Horror Movie Review: Like A Bat Outta Hell (2013)

Written and directed by Daniel Donai and originally going under the name ‘Nowhere Else’. Like a Bat Outta Hell sadly doesn’t share any connections with classic Meat Loaf song. Instead it’s a fairly boring and forgettable Australian horror.

Based off a true story. After visiting the town of Nowhere Else, Donai heard a story about a group of documentary makers who were supposedly attacked by a human-sized bat.

Thus Like a Bat Outta Hell was born.

Four young film-makers are hired to make a surfing documentary and told to go to the Great Australian Bite. They head off in a jeep across the Aussie Outback eventually stopping at the tiny town of Nowhere Else, population one.

That one is a grizzled old man who allows the kids to stay the night at his place but warns them about going out at night. Why? Probably something to do with the human-sized bat monster that roams the lands looking for fresh kills.

After a pretty rough night, the group head off but get a sheep dropped on their car damaging it. They manage to find an abandoned church to hold up for the night but the creature is not far behind.

Horror regulars won’t find many surprises here. The plot is simple and straightforward, the scares predictable and lacking punch. The biggest problem with Like a Bat Outta Hell is often the dialogue. Cheesy or forced, neither is delivered convincingly with a cast that range from bad to average.

On a plus, the film is shot competently with some great scenery. It’s described as a found-footage but isn’t shot like one for the most part thankfully. The Australian Outback feels huge and empty reminding me of the likes of Wolf Creek.

The monster is decent and the CGI passable. Mostly kept in the shadows, when it is revealed it at least looks better then most SyFy style monsters. Then there is the gore, which is practical and looks good. The bat likes to remove the faces of its victims leaving a bloody mess behind!

It’s a pity that Like a Bat Outta Hell doesn’t do enough to ever really turn the heat up. It never rises above tepid and never does anything to really leave its mark.

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