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Bat/Scared to Death

Bat/Scared to Death

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bad movies that never looked so good!
Review: I'm like a lot of old horror movie buffs that have purchased 2nd rate copies of the rare classics because that's all that was available. And it wasn't the poor duplication process, it was the poor surviving master tapes that gave us an often fuzzy vision. You could call it horrific for the "Devil Bat" until the Roan group took charge. What you will get is a fantasically remastered version of a Bela "must have". I was taken aback by the quality of the newly mastered version on this DVD. Kudos also for the "Scared to Death" remaster that shows Bela in his colored glory. Although it's not in as good a shape as "Devil Bat", it's not bad and considering the lack of attention to early film preservation. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Break out the shaving lotion!
Review: Ok, it may not be the best classic but i still think that it's one of Bela Lugosi's better films. I like this one more than many of his films. This movie stands out as a good low budget film with Bela in great form. If you are a Bela fan, this one has to be in your collection! As for the so called sequel to The Devil Bat being "Devil Bats Daughter" it in my opinion is not very good but this movie The Devil Bat is one worth watching . If you haven't been exposed to Lugosi, then get it and just enjoy!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just a few drops on the neck, where the skin is tender
Review: OK. The plot of Devil Bat doesn't sound that impressive, but Bela Lugosi's performance earns the movie five stars from this reviewer. Lugosi plays Dr. Carruthers, a doctor and scientist beloved by everyone in the village of Heathville; he is the last person anyone suspects when a series of strange murders take place. The first three victims are all sons of the rich and powerful Heath and Morgan families. These two families made their fortunes, it turns out, on one of Dr. Carruthers' formulas, and all the doctor got out of the deal was a measly ten thousand dollars compared to their millions. Ah, yes, we have a motive. Of course, these are no ordinary murders; they seem to have been made by some type of unknown wild animal. It couldn't be a bat, of course, because the killer was definitely a pretty large specimen. Carruthers' plan is hokey but brilliant. He still works for the cosmetics firm, and he has just come up with an experimental new aftershave formula. Naturally, he wants the Heaths and Morgans to try the product out themselves before marketing it-just a few drops spread across the neck, where the skin is always tender. He doesn't bother to tell his victims that bats really, really hate the smell of the formula's secret ingredient, nor does he mention the fact that he has figured out a way to use electrical stimulation to turn a normal bat into a Devil Bat. Everything is going according to plan until a nosy reporter shows up and starts snooping around.

Lugosi is great in this movie. By 1940, he had the whole mad scientist act down to a science, and his secret scowls are enhanced by just the right touch of madness in his eyes. Best of all is the way he tells his victims "Goodbye" in a sinister voice once he has them in the soon-to-be clutches of his Devil Bat. One thing that bothers me about great old horror movies like this is the fact the moviemakers always felt compelled to provide some comic relief in the form of a goofy character-this time around, we have the newspaper photographer "One Shot" McGuire who is more interested in shooting pictures of the Heath's French maid than any silly old bat. The Devil Bat itself isn't very impressive; without the grainy, far from perfect black and white print, I am sure it would look quite ridiculous. It never even moves when Carruthers is handling it, it looks more like a hawk or eagle to me when it is flying, and its swoop attacks on unsuspecting victims make me think of the scene in Naked Gun where Frank Drebbin struggles against a towel thrown in his face. None of that matters, though, because Lugosi is just so much fun to watch.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Bela Lugosi and the Killer After-shave
Review: People in this movie frequently say to kindly Dr. Carruthers (Bela Lugosi), "Good night, Doctor." To which the good doctor sadly replies, "Goodbye." Why he is sad is puzzling. After all, he is the one who is sending everybody out into the night wearing his deadly fragrance invention that lures a huge killer bat. Our furry nocturnal friend just hates the shaving lotion, and attacks anything that carries the scent. Bela is mad at his employers because they are making money out the spray bottle on his lab work in their cosmetics and fragrance business. His resentment has unhinged his mind, and the kindly doctor has become the mad scientist. Bela changes a common bat into an uncommon monster with Frankenstein-like shock treatments.

As Bela Lugosi's poverty row films go, this one is tolerable. The special effects consist of a huge rubber bat that swoops through the air and attacks victims as if it was a "Charlie Brown" type kite with an attitude. The acting, dialogue, casting, etc. are typically low budget. Don't expect great cinematic art, and you will do fine with this chiller-thriller. ;-)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: If you're a Bela fan, you will have to see it!
Review: The Devil Bat is a real poverty row effort from the 1940s, when Bela Lugosi was being offered roles of diminishing quality. That being said, it does have a certain campy charm,as Lugosi trains his electrically enlarged bats to kill at the scent of his special shaving lotion formula! The big bat has to be seen to be believed, and its attack cry is really something. All in all, a fun hour of viewing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lugosi's Best
Review: This movie, Starring Bela Lugosi, is what I consider to be one of his best. You can laugh at the giant rubber bats (which probably inspired the 1950's giant insect genre). Note of Advice: Avoid the cheap video version by Front Row Entertainment version, taped in SLP mode. The plot: Lugosi plays the town doctor, who everybody likes. But in his house, out of the public eye, he is creating giant bats and a shaving cream they are attracted to. He gives the shaving cream to victims for them to sample, and the bats sense it and eliminate the victims. The film can be tedious at times because of the sometimes dark picture, but it's a short flick (70 minutes) and can easily be sat through. Extremely watchable and worth buying, if the price is moderately reasonable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How I ordered 'Devil Bat' but got a 'White Zombie'
Review: What a pleasant suprise I got one Sunday when I put my Bela Lugosi Collection Vol.1 in to watch Devil Bat and it turns out my DVD isn't what I expected. No Devil Bat or Scared to Death. What you get and it is a FAR FAR Superior DVD is 'The Apeman'(Monkey scientist hokum set during WW2, so all the male actors are draft dodgers or something),Bela Lugosi meets the Brooklyn Gorilla(More monkey scientist shenanigans - only watch on a wet Sunday it is of a time that humour forgot) and Halperin Brothers finest nay THE Finest Gothic Fairy Tale EVER "WHITE ZOMBIE". All I can add to the vitriol of comments said about this film is IT IS THAT GOOD...unlike Tod Brownings Dracula for example. Buy it cry a little and tremble with fear at Bela in his finest role. Not bad for a phonetic actor

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: So-so
Review: Yet another of Lugosi's bargain-basement epics, this one suffers from poor scripting and a general lack of ideas. The formula repeats itself as the annoying reporter confronts the mad scientist. There are a few fun moments, but the horribly stale formula plot really doesn't hold up very well. It's OK for the viewer with a little time to kill, but it's no classic.


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