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Bats
Sony / Columbia


3.6

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 5 votes
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Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: R for some graphic, bloody bat attacks

Starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, and Leon

Swarms of genetically altered bats blaze a path of terror through a sleepy Texas town. The only hope to stop the growing tide of devastation is a zoologist who studies bats (Meyer), her assistant (Leon), and the local sheriff (Phillips). (Destination Films)

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	John Logan
DIRECTED BY:	Louis Morneau
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 22, 2000 Video: February 22, 2000 Theatrical: October 22, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	91 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Variety Joe Leydon

Smoothly maneuvering within the limitations of genre conventions, Bats emerges as a vigorously paced and surprisingly satisfying piece of work.

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

Perfect late-summer drive-in fare.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

In its own B-film, let's-make-them-jump-out-of-their-seats way, Bats is quite the hoot.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

A sleek rip-off of "The Birds" that is fast, furious, and watchable, but lacking in the two elements most essential to a silly screamfest like this: scares and laughs.

Entertainment Weekly Doug Brod

The kind of rote schlocker that rarely makes it to big screens anymore.

LA Weekly Ron Stringer

Overlong, hard look at the perils of tampering with Creation.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

A straight-faced throwback to the glory days of mutant wildlife on the rampage.

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

If you are unlucky enough to stray into the presence of Bats, I strongly recommend you follow their wise example. Hang from the ceiling and go to sleep.

New York Daily News Robert Dominguez

Unfortunately, it isn't until the final scene -- a spoof of the horror genre's false-ending cliché -- that Bats really takes wing.

USA Today Staff [Not Credited]

Really just an update of the kind of hapless grade-Z effort that once played the bottom half of a drive-in double bill.

TNT RoughCut Christopher Brandon

Everything in it is old bat.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

So uninvolving it scarcely matters what it looks like.

Film.com Tom Keogh

Pours on some of the most ridiculous dialogue heard in a feature film in a long time.

Film.com John Hartl

So campy...may be good for a few laughs.

Miami Herald Phoebe Flowers

Dumb cliches run amok.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Violent and vapid, but the visual jolts may please horror buffs.

San Francisco Examiner Walter Addiego

A dimwitted, fill-in-the-blanks horror opus that slanders a fine and useful mammal.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

A reassuring little cheeseball of a movie.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Falls apart immediately, then limps on for 45 minutes more.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Not especially scary or funny, this lame comedy-thriller wastes a decent cast in a plodding tale.

The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder

Cause for fright in only one respect: the possibility that it could spawn sequels.

Dallas Observer M. V. Moorhead

A work of hilarious, nearly Ed Wood-worthy ineptitude.

Film.com Robert Horton

An amazing compendium of dumb behavior, bad dialogue, and incoherent direction.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Hopeless rip-off of Hitchcock's "The Birds."

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

All I saw were unimpressive digital effects; artless, quick-cut abstracted gore; and a last-ditch attempt to evoke a visceral response by heaping the climactic scene with bat shit.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It's relentlessly bad in a way that just makes those theatre seats plain uncomfortable.

The average user rating for this movie is 3.6 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

James E. gave it an8:
This movie is a real gem...no I take that back it is a (Lou) Diamond (Phillips)! As always The Diamond brings his "A" game to the role and owns it. He puts on that oversized sherriffs hat and you think WOW did he quit acting and take on a a life of crime fighting. This is a must watch for anybody who wants to see a bunch of bats get handed some Texas justice Diamond style!

Lubko T. gave it a 0:
In the Ukraine, We have Bats 10 times the size of those rats.

Stephanie gave it a 0:
Definitely not scary, which would be forgivable if it was interesting to watch.

Ned D. gave it a 1:
Can I just say that I laughed my ass off at this movie? Not 'with' but 'at'. And, no, that's not a recommendation. Ooh look, rubber bats! Scary scary.

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Bats Sony / Columbia

Bats
Sony / Columbia