"The Bat People" is a proud resident of the IMDb Bottom 100. Every once and a while the movie suddenly vanishes from the infamous list, depending on whether there are new movies with Paris Hilton in the lead or documentaries about American Idol stars, but it always reliably returns sooner or later. And why? Because, unlike the majority of crap in that list, "The Bat People" is a legitimate bad film and it deserves to be on there regardless of any media influences or internet buzz! This nearly isn't the worst film ever made, since the basic concept definitely has a certain charm and ingenuity, but it's still indescribably difficult to sit through the whole thing. The script is incredibly boring, with absolutely unnecessary padding footage and gigantic gaps in continuity, and yet the main characters still remain total strangers throughout the entire film. Other than a sensible screenplay, the film also lacks spectacular killing sequences and the make-up effects although courtesy of a young Stan Winston are ludicrously inept and remain largely unseen until the end of the film. The film's title is inaccurate, as "people" refers to a number in plural whereas the story actually just revolves on one Bat Person. Much more than Bruce Wayne, the real Batman plays in this movie and he as well has a genuine Bat-cave and a Bat-mobile (a stolen ambulance)! The plot introduces a young couple on their honeymoon-weekend exploring caves. They wander off from a guided tour group and he gets bitten by a bat whilst trying to protect his wife from the animal's vicious attack. Worried that he might be infected with rabies, he undergoes an intense treatment at the local hospital, but still this doesn't prevent him from slowly transforming into a bloodthirsty bat creature. He kills random people at night and toys around with the suspicious police sergeant whilst his loving wife is still vastly convinced the awkward behavior is exclusively due to allergic reactions to the rabies treatment. Sure, honey! The script never explains why a bat would attack people and how come John always changes back into a normal human being at the dawn of a new day instead of gradually turning into a permanent state of bat-guano. So basically, "The Bat People" is a variation on the good old werewolf-theme, but obviously not a very interesting one. The concept showed a lot of potential, but somehow the sub plots center on whiny drunks and perverted Sheriffs instead of on ghastly monsters. Some of the settings and exterior filming locations look impressive, the misfit song playing during the credits is strangely catchy, there's a nice bit of gore during the climax (finally!) and main actress Marianne McAndrew is ravishing to look at (though not to listen to). This truly bad and boring film's current listing in the bottom 100 is spot number 80, and personally I hope it sticks somewhere in that region. The list simply wouldn't feel and traditional without "The Bat People".
55 Reviews
Attack of the Planet of the Apes Reject
BloodTheTelepathicDog10 May 2011
Sure, this isn't a good movie but I've seen a heckuva lot worse. The prosthetic hand Stewart Moss wears looks good but his face makeup after his transformation makes him look less like a bat and more like the ugliest extra in the PLANET OF THE APES. The "Bat Man" doesn't even have wings. This movie would have been much better had they used a monster that looked something like those creepy bat people on the Marc Singer BEASTMASTER film.
This movie centers on married couple Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew, who are married in real life. Stewart is a scientist who plans on taking a side trip to a cave before he and the wife hit the slopes. When the old carnal desires strike a chord in Marianne, she sneaks her hubby off in the cavern for a little Neanderthal necking, but she slips down a hole and her hubby has to rescue her. In the midst of his rescue, he is bitten by a bat. The good scientist spends the rest of the film writhing about in hospital beds and motel rooms, and killing an occasional person here and there.
THE STORY: $$ (The story is far too formulaic and fails to give us any sympathetic characters. Marriane McAndrew is the closest thing to a sympathetic character we have in this film but she is brash at times, referring to her husband and a doctor she hardly knows as "children" to their faces. Also, she complains to Dr. Kipling (Paul Carr) about her husband's new violent streak after his bat attack but the script fails to deliver in that regard. His "violent streak" consists of him telling his wife, in a rather laid-back fashion, to stay away from him while he suffers throes of agony in a hot tub).
ACTING: $$ (Michael Pataki is the standout as the slimy Sgt. Ward who takes a great interest in the case. He is always on Stewart Moss' heels but is he more interesting in stopping a killer or bedding a distraught Miss McAndrew? Arthur Space as the drunk gives a very good performance and had me laughing. Marianne McAndrew does a fine job as the wife of a monster but Stewart Moss isn't all that convincing in his role as the main character).
NUDITY: $ (Marianne McAndrew is naked under the sheets but you don't see anything from her. The sex scene is one the strangest in cinema history. Near the end of the film, Marianne is getting busy with her man when he changes into his bat form midway through the Barry White ballad).
This movie centers on married couple Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew, who are married in real life. Stewart is a scientist who plans on taking a side trip to a cave before he and the wife hit the slopes. When the old carnal desires strike a chord in Marianne, she sneaks her hubby off in the cavern for a little Neanderthal necking, but she slips down a hole and her hubby has to rescue her. In the midst of his rescue, he is bitten by a bat. The good scientist spends the rest of the film writhing about in hospital beds and motel rooms, and killing an occasional person here and there.
THE STORY: $$ (The story is far too formulaic and fails to give us any sympathetic characters. Marriane McAndrew is the closest thing to a sympathetic character we have in this film but she is brash at times, referring to her husband and a doctor she hardly knows as "children" to their faces. Also, she complains to Dr. Kipling (Paul Carr) about her husband's new violent streak after his bat attack but the script fails to deliver in that regard. His "violent streak" consists of him telling his wife, in a rather laid-back fashion, to stay away from him while he suffers throes of agony in a hot tub).
ACTING: $$ (Michael Pataki is the standout as the slimy Sgt. Ward who takes a great interest in the case. He is always on Stewart Moss' heels but is he more interesting in stopping a killer or bedding a distraught Miss McAndrew? Arthur Space as the drunk gives a very good performance and had me laughing. Marianne McAndrew does a fine job as the wife of a monster but Stewart Moss isn't all that convincing in his role as the main character).
NUDITY: $ (Marianne McAndrew is naked under the sheets but you don't see anything from her. The sex scene is one the strangest in cinema history. Near the end of the film, Marianne is getting busy with her man when he changes into his bat form midway through the Barry White ballad).
Dreary Horror Tale.
AaronCapenBanner4 September 2013
Stewart Moss & Marianne McAndrew play a newlywed couple(married in real life as well) who go exploring Carlsbad Cavern, where Moss(Dr. John Beck)is bitten by a fruit bat after he falls into a hidden crevice. After he frees himself and goes home, he finds to his horror that he now transforms into a killer Man-Bat, who must drink blood in order to survive. He is helped by his sympathetic wife, but pursued by the local sheriff, who has designs on Mrs. Beck...
Film has a distinct aura of melancholy about it, and isn't badly acted at all, but is awfully slow-paced, with inadequate make up F/X by future Oscar Winner Stan Winston. Has some distinct atmosphere at times, but ultimately fails, despite a haunting final scene.
Film has a distinct aura of melancholy about it, and isn't badly acted at all, but is awfully slow-paced, with inadequate make up F/X by future Oscar Winner Stan Winston. Has some distinct atmosphere at times, but ultimately fails, despite a haunting final scene.
Groovy, man.... far out!
Mike Sh.31 July 2000
This movie may not be classic material (to put it charitably), but it does have a couple of things going for it. Not the plot, dialogue, production values, or anything else meaningless like that. But it does have a sense of time and place (a chic Colorado ski resort in the midst of the swingin' Seventies), and it does have Paul Carr as Dr. Kipling, the very archetype of the hip, swingin' Seventies dude. With the blow-dried coif (reminiscent of those old "Dry Look" ads), the bushy moustache, the deep, mellow voice and manner, and overall air of grooviness, Dr. Kipling is the ultimate in Seventies cool! Confident without being smug or arrogant, cool without being aloof, this man is a suitable role model for anyone to emulate.
As for the movie itself, well, it bites.
As for the movie itself, well, it bites.
This movie causes rabies...
Mister-616 September 2000
Or maybe that's what it feels like. Anyway, "The Bat People" is about as flat as a rug, bland as a sack of flour and as exciting as a rock...and as intelligent as all three combined.
Okay, plot in a nutshell (fitting vessel, that...): a doctor (Moss) gets bitten by a bat while checking out a cave with his wife (McAndrew) and subsequently turns into a bat - well, not exactly a bat but a bat-like creature that looks more like a werewolf who kills his victims in a first-person camera viewpoint....
But then there's the business of the sheriff (Pataki), who is about the WORST kind of sheriff: the hick kind. He hassles people, he leers at married women, he steals handkerchiefs from haberdasheries (the FIEND!), he smokes with one of those cigarette holders in his mouth and talks at the same time, making him look and sound like Buford T. Justice in "Smokey and the Bandit" and (this is the worst part)... HE'S THE MOST LIKEABLE CHARACTER IN THE WHOLE FILM!
The whole film, though, is just TV movie-of-the-week-like crapola (guano, in this case). It's an AIP, for crying out loud! What did you expect, Oscar caliber stuff?
And what else can you say about a film that not even MST3K can save?
How about...no stars for "The Bat People", full version OR MST3K version!
By the way, if there's ever a sequel for this movie, I'm burying my TV.
Okay, plot in a nutshell (fitting vessel, that...): a doctor (Moss) gets bitten by a bat while checking out a cave with his wife (McAndrew) and subsequently turns into a bat - well, not exactly a bat but a bat-like creature that looks more like a werewolf who kills his victims in a first-person camera viewpoint....
But then there's the business of the sheriff (Pataki), who is about the WORST kind of sheriff: the hick kind. He hassles people, he leers at married women, he steals handkerchiefs from haberdasheries (the FIEND!), he smokes with one of those cigarette holders in his mouth and talks at the same time, making him look and sound like Buford T. Justice in "Smokey and the Bandit" and (this is the worst part)... HE'S THE MOST LIKEABLE CHARACTER IN THE WHOLE FILM!
The whole film, though, is just TV movie-of-the-week-like crapola (guano, in this case). It's an AIP, for crying out loud! What did you expect, Oscar caliber stuff?
And what else can you say about a film that not even MST3K can save?
How about...no stars for "The Bat People", full version OR MST3K version!
By the way, if there's ever a sequel for this movie, I'm burying my TV.
Terrible horror film.
HumanoidOfFlesh15 June 2005
After being bitten by a bat in a cave,a doctor named John Beck undergoes an accelerating transformation into a man-bat creature.His wife assures him that there's nothing wrong with him,it's all just due to rabies or the anti-rabies drugs he's taking.The local cop thinks that John is responsible for several gruesome murders."The Bat People" by Jerry Jameson is one hell of a horrible film.The script is deadly dull and there is no gore nor nudity.This pointless piece of crap is so mind-numbingly boring that you'll scratch your head in a total disbelief after suffering through it.Even the design of a man-bat creature by a young Stan Winston is completely pathetic and unmemorable.Avoid this stinker like the plague.2 out of 10.
Really horrible
bat-59 May 2000
Watching It Lives By Night makes you wonder, just who in the world greenlit this crap. A newlywed couple go spelunking on their honeymoon, get attacked by bats and the husband starts to run around in his pajamas attacking various people. And where exactly are they? They're in the desert, then they're skiing, then they're in a small town that looks like it has mountains nearby. The town is run by a sheriff who likes to watch and has a personal vendetta against whiny doctor boy. The ski hospital is run by a really groovy guy with a nice thick mustache and the wife looks like Mary Tyler Moore or Marilyn Quayle. There's no dramatic tension and the ending will leave you filled with anger. Special effects and makeup guru Stan Winston did the effects for this movie. I guess you have to start somewhere.
False Advertising!
NateW12 August 1999
This movie promised bat people. It didn't deliver. There was a guy who got bit by a bat, but what was with the seizures? And the stupid transformation? Where was the plot? Where was the acting? Who came up with the idea to make this? Why was it allowed to be made? Why? Why? I guess we'll never know.
Boring
JamesMovieGuy_1178 December 2017
After a doctor is bitten by a bat, he goes on a killing spree as a man-bat creature.
The Bat People is a slow and sluggish film with very little thrills or excitement. The premise isn't a bad one but it's so poorly executed that you end up bored throughout the entire picture.
The only redeeming factor is the decent make-up effects by a young Stan Winston. However even they are very few and far between.
Most of the time you're treated to stock footage of bats and uninteresting characters.
So, if you want some 70's schlock then look no further than The Bat People. It currently has a 2.3/10 on IMDb so that should indicate what you're getting into.
The Bat People is a slow and sluggish film with very little thrills or excitement. The premise isn't a bad one but it's so poorly executed that you end up bored throughout the entire picture.
The only redeeming factor is the decent make-up effects by a young Stan Winston. However even they are very few and far between.
Most of the time you're treated to stock footage of bats and uninteresting characters.
So, if you want some 70's schlock then look no further than The Bat People. It currently has a 2.3/10 on IMDb so that should indicate what you're getting into.
not so good, but not awful; some good locations
FieCrier4 March 2005
A man wakes from a nightmare about bats. He and his wife go out into the desert for a picnic on their honeymoon. He seems to hear a strange noise, and she is disturbed by the sight of a bat crawling across their picnic blanket. He wants to go on a tour of a cave, which has something to do with some kind of work he is doing, but she wants to enjoy their honeymoon. She relents. They go on the tour, but leave the group to make out. She falls down a slope, where she is disturbed by insects. He follows her. He hears the strange noise again, and seems to know a bat is approaching; one does, and gets in her hair. He fights it off her, and it attacks him, biting his forehead.
They get out of the cave, but when they are in a gondola at a ski resort, he starts having seizures in which he has hallucinations or visions of bats attacking people. He becomes angry when this happens. He's unable to drink alcohol without spitting it out. His wife worries about rabies, and he starts a Pasteur treatment for that, but reacts violently to the injection.
And then some people are killed. We see parts of the man's transformation into a bat person. It seems it is not just in his mind. Whether the bat bite causes these transformations is not clear, since he already was having some symptoms prior to the bite.
While the title seems inappropriate, the implication at the end is that the same thing is happening to another person. Not a very good movie, but I liked the variety of the desert, cave, and ski-slope locations, and some of the weirder scenes. I didn't think this was as bad as other people do, and I didn't think the 1999 movie Bats was as bad as others think either (I rated that one a 5/10).
They get out of the cave, but when they are in a gondola at a ski resort, he starts having seizures in which he has hallucinations or visions of bats attacking people. He becomes angry when this happens. He's unable to drink alcohol without spitting it out. His wife worries about rabies, and he starts a Pasteur treatment for that, but reacts violently to the injection.
And then some people are killed. We see parts of the man's transformation into a bat person. It seems it is not just in his mind. Whether the bat bite causes these transformations is not clear, since he already was having some symptoms prior to the bite.
While the title seems inappropriate, the implication at the end is that the same thing is happening to another person. Not a very good movie, but I liked the variety of the desert, cave, and ski-slope locations, and some of the weirder scenes. I didn't think this was as bad as other people do, and I didn't think the 1999 movie Bats was as bad as others think either (I rated that one a 5/10).
Not the worst movie
wink_man0124 March 2000
OK, don't let my summary fool you. This movie SUCKS HARD. But the worst movie ever? This movie was terrible in ways people shouldn't have to rack their brains to describe. But it is in no way worse than Manos: the hands of fate, hobgobblins, horrors of spider island, or a small handful of movies. As a review the movie sucks, it's terrible. Don't see it with out MST or you may develop health problems. But there are worse movies.
Intriguing 70s Drive-in Movie, and a great DVD release!
slowtraincoming-126 September 2013
A ten star review may be reaching a bit, but notwithstanding some of the insipid and exaggeratedly low reviews here, this film DOES have a plot, takes it time getting there, and features good acting and a satisfying conclusion. If you purchase the MGM Midnite Movies DVD edition, you'll also be in for a visual treat as the movie is given a stellar transfer which serves as an effective time capsule of 70s drive- ins staples. Add in visual effects by Stan Winston (working on his FIRST feature (he would later go on to Terminator and Jurassic Park fame), and this stands as an interesting artifact, indeed. If you appreciate B films with merit, and if you also like bats, check out The Chosen Survivors, also available from MGM Midnite Movies, and also a 1974 release, which makes a terrific companion piece to this film.
Watchable but the filmmakers could had more fun with this premise.
hu67531 January 2009
Dr. John Beck (Stewart Moss) and his lovely wife Cathy (Marranne McAndrew) fell into an underground cave. When his wife was attacked by a bat, he tried to help her but he ended up getting bitten instead. Beck thought the scratch was nothing until he found himself having horrible nightmares. He slowly turned into a bat creature! Beck began attacking innocent people for blood. The only one who could talk some sense to him was his wife.
Directed by Jerry Jameson (Airport '77, Raise the Titanic) made a watchable but disjointed horror film that attempts to be truly scary but fails. Moss gives a good performance and there's early make-up effects work by the late five time Oscar-Winner,Stan Winston (Jurassic Park Trilogy, Aliens, Interview with an Vampire).
The DVD is a double feature with "The Beast Within" from MGM. Although i think "The Beast Within" is a much better movie in my opinion.The DVD has a good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and a decent Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. "The Bat People" is a truly forgotten horror film. It is probably only notable for make-up effects for fans to see Winston's early f/x work. Michael Pataki has some fun as a slightly sleazy sheriff. Badly written and produced by Lou Shaw. (** 1/2 out of *****).
Directed by Jerry Jameson (Airport '77, Raise the Titanic) made a watchable but disjointed horror film that attempts to be truly scary but fails. Moss gives a good performance and there's early make-up effects work by the late five time Oscar-Winner,Stan Winston (Jurassic Park Trilogy, Aliens, Interview with an Vampire).
The DVD is a double feature with "The Beast Within" from MGM. Although i think "The Beast Within" is a much better movie in my opinion.The DVD has a good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and a decent Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. "The Bat People" is a truly forgotten horror film. It is probably only notable for make-up effects for fans to see Winston's early f/x work. Michael Pataki has some fun as a slightly sleazy sheriff. Badly written and produced by Lou Shaw. (** 1/2 out of *****).
Title is kinda misleading
Aaron137520 September 2001
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this film on the television show, Mystery Science Theater 3000 under the title, It Lives By Night. That title is a lot better than the main one, The Bat People. The problem is that there is only really one person in this film to turn into a bat on screen, thus making the people part of The Bat People null and void. I guess Bat People does sound better than Bat Person. Granted, the wife was obviously becoming one, but she is never shown transforming in anyway. Heck, even the husband is shown one time in the film in full bat form. So, yeah, I would say they should go with It Lives By Night as the official title as the title Bat People suggests to me a whole race of people living in caves and terrorizing a small community which would have probably been a better film than this one. About the best things to be said about this one is the fact you get to see one of Stan Winston's earlier films which is not really a big deal seeing as how you only get to see the full makeup once and the mustache of the doctor! Seriously, it is not a horrible film, just kind of dull and annoying.
The story has a pair of newlyweds going on an overdue honeymoon which apparently includes them going on a very boring cave tour. He is either a doctor of preventive medicine or a bat specialist, not sure which as the movie implies both. All I do know is that he wants to go on this tour to study the bats which makes me wonder why he could not get in and have a private tour? He is studying rabies, you'd think he could get in without having to deal with the boring tour guide droning on. Well, his wife feels frisky and they get stranded in a cave and he is bitten by a bat. Of course, this really does not cause the problems as he is shown suffering from nightmares before this even happens. I think it was his little secret that he wanted to turn into a bat. Well, at a crummy ski resort he starts showing signs of rabies and soon he and doctor mustache try to combat the condition, but seems it is more than rabies! He is turning into a bat person and killing and a sheriff that seems to have plenty of evidence to take the guy in, but would rather just hound the good doctor instead. The sheriff is an idiot, but I am still more inclined to root for him to take the good doctor in considering the good doctor is killing people for their blood while his wife says he has done nothing wrong despite the growing evidence and body count!
As an episode of MST3K, it was rather good as there is a lot of fodder offered to them thanks to the film. From cave tours that happen days apart, but feature the same people, to a guy turning into a bat and a hobo who is very proud of his stink...this episode has it all! The bumps in this one are good too as they poke fun of the fact the wife looks vaguely like Mary Tyler Moore, they have a rabies shot bump and one featuring the guys on the satellite of love sporting a mustache like the doctor. An all around good episode and one of the episodes that just really brings it home that I prefer Mike episodes to Joel. They just always seem to hit on all cylinders in Mike's episodes. I do like Joel too, just seems he had more episodes that had dead spots and were a bit more clunky.
So, this film was not great, but not completely terrible. I could easily name ten films or more that were not even done by MST3K that were worse, that being said I could easily name thousands of films better too. The effects are okay, Stan Winston did not really get to showcase his work in this one much as the full beast is only shown once and it seems to be only a simple makeup job. I usually associate Rick Baker with makeup and Stan Lee with mechanized props more. Perhaps the film could have bee a bit better had they had some nudity in it and some more kills as horror films in this time were beginning to skew more into that formula, instead it plays out more like a late 60's horror film that is less horror and more other things like drama and such.
The story has a pair of newlyweds going on an overdue honeymoon which apparently includes them going on a very boring cave tour. He is either a doctor of preventive medicine or a bat specialist, not sure which as the movie implies both. All I do know is that he wants to go on this tour to study the bats which makes me wonder why he could not get in and have a private tour? He is studying rabies, you'd think he could get in without having to deal with the boring tour guide droning on. Well, his wife feels frisky and they get stranded in a cave and he is bitten by a bat. Of course, this really does not cause the problems as he is shown suffering from nightmares before this even happens. I think it was his little secret that he wanted to turn into a bat. Well, at a crummy ski resort he starts showing signs of rabies and soon he and doctor mustache try to combat the condition, but seems it is more than rabies! He is turning into a bat person and killing and a sheriff that seems to have plenty of evidence to take the guy in, but would rather just hound the good doctor instead. The sheriff is an idiot, but I am still more inclined to root for him to take the good doctor in considering the good doctor is killing people for their blood while his wife says he has done nothing wrong despite the growing evidence and body count!
As an episode of MST3K, it was rather good as there is a lot of fodder offered to them thanks to the film. From cave tours that happen days apart, but feature the same people, to a guy turning into a bat and a hobo who is very proud of his stink...this episode has it all! The bumps in this one are good too as they poke fun of the fact the wife looks vaguely like Mary Tyler Moore, they have a rabies shot bump and one featuring the guys on the satellite of love sporting a mustache like the doctor. An all around good episode and one of the episodes that just really brings it home that I prefer Mike episodes to Joel. They just always seem to hit on all cylinders in Mike's episodes. I do like Joel too, just seems he had more episodes that had dead spots and were a bit more clunky.
So, this film was not great, but not completely terrible. I could easily name ten films or more that were not even done by MST3K that were worse, that being said I could easily name thousands of films better too. The effects are okay, Stan Winston did not really get to showcase his work in this one much as the full beast is only shown once and it seems to be only a simple makeup job. I usually associate Rick Baker with makeup and Stan Lee with mechanized props more. Perhaps the film could have bee a bit better had they had some nudity in it and some more kills as horror films in this time were beginning to skew more into that formula, instead it plays out more like a late 60's horror film that is less horror and more other things like drama and such.
Not the *worst* MST3K movie ever, but...
skorzeny26 July 1999
...it's still a load of crap.
As far as I am concerned, this movie is only notable as an early effort in the career of master make-up king Stan Winston (back when he was still listed in credits as "Stanley Winston". His huge talent is wasted on one halfway decent prosthetic hand, since the rest of the film's "horror makeup" consists of one bruised face and a lot of greasy sweaty faces. I mean, this is a movie about a guy turning into a bat, and aside from the above-mentioned hand, the only time he actually turns into a bat, it looks like they borrowed an ape mask from a bad 1950's werewolf movie.
The acting is horrid, the plot paper-thin, the script awful, the music painfully bad, the ending lame, the effects laughable (except, as always, for the hand), and the directing is atrocious. Heck, even the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring this movie is mediocre.
Okay, okay, to be fair, the scene with the hospital wristband is not THAT bad, but any movie that features a woman who turns into a bat after having sex with a man who was bitten by a bat...trust me, avoid this movie at all costs. About the only thing I can say in its defense is that it isn't quite bad enough to be too bad even for an MST3K episode.
As far as I am concerned, this movie is only notable as an early effort in the career of master make-up king Stan Winston (back when he was still listed in credits as "Stanley Winston". His huge talent is wasted on one halfway decent prosthetic hand, since the rest of the film's "horror makeup" consists of one bruised face and a lot of greasy sweaty faces. I mean, this is a movie about a guy turning into a bat, and aside from the above-mentioned hand, the only time he actually turns into a bat, it looks like they borrowed an ape mask from a bad 1950's werewolf movie.
The acting is horrid, the plot paper-thin, the script awful, the music painfully bad, the ending lame, the effects laughable (except, as always, for the hand), and the directing is atrocious. Heck, even the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring this movie is mediocre.
Okay, okay, to be fair, the scene with the hospital wristband is not THAT bad, but any movie that features a woman who turns into a bat after having sex with a man who was bitten by a bat...trust me, avoid this movie at all costs. About the only thing I can say in its defense is that it isn't quite bad enough to be too bad even for an MST3K episode.
Wonder who thought this one up?
rickm-425 July 1999
Ok,so.....guy gets bitten by a bat and then turns into a bat (well,sorta). I can only assume this made sense to SOMEONE at the time! Aren't bats supposed to fly, use radar, and eat bugs instead of attacking humans tho?
It's bad, but not #42 bad.
planktonrules22 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Currently, this film is listed on IMDb as the 42nd worst film ever made--which is exactly why I rented it from NetFlix. However, I am saddened to report that the film, while bad, is no where near bad enough to merit being in the bottom 100 films ever made list. I have personally seen at least 100 films worse than this one. Hardly a glowing endorsement, but it just didn't meet the expected level of awfulness to be included on this infamous list.
The film begin with Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew on their belated honeymoon (by the way, they are married in real life as well). He's a doctor who is obsessed with bats and insists they go to a nearby cave. Once there, they behave very, very, very stupidly (hallmark of a bad film) and are soon bitten by a bat. According to this film, bats love to attack people and there are vampire bats in the US--both of which are not true at all.
Oddly, after being bitten, the man doesn't even bother going to the hospital!! The first thing on anyone's mind (especially a doctor) is to get medical help immediately, but not this boob. Soon, he's having seizures--yet he STILL isn't interested in seeking help! Again and again you keep thinking that this must be the stupidest couple in film history!!
After a while, he eventually goes to see a doctor and is sent to the hospital. But, by then it's too late and his attacks become more violent and he begins killing people to suck their blood. When it's totally obvious to everyone that the man is a crazed killing machine, the wife (who, like her husband, has a grapefruit for a brain) refuses to believe he's dangerous--even after he attacks people, steals an ambulance and runs a police car off the road!!
Now most of the time Moss is going through these episodes, his eyes roll back and he looks like a normal person. Oddly, however, a couple times he develops bat-like hands and towards the end they used some nice prosthetics on him to make him look quite bat-like. Had this been really cheesy, the film would have merited a 1.
In the very end, in a twist that hardly made any sense at all, the wife inexplicably turned into a crazed bat lady and had a swarm of bats kill the evil sheriff. How all this was arranged was a mystery as was Moss' and McAndrew's belief that this film would somehow help their careers--though they both have had reasonably long careers on TV playing bit roles since 1974.
Overall, very dumb. The plot is silly and makes no sense and strongly relies on people acting way too dumb to be real. Not a good film at all, but not among the worst films of all time either.
NOTE: For some reason, IMDb shows the graphic for the three DVD set for IT'S ALIVE and it's two sequels of the web page for THE BAT PEOPLE. While THE BAT PEOPLE has been seen with the title "It's Alive", the two movies are not at all related. It's easy to understand the mistake--especially since they both came out in 1974, but the movie I just reviewed starred Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew and the other film starred John Ryan and Sharon Farrell.
The film begin with Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew on their belated honeymoon (by the way, they are married in real life as well). He's a doctor who is obsessed with bats and insists they go to a nearby cave. Once there, they behave very, very, very stupidly (hallmark of a bad film) and are soon bitten by a bat. According to this film, bats love to attack people and there are vampire bats in the US--both of which are not true at all.
Oddly, after being bitten, the man doesn't even bother going to the hospital!! The first thing on anyone's mind (especially a doctor) is to get medical help immediately, but not this boob. Soon, he's having seizures--yet he STILL isn't interested in seeking help! Again and again you keep thinking that this must be the stupidest couple in film history!!
After a while, he eventually goes to see a doctor and is sent to the hospital. But, by then it's too late and his attacks become more violent and he begins killing people to suck their blood. When it's totally obvious to everyone that the man is a crazed killing machine, the wife (who, like her husband, has a grapefruit for a brain) refuses to believe he's dangerous--even after he attacks people, steals an ambulance and runs a police car off the road!!
Now most of the time Moss is going through these episodes, his eyes roll back and he looks like a normal person. Oddly, however, a couple times he develops bat-like hands and towards the end they used some nice prosthetics on him to make him look quite bat-like. Had this been really cheesy, the film would have merited a 1.
In the very end, in a twist that hardly made any sense at all, the wife inexplicably turned into a crazed bat lady and had a swarm of bats kill the evil sheriff. How all this was arranged was a mystery as was Moss' and McAndrew's belief that this film would somehow help their careers--though they both have had reasonably long careers on TV playing bit roles since 1974.
Overall, very dumb. The plot is silly and makes no sense and strongly relies on people acting way too dumb to be real. Not a good film at all, but not among the worst films of all time either.
NOTE: For some reason, IMDb shows the graphic for the three DVD set for IT'S ALIVE and it's two sequels of the web page for THE BAT PEOPLE. While THE BAT PEOPLE has been seen with the title "It's Alive", the two movies are not at all related. It's easy to understand the mistake--especially since they both came out in 1974, but the movie I just reviewed starred Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew and the other film starred John Ryan and Sharon Farrell.
Well, 'The Bat Person'...
Gislef2 August 1999
Warning: Spoilers
Unless the title is supposed to be some kind of spoiler for the wife's transformation (the fiends! ruining it for us). Anycase, if this movie wasn't Made-For-TV, it should have been, it's so remarkably low-budget, underscripted, underacted, and hits every 70's cliche except disco. Nobody is likeable, and you could careless what happens to anyone in this one. Eminently forgetable except for the bad, bad performances.
Why All the Hate?
gavin694224 October 2012
After being bitten by a bat in a cave, a doctor (Stewart Moss) undergoes an accelerating transformation into a man-bat creature, which ruins his vacation and causes considerable distress for his wife (Marianne McAndrew, Moss' real-life spouse).
So, yeah, there is a lot of unnecessary fluff, such as scene of skiing and sentimental music playing. But why the hate? We still have a cool transformation scene, not unlike a werewolf film... only into a much more awesome animal. Did the creators of this film read Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) and get inspired by Man-Bat? Maybe...
Best of all, this was the first film for makeup legend Stan Winston. Say what you will about this film, but the effects are cool and Winston went on to some of the greatest projects in film history.
So, yeah, there is a lot of unnecessary fluff, such as scene of skiing and sentimental music playing. But why the hate? We still have a cool transformation scene, not unlike a werewolf film... only into a much more awesome animal. Did the creators of this film read Detective Comics #400 (June 1970) and get inspired by Man-Bat? Maybe...
Best of all, this was the first film for makeup legend Stan Winston. Say what you will about this film, but the effects are cool and Winston went on to some of the greatest projects in film history.
A Lot Of This Just Doesn't Make Sense
sddavis6316 March 2009
I didn't think this was as absolutely horrible as some people apparently do. It passes as one of those cheesy horror movies you might waste time with in the middle of the night when you can't sleep, although admittedly it's no better quality than that. It's true that the acting isn't great - I thought Marianne McAndrew as Cathy Beck, for example, came across as completely passionless - but the main problem is that several aspects of the plot didn't really make sense to me. The Becks are on a trip described by John (Stewart Moss) as part work and partly the honeymoon they never had (now that's romantic!) The work part has something to do with touring caves, which in itself sounds strange (how does being part of a tour group through a cave relate to anyone's work?) but it gets stranger when we find out that he's a doctor doing research in the area of preventative medicine (huh? That connection completely lost me.) Bitten by a bat while he's in the cave, he begins to transform into what I guess was supposed to be a human-bat hybrid (although when we finally see him in makeup he looks a lot more like an ape-man of some sort) and a killing spree starts. Here's another problem. The first killing is a nurse in a hospital. At first, everyone thinks her death was an accident. The second murder is of a young girl, who is described as having her throat ripped out. The sheriff (Michael Pataki) then tells us that her death was similar to the nurse's (meaning throat ripped out? - How could anyone think that was an accident?) And what's with the sheriff? He seems pretty no-nonsense until the scene in Cathy's hotel room when he takes a swig of liquor and then almost rapes her, after which everything seems to go back to normal. It's saddled with an ending that left almost everything unresolved, and also with one of the most irritating theme songs I've ever heard in a movie. Even for all that, there was something here that kept me watching. Sometimes pure cheesiness can get you through an hour and a half. Pretty bad, yeah - but not as awful as some people say.
Not all that bad but admittedly not that good.
Hey_Sweden7 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Underwhelming horror movie unfortunately just doesn't have a whole lot of "oomph" going for it. Now, if you're like this viewer and are a hopeless addict of B level genre movies, you may derive some entertainment out of it. But it's definitely not very memorable overall, even if one takes it on a "so bad it's good" basis.
Dr. John Beck (Stewart Moss) and wife Cathy (Marianne McAndrew) make the stupid, fateful decision to wander off on their own while exploring caves with a tour group, and he's soon bitten by a bat. This leads to a standard enough plot wherein John starts to suffer violent seizures and succumbing to homicidal impulses, while his distraught wife stands by, unwilling or unable to believe something weird is going on.
The movie serves as an early credit for makeup effects legend Stan Winston (here billed as 'Stanley'), but aside from one cool hand-turns-into-bat-wing sequence, it's clear his best work was ahead of him. We're made to use our imaginations as the monster stuff mostly happens off screen, until near the end. Then we finally see a bat head, which will more likely induce chuckles than anything else.
The direction by Jerry Jameson, a journeyman type whose credits were mostly in TV, is basically competent, the music by Artie Kane decent enough (with the inclusion of the overwrought theme song that was actually fairly common among '70s genre efforts). The many shots of real bats may do the trick for any viewer with an aversion to these animals. The better scenes tend to take place towards the end, especially as the bats swarm on one very unfortunate victim. Gore lovers may be somewhat disappointed, at least until this moment occurs.
The leads, Moss (whose looks and manner are reminiscent of Bradford Dillman) and McAndrew (an attractive lady who also appeared in Russ Meyers' "The Seven Minutes") are okay; they actually were married in real life as well. Michael Pataki delivers a standout performance as a persistent cop who's also a lecherous creep. Veteran actor Arthur Space does a nice job as a drunken, philosophizing hobo, in another of the movies' better scenes.
The main problem is making the effort to care very much about the characters or this tragic story as it plays out. Cult horror aficionados may want to give this one a try, and it's watchable enough, at least for this viewer. It just isn't as much fun as it could & should have been.
Five out of 10.
Dr. John Beck (Stewart Moss) and wife Cathy (Marianne McAndrew) make the stupid, fateful decision to wander off on their own while exploring caves with a tour group, and he's soon bitten by a bat. This leads to a standard enough plot wherein John starts to suffer violent seizures and succumbing to homicidal impulses, while his distraught wife stands by, unwilling or unable to believe something weird is going on.
The movie serves as an early credit for makeup effects legend Stan Winston (here billed as 'Stanley'), but aside from one cool hand-turns-into-bat-wing sequence, it's clear his best work was ahead of him. We're made to use our imaginations as the monster stuff mostly happens off screen, until near the end. Then we finally see a bat head, which will more likely induce chuckles than anything else.
The direction by Jerry Jameson, a journeyman type whose credits were mostly in TV, is basically competent, the music by Artie Kane decent enough (with the inclusion of the overwrought theme song that was actually fairly common among '70s genre efforts). The many shots of real bats may do the trick for any viewer with an aversion to these animals. The better scenes tend to take place towards the end, especially as the bats swarm on one very unfortunate victim. Gore lovers may be somewhat disappointed, at least until this moment occurs.
The leads, Moss (whose looks and manner are reminiscent of Bradford Dillman) and McAndrew (an attractive lady who also appeared in Russ Meyers' "The Seven Minutes") are okay; they actually were married in real life as well. Michael Pataki delivers a standout performance as a persistent cop who's also a lecherous creep. Veteran actor Arthur Space does a nice job as a drunken, philosophizing hobo, in another of the movies' better scenes.
The main problem is making the effort to care very much about the characters or this tragic story as it plays out. Cult horror aficionados may want to give this one a try, and it's watchable enough, at least for this viewer. It just isn't as much fun as it could & should have been.
Five out of 10.
"Take Me to Someplece I Dream of" OR "Batman Meets McCloud"
BaronBl00d26 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Yes indeedy folks, The Bat People is one bad film and has rightfully earned its reputation though I have seen far worse and many not nearly as watchable as this film. Some bad films are so hard to sit through. I didn't have that much problem with this - probably because the film's problems, the acting, and the general ineptitude from editing to special effects had me laughing. A doctor and his wife are out researching bats I think(though that really is never very clear) when they go to a cave rather than the location of their second honeymoon and the guy is bitten by a bat after chasing his wife down a hole in the cave. She kicks the bat away and this doctor makes no attempt to get it though he knows he will need some kind of rabies treatment. Next, we see the doctor and his wife skiing(where you can have such an expansive desert and snow-capped mountains for skiing without traveling by plane alludes me at the moment). His wife and he are in a jacuzzi when he begins going through some fit and hurts his hand I think. She convinces him to go to a doctor and eventually he gets the rabies treatment. That is when all hell breaks loose for that was no ordinary bat(though it certainly appeared to be) that bit him but one rather whose bite slowly turns him into a bat man(not the superhero but rather a man with a hairy rubber hand, a bit of blood round his eyes in close-ups, and, in the climatic scene, a pathetic mask. Any similarities between a bat and the mask and make-up in general is purely coincidental. Well, this guy in an obvious fake hand and bloody-eyed close-up soon starts to "terrorize" and "menace" the night nurses, the trailer park, the motel, and let's not forget the home of some drunken man with a broken hand(for a touching scene where the doctor - not in bat mode- talks philosophy with the drunk and mends his hand prior to killing him off stage. Whilst all this is going on, a local sheriff looking like poor man;s McCloud with jacket, hat and all is hot on the trial of bat droppings and making moves on the missing doctor's wife in one truly bizarre scene. McCloud meets Bat Man in cave showdown that is anti-climatic and then returns with the wife to the cave by himself for some inexplicable reason and is torn to pieces by an army of flying bats in the darkness until he takes his shotgun to his head and ends his misery. The wife walks off into the darkness to find her husband where they can be bat man and bat girl together in the caves(I forgot to mention that previously hubby came back to the hotel and made love with his wife thus turning her into a bat creature herself(?)). Credits roll and one of the most ludicrous song titles echos against the dark background of Cathy walking to her husband. Wow! That storyline is pretty tiresome and surprises me that anyone thought it could fill a movie. Add to that the legion problems with continuity, the incredibly poor special effects, and the abysmal acting and you have the essence of this bat guano. The acting, well, I don't know if anyone is remotely good. The guy playing Bat Man is Stewart Moss - the real life husband of his screen wife Marianne McAndrew. He gives an obviously frenetic and thoroughly unbelievable performance. His wife is a classic beauty and lovely to look at - certainly for nothing else though she is the most competent thespian involved(for what that is worth). And let's not forget Michael Pataki, a journeyman character actor who recently left us in April of 2010 as mini-McCloud or McCloud Lite if you like. He is awful from beginning to end. Nobody in the film makes you care about them or anything. So lets recap: Bad movie on all levels but has moments not meant to be funny but are funny like when one laughs at someone accidentally falling down the stairs.
Better Than I Guessed It Would Be - Pretty Cool Film
Rainey-Dawn9 May 2016
While this may not be the greatest B-film out there - it's certainly better than I guessed it would be. I found this one interesting, it's a pretty cool film.
This really is your classic werewolf story - kinda like The Wolf Man but replacing wolves with bats. This becomes the story of The Bat Man. It's sorta Wolf Man meets Dracula merged together in one film in a roundabout way. So this film intrigued me.
Naturally our character, Dr. John Beck, is told it's "all in his head" - he's not really or literally transforming. And there is a police sergeant (Sgt. Ward) that is suspicious of him for flat out murderer - medication or not he's a murderer. And our Bat Man goes on the run. There is a nice story to between Bat Man (Dr. Beck) and his wife Cathy.
If you like the Wolf Man type of films and Dracula/Bats then give this film a chance. It's a B-film but a pretty good story. BTW I think this film is underrated.
8/10
This really is your classic werewolf story - kinda like The Wolf Man but replacing wolves with bats. This becomes the story of The Bat Man. It's sorta Wolf Man meets Dracula merged together in one film in a roundabout way. So this film intrigued me.
Naturally our character, Dr. John Beck, is told it's "all in his head" - he's not really or literally transforming. And there is a police sergeant (Sgt. Ward) that is suspicious of him for flat out murderer - medication or not he's a murderer. And our Bat Man goes on the run. There is a nice story to between Bat Man (Dr. Beck) and his wife Cathy.
If you like the Wolf Man type of films and Dracula/Bats then give this film a chance. It's a B-film but a pretty good story. BTW I think this film is underrated.
8/10
I actually thought it was OK.
poolandrews5 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The Bat People starts as a scientist researching Bat immunology Dr. John Beck (Stewart Moss) & his wife Cathy (Marianne McAndrew) take a public tour of an underground cave system, like a typical woman Cathy gets into trouble & ends up at the bottom of a crevice. John follows her down & he is bitten by a Bat, eventually they are missed & rescued. Better safe than sorry John checks in with Dr. Kipling (Paul Carr) who starts him on a course of rabies antibiotics, unfortunately John as changed & periodically transforms into a half-man half-bat type creature which has the antisocial habit of murdering anyone it meets & eating rats. Sergeant Ward (Michael Pataki) likes a quiet life & all these murders are upsetting him, he sets about tracking John down & putting an end to his murderous reign...
Directed by Jerry Jameson & despite it's bad reputation I rather liked The Bat People, it certainly isn't any sort of masterpiece but as monster on the loose type thing I though it was watchable if nothing else. The script by producer Lou Shaw is hard to defend, if I'm honest its a bit slow, it can get dull at times, it's silly & never explains why John turns into the Bat creature he does & when all said & done not that much happens. But I still like it, for all it's bad points I liked it. I found the story quite cool & reminded of those monster films from the 50's & 60's, everything is played with deadly seriousness which I also thought gave the proceedings a certain silliness & there were a couple of effective scenes in here. The Bat People is one of those films I can't recommend as if I think about it with my head it's total crap but there's something in my heart which made me enjoy it, I'm sure monster film fans would like it to some extent although more casual viewers may want to skip it.
Director Jameson does OK & I just love the 70's atmosphere, the clothes the fashions & the way it's shot. I thought the scene when John escapes from the hospital was funny, if your trying to escape from somewhere maybe stealing an ambulance with screeching sirens & flashing lights while dressed in a night gown isn't the best idea for not attracting attention. This was Stan Winston's second film as a make-up artist & he probably did the best he could on a low budget but if John turns into a Bat creature where are his wings? He looks more like a Werewolf to be honest. The murders are tame, there's no blood & the film doesn't linger on them.
Technically the film is alright, it certainly looks better than a lot of low budget horror films that have been made within the last few years, the special effects are decent & the New Mexican location shooting adds a lot to the film. The acting is alright with Pataki as the sleazy police officer standing out.
The Bat People is crap if I'm completely honest, having said that I liked it despite it's faults however I think many won't. Impossible for me to recommend but at least I've put a different & honest point of view across compared to most people who slate it.
Directed by Jerry Jameson & despite it's bad reputation I rather liked The Bat People, it certainly isn't any sort of masterpiece but as monster on the loose type thing I though it was watchable if nothing else. The script by producer Lou Shaw is hard to defend, if I'm honest its a bit slow, it can get dull at times, it's silly & never explains why John turns into the Bat creature he does & when all said & done not that much happens. But I still like it, for all it's bad points I liked it. I found the story quite cool & reminded of those monster films from the 50's & 60's, everything is played with deadly seriousness which I also thought gave the proceedings a certain silliness & there were a couple of effective scenes in here. The Bat People is one of those films I can't recommend as if I think about it with my head it's total crap but there's something in my heart which made me enjoy it, I'm sure monster film fans would like it to some extent although more casual viewers may want to skip it.
Director Jameson does OK & I just love the 70's atmosphere, the clothes the fashions & the way it's shot. I thought the scene when John escapes from the hospital was funny, if your trying to escape from somewhere maybe stealing an ambulance with screeching sirens & flashing lights while dressed in a night gown isn't the best idea for not attracting attention. This was Stan Winston's second film as a make-up artist & he probably did the best he could on a low budget but if John turns into a Bat creature where are his wings? He looks more like a Werewolf to be honest. The murders are tame, there's no blood & the film doesn't linger on them.
Technically the film is alright, it certainly looks better than a lot of low budget horror films that have been made within the last few years, the special effects are decent & the New Mexican location shooting adds a lot to the film. The acting is alright with Pataki as the sleazy police officer standing out.
The Bat People is crap if I'm completely honest, having said that I liked it despite it's faults however I think many won't. Impossible for me to recommend but at least I've put a different & honest point of view across compared to most people who slate it.
Beware the bat ape
Chase_Witherspoon30 April 2011
Real life husband and wife team (Moss & McAndrew) are enjoying a delayed honeymoon on the ski slopes, when Dr Beck (Moss) is bitten by a rabid bat during a cave tour, transforming him into a murderous bat freak. Sleazy local sheriff (played by the reliable and underrated Pataki) suspects Dr Beck might be involved, but his efforts to catch him in the act are constantly thwarted. The metamorphosis scenes are pretty lacklustre to say the least; each time Moss' eyes roll back into his head, the grainy stock footage of bats appears amid psychedelic hallucinations, while he goes into convulsions on the floor.
The doctor's lovely wife becomes completely deranged, impregnated with the bat freak chromosome after an intimate, 70's loop-style embrace. A spine-tingling score belies the tepid chills felt throughout the film, which struggles to build suspense and often seems like it's run out of road. Moss' conviction is admirable, but ultimately misguided, such is the over-the-top intensity with which he executes his characterization. McAndrew is a dark, brooding beauty, but with precious little to do except look neglected or supportive dependent on Moss' mood, and former 20th Century Fox studio player Paul Carr is also on hand to offer medical support.
If perchance you're wondering what would a bat manimal look like, it's not dissimilar to one of John Chambers' primate creations from the Apes movies. Evidently, make-up man Stanley Winston was inspired by Chamber's creations, despite the fact these are bats, not apes. But that's a trivial detail.
The doctor's lovely wife becomes completely deranged, impregnated with the bat freak chromosome after an intimate, 70's loop-style embrace. A spine-tingling score belies the tepid chills felt throughout the film, which struggles to build suspense and often seems like it's run out of road. Moss' conviction is admirable, but ultimately misguided, such is the over-the-top intensity with which he executes his characterization. McAndrew is a dark, brooding beauty, but with precious little to do except look neglected or supportive dependent on Moss' mood, and former 20th Century Fox studio player Paul Carr is also on hand to offer medical support.
If perchance you're wondering what would a bat manimal look like, it's not dissimilar to one of John Chambers' primate creations from the Apes movies. Evidently, make-up man Stanley Winston was inspired by Chamber's creations, despite the fact these are bats, not apes. But that's a trivial detail.
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