Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, Bob Gunton, León, Carlos Jacott, David McConnell, Marcia Dangerfield
Director: Louis Morneau
U.S. Distribution: Destination Films
U.S. Release Date: 10/22/99
Running Time: 1:31
MPAA Rating: R
If I was given a strike for every bad Louis Morneau film I have watched (start to finish, no less), I would be heading back to the dugout with my bat (pun intended). I had hoped Bats - the movie - would be a little better than (Morneau's) Quake and Carnosaur 2 (okay, I snoozed through both of them). His latest effort is only slightly better than previous efforts, but so much for being the "Top Turkey".
It seems that the government has been working on a project involving "special" bats from Indonesia. When a scientist (Bob Gunton) injects them with a virus and unleashes these "flying foxes" into the wild, it is up to a west Texas sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) and a wildlife zoologist / bat specialist (Dina Meyer) to seek out and stop the growing brood from expanding its killing grounds. As is usually the case in movies of this sort, the military is ordered to move in and blow the whole area to bits. So naturally, the civilians must step up their efforts to prevent the government from creating an even bigger mess.
The Bats themselves are fierce and omnivorous - devouring everything (I had to look it up!) - but are rarely scary. Worst of all, I think, is the sight of Gunton pulling a William Shatner in the mad doctor role. Trust me, he was much better as the evil warden in The Shawshank Redemption than he is here at Camp Cheese.
© 2000, Delton Perrodin