Attack of the Bat Monsters

Kelly Green's first feature is a thinly-disguised account of the making of a Roger Corman three-day quicky back in the 50s. Fans of the life and legend of Corman, and of Z-movies in general, will not only have a rollicking time - they'll probably have heard some of the tales that went into the making of this appropriately low-budget answer to Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Those who aren't fans will simply enjoy the ingenuity and wit of this tribute to a style of filmmaking that produced classics like The Day the World Ended and Attack of the Crab Monsters, the REAL quicky about telepathic man-eating giant crabs whose title is lovingly evoked here. Funniest single gag: the one about the B-girls and the duct tape. Funniest running gag: a prior opus, The Snake Woman, produced by the same company, the very mention of which makes everyone in the picture turn white with fear and shame - something really horrible must have happened on that one. If there's any justice in the world, someone will give Greene the money to film a prequel about the making of The Snake Woman so we can find out just what it was. Anyone have 18 bucks?

If you have any affection for 50's monster movies, you'll love ATTACK OF THE BAT MONSTERS. It's a valentine to the low-budget slapped together movies of a bygone era, most especially to the Lord of Low-Budgets, Roger Corman.

A low-budget film crew have realized that they have equipment and a location for a couple of extra days. Why not make another feature? That's exactly how Corman came to direct THE TERROR, in 1963 with Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff. That movie was spontaneously filmed when Corman realized he had some leftover sets and a couple of days to spare after shooting THE RAVEN.

ATTACK OF THE BAT MONSTERS gracefully walks a fine line of celebrating bad movies without, itself, becoming a bad movie. It's not for everyone, but if you like the nasty old drive-in movies of that era, you'll love this one!

If you grew up in the 1950s and/or 1960s and watched the classic sf/horror movies produced during that time period, you will absolutely love this clever, witty and above all, affectionate tribute to those great monster movies of days gone by. A terrific script, great performances and top-notch direction by newcomer Greene, make this one to watch and enjoy over and over again. If you love Roger Corman movies, if the name AIP makes you weak in the knees, if you want to see what low-budget filmmaking was like in the late 1950s, see this movie. Though it's extremely funny in many places, this is not a spoof. Don't come looking for some campy send-up of movies that the MST3000 thinks are objects of ridicule. This film is far smarter than that crowd. This film deserves to be picked up for wide-spread theatrical distribution at best or available on home video. A true genre classic. Don't miss it!

I saw "Attack of the Bat Monsters" at a "Monsterfest" convention (yes, I am that geeky) in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. After having spent the day in the exhibit hall viewing "Wasp Woman" posters, models for sale of the "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "Bucket of Blood" 8x10 glossies, it felt particularly perfect to then watch Kelly Greene's "Bat Monster". It was apparent that Mr. Greene, the director and writer, also had the same love as I of B movies from the 1950's. His film filled in some of the blanks as far as how these films were made. The films' characters and Greene's writing brilliantly portrayed the frenzied writer, director and actors of those films and the quick turnaround time and measly budgets allotted to them. The dialogue between characters is witty and has a rhythm to the patter that is edgy. This makes the switch between the movie and the movie that the main characters are shooting within the movie even funnier - clever dialogue at counterpoint with the forced, stumbling lines that makes part of B movies so damned lovable. Greene did an excellent job on this film and I look forward to seeing his next project.

"Roger Corman, American International Pictures, Paul Blaisdell, Floyd Crosby, Charles B. Griffith, Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Bronson Canyon...."

If any of these mean anything to you, either singly or in association, you'll consider this film miraculous and heaven-sent. Even if you know nothing about them , you'll find this an extremely witty, insightful, and, above all, reverent homage to 1950's independent monster movie making.

Genre aficionados will be in a state of gleeful disbelief at the amount of cinematic lore screenwriter/director Greene has so craftily woven into this nifty story. However, as mentioned earlier, subject knowledge is not a prerequisite for enjoyment.

All aspects of Attack of the Bat Monsters are first-rate. The cinematography is crisp, the editing seamless (also by Greene), and the locations are evocative. The acting is uniformly fine, with standout performances by Michael Dalmon and Bill Wise. Above all, though, it's the great script and astute direction that make this film.

Do yourself a favor and go out and find Attack of the Bat Monsters. Steal it if necessary. I saw it at the Midnight Marquee Classic Filmfest in Alexandria, VA, back in 2000, and the audience went nuts over it. Certainly the best film I've ever seen about independent film making, and the first to pay tribute to Bronson Canyon (near the Hollywood sign and Griffith Park), the site of literally hundreds of productions since the silent era. And the ultimate irony is that this brilliant tribute to filmmaking on Hollywood's fringe was not even shot in California---it was shot in Texas.