The Bat People (1974) is the movie for this Sunday’s “monsterdon” watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!
- Just start watching that movie this Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 1am Monday UTC
- and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
- I usually open two web browser windows on a computer side-by-side. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.
How to watch the movie:
- tubi (US, England, Canada, Australia, NZ?): https://tubitv.com/movies/100011938/the-bat-people
- youtube with optional English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UxtR_fvMng
- uBlock Origin adblocker should work for those tubi and youtube links, at least on Firefox
- someone plans to stream it on https://miru.miyaku.media/ at that time
- if you want to pay and/or watch ads, look here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-bat-people
… the film tells the story of a doctor, who after being bitten by a bat in a cave, undergoes an accelerating transformation into a man-bat creature.
The Bat People is also known by two alternative titles: It Lives By Night and It’s Alive.[1] The film was lampooned in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.[2]
…
The Bat People was widely panned by critics.
Dave Sindelar, on his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings gave the film a negative review, calling it “forgettable”. In his review of the film, Sindelar criticized the film’s “leisurely pace”, overuse of close-ups, and conclusion.[6]
VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever awarded the film one out of four bones, calling it “[a] Less-than-gripping horror flick”.[7]
TV Guide awarded the film two out of five stars, commending the films special effects but criticizing the film’s script and “mediocre” acting.[8]
The Terror Trap gave the film 2/4 stars, writing, “this 1974 drive-in horror boasts some beautiful snowy vistas and picturesque desert landscapes. But that’s not enough to save it from being overly sleepy, and poorly paced.”