Genetically mutated bats escape and it's up to a bat expert and the local sheriff to stop them.Genetically mutated bats escape and it's up to a bat expert and the local sheriff to stop them.Genetically mutated bats escape and it's up to a bat expert and the local sheriff to stop them.
David McConnell
- Deputy Wesley Munn
- (as David Shawn McConell)
Grady Justice
- Army Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaProduced in just over five months, the picture continues to hold one of the top spots for fastest produced 35mm feature films (from script-to-screen) to receive a wide-release:
- Pre-production: Script acquired/director hired: May, 1999.
- Production: June and July, 1999.
- Post-production: Edited (including 250+ visual effects), scored and mixed: August and September, 1999.
- GoofsJumper 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: Clip their wings? Man, could you just shoot their damn heads off? And don't miss.
- Alternate versionsThe theatrical and VHS versions are rated PG-13 while the DVD version is the R-rated cut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 'Bats' Abound (1999)
Featured review
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.
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.
helpful•151
- BA_Harrison
- Sep 5, 2014
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Blood Moon
- Filming locations
- Magna, Utah, USA(Street scenes, store)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,250,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,155,690
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,717,902
- Oct 24, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $10,155,690
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content