Overview
Bats is a 1999 American horror film 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. The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus calls it "neither scary nor creepy".
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.
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