film) 1985 film by Lawrence Kasdan

Silverado is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and written by Kasdan and his brother Mark. It stars Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover and Kevin Costner. The supporting cast features Brian Dennehy, Rosanna Arquette, John Cleese, Jeff Goldblum, Lynne Whitfield, and Linda Hunt.

<i>Desperate Measures</i> (film) 1998 American film

Desperate Measures is a 1998 American action thriller film starring Michael Keaton, Andy García, Marcia Gay Harden and Brian Cox, directed by Barbet Schroeder. It was filmed in both the San Francisco Bay Area and downtown Pittsburgh with such landmarks as the BNY Mellon Center, the Allegheny County Courthouse and the Oakland Bay Bridge. The film was released on January 30, 1998 and was a critical and financial failure. However, Andy García won an ALMA Award for "Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser horseshoe bat</span> Species of bat

The lesser horseshoe bat is a type of small European and North African insectivorous bat, related to its larger cousin, the greater horseshoe bat. As with all horseshoe bats, the species gets its name from its distinctive horseshoe-shaped noseleaf.

<i>Dead Men Walk</i> 1943 film by Sam Newfield

Dead Men Walk is a 1943 American horror film produced by Sigmund Neufeld for Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). It is an original story and screenplay by Fred Myton, starring George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Nedrick Young, and Dwight Frye, directed by Sam Newfield. It was originally distributed by PRC and reissued in the US in 1948 by Madison Pictures, Inc.

<i>The Tin Star</i> 1957 American Western film by Anthony Mann

The Tin Star is a 1957 American Western film based on a short story, directed in VistaVision by Anthony Mann and starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins, in one of Perkins' first roles. The film became one of the few low-budget westerns to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Writing, Story or Screenplay. Since its release, the film has become one of the classics of the genre. The supporting cast features Betsy Palmer, Neville Brand, John McIntire and Lee Van Cleef.

<i>Support Your Local Sheriff!</i> 1969 film by Burt Kennedy

Support Your Local Sheriff! is a 1969 American comedy Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner, Joan Hackett, and Walter Brennan. The supporting cast features Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern, and Chubby Johnson. The picture was distributed by United Artists and produced by William Bowers and Bill Finnegan.

<i>The Roost</i> 2005 American film

The Roost is a 2005 American horror film written and directed by Ti West. It stars Tom Noonan, Karl Jacob, Wil Horneff and Vanessa Horneff.

<i>Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings</i> 1994 American film

Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings is an 1994 American supernatural horror film and a sequel to the 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead. In this film, thrill-seeking teens resurrect a demon and come to regret it. The film is very loosely connected to others in the series. The PC video game Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge was released shortly after the film.

<i>Eaten Alive</i> 1976 film by Tobe Hooper

Eaten Alive is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written by Kim Henkel, Alvin L. Fast, and Mardi Rustam.

<i>Jesse James Meets Frankensteins Daughter</i> 1966 film directed by William Beaudine

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is a low-budget horror Western film released in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James encounters the fictional granddaughter of the famous Dr. Frankenstein. The film was originally released as part of a double feature along with Billy the Kid Versus Dracula in 1966. Both films were shot in eight days at Corriganville Movie Ranch and at Paramount Studios in mid-1965; both were the final feature films of director William Beaudine. The films were produced by television producer Carroll Case for Joseph E. Levine.

<i>Crocodile</i> (2000 film) 2000 film

Crocodile is a 2000 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. The film involves a group of college students on a houseboat for spring break who stumble across a nest of eggs, and unknowingly enrage a large female Nile crocodile that stalks and kills them one by one. It was followed by Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, a film with no relation to the plot of the original beyond featuring a giant crocodile.

<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>Mutant</i> (film) 1984 American film

Mutant is a 1984 American horror film. It was initially released to theaters as Night Shadows, but it premiered on video with the Mutant title, which it has retained for all subsequent releases.

Dead Husbands is a 1998 Canadian-American made-for-television black comedy film starring Nicollette Sheridan, John Ritter, Sonja Smits, Donna Pescow, Amy Yasbeck and Sheila McCarthy. It is based on the novel Last Man on the List by Bob Randall. The film is written by Lindsay Harrison and is directed by Paul Shapiro. It premiered on the USA Network on December 2, 1998.

<i>National Lampoons Thanksgiving Family Reunion</i> 2003 television film directed by Neal Israel

National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion is a 2003 television film about a Thanksgiving family reunion of the Sniders, starring Bryan Cranston as Woodrow Snider, Judge Reinhold as Dr. Mitch Snider and Penelope Ann Miller as Jill Snider. The film was released as National Lampoon's Holiday Reunion in some regions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bats (1999)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  2. ↑ Ashoke Nag (April 18, 2001). "H'wood makes big B.O. gains in India (Columbia TriStar Leads Way)". Variety . Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Bats (1999)". BBFC . Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Bats". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bats". IGN . 1999-12-10. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  6. ↑ "Bats (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bats". Metacritic. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.