"Like a Bat Outta Hell" - Review

With a title clearly inspired by a Meat Loaf song comes Aussie horror/thriller “Like a Bat Out of Hell”, which has been released to VOD outlets in the US, and the film makers kindly sent me a review copy to cast my critical eye over.

A group of amateur film makers are hired by a mysterious Russian businessman to capture on film evidence of the much fabled giant cripted bats, which supposedly lurk in the Australian outback.

Unfortunately, their trip into the bush goes awry as they soon get lost, their Jeep runs out of fuel and they find themselves taking shelter in a remote church located quite literally in the middle of “Nowhere” (Nowhere being the actual name of the area).

But as night falls, it seems they won’t have to look for evidence of these giant bats, as the bats are coming for them and unlike fruitbats, they’re not vegetarian….

Supposedly based on a true story about these giant bats with an 11 foot wingspan that are supposed to inhabit the remotest regions of Australia and Indonesia, the film could best be described as Jeepers Creepers meets Wolf Creek. As the plucky teens find themselves being stalked by something big and decidedly nasty in the Australian outback.

Written and directed by Danial Donai, who’s previously worked in the film industry as a stuntman. Whilst he has done remarkably well on what was obviously a low budget, the story was a bit on the slow side, taking at least 45 mins before it really got going in my view. 

The film benefits from a cast of regular working actors, which includes American actor Marco Dapper (TVs Young and the Restless), Rachael Murphy (Exit 13) and Vernon Wells (Mad Max 2, Commando), who is arguably the best thing about the film, playing a creepy old farmer, but it’s somewhat let down by the giant CGI bats which look kind of cartoonish.

The film also ends on a cliffhanger, indicating there may be more to come. Though unless you like low budget horrors this might not be your cup of tea, however cult movie fans will probably want to check this out just for Vernon Wells eclectic performance.

Anyway, the film is out now in the US on VOD (sadly, the Meat Loaf song does NOT feature in the film, guess the budget wouldn’t stretch to cover the royalties).

Watch the trailer on YouTube

View the film on Amazon.com