What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Sunday, October 5, 2025

The Devil Bat - 1940

Next up in our horror movie list was The Devil Bat. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't find a review for it. When I was watching it, parts of it seemed familiar, but then again, other parts seemed fresh. I honestly couldn't tell you if I'd seen this before, or it's just following the formula so closely that it reminds me of other movies of the era! 

Bela Luhosi stars in this one. He's a mad scientist who has been making creams and such for a beauty company for years. He sold out early, so now he's jealous of the wealth the family has made off his hard work. His solution? Zap some bats and make them attracted to aftershave. Then, give it to various members of the family who has wronged him and watch them die!

This movie was hilarious. The bats were zapped, I suppose, but all the "fireworks" were happening on the side of the room, so we weren't sure how hanging a bat in the middle of the room made it grow. Also, Bela had more than one secret passage, and that would be well and good, but when someone is watching you, they just have to watch you go through both doors since the first one basically led to the second. And can we talk about the noise the bats made? I don't think it was a real mammal noise (they kept pointing out that bats were mammals). It sounded more like a woman shrieking. 

I am so proud of myself. I recognized a couple of the actors. I can't remember what happened yesterday, but I recognized Dave O'Brien from Captain Midnight. I also spotted John Davidson and correctly connected him to the Adventures of Captain Marvel (Shazam). Looking into it, Davidson was also in Muffin Top Captain America, but I'm still impressed I remembered the connections!

If you love old movies with terrible effects, this is right up your alley. At one point, they're using a stuffed bat to create a picture for the newspaper. That thing looked a lot more realistic than anything they used for the Devil Bat. And it was Made in Japan! I'm not explaining that joke. If you want in on it, watch the movie! Bring a friend and some popcorn. Bela is on point with his "I'm the villain" faces, and I think my favorite part was the way the bat was thwarted from getting to Mary. I think Mom liked when the fake bat exploded. Are you intrigued yet?! Good Movie!

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