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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Vampire Bat remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s gothic cheese. If you’re the kind of person who needs perfect pacing or modern scares, you’re gonna be bored stiff. But for the rest of us who enjoy a bit of fog and dramatic shadows? Yeah, it’s a fun way to kill an hour.
Lionel Atwill is in this, which pretty much guarantees he’s going to be the most interesting person on screen. He plays the scientist with that weird, twitchy energy he always had. You can tell he’s having a blast being the smartest (and creepiest) guy in the room.
The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a basement, in the best way possible. There are bats everywhere. Like, everywhere. They dangle from strings that you can totally see if you squint. I don't know why, but that made me like the movie more. It’s got that low-budget charm where nobody cared if the wires were visible.
Fay Wray is in it, too. She spends a lot of time looking worried and pointing at things. It’s not her most challenging role, but hey, she’s iconic for a reason. She brings a certain class to the chaos.
It’s kind of funny comparing this to something like Kiki, where everything feels so much lighter. Here, they really want you to be afraid of the dark. The movie gets noticeably better once it stops trying to be a serious mystery and just embraces the campy horror of it all.
Sometimes the dialogue is a bit clunky. It feels like the actors are waiting for their cue to say something dramatic rather than actually talking to each other. But does it matter? Not really. You’re not here for a deep screenplay.
The pacing drags a bit in the middle, around the time they start interviewing the local townsfolk for the fifth time. I almost grabbed my phone to check my emails, but then something weird happened with a jar of chemicals, so I stayed. 🧪
If you've seen enough of these, you know exactly where it's going. It’s not winning any awards for originality. But there’s something comforting about these old black-and-white mysteries. It’s like eating a bowl of popcorn that’s slightly stale but you eat it anyway.
Overall, it’s a weird little gem. Not a masterpiece, but definitely worth a look if you want to see how they did horror back when it was all shadows and rubber bats. Just don't think too hard about the plot, and you’ll be fine. 🦇
IMDb —
1916
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