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The Devil Bat [Blu-ray]
(Jean Yarbrough, 1940)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) Video: Kino Classics
Disc: Region: 'A' (B, C Unverified) Runtime: 1:08:22.348 Disc Size: 21,052,512,570 bytes Feature Size: 20,124,940,992 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.91 Mbps Chapters: 10 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: September 17th, 2013
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles: None
Extras: • Audio Commentary by Richard Harland Smith (film historian and TCM columnist)• • Image Gallery • White Zombie Trailer
Bitrate:
Description: After brilliant scientist Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) develops an ingenious product for a cosmetics company, he is cheated out of his fair share of the profits by his greedy partners. Hell bent for revenge, he decides to turn his laboratory of science into one of doom as he creates a giant race of bats that turn into ripping and shredding beasts of fury, designed to attack anyone wearing the very product he invented. This classic horror film finally gets the beautiful HD remastering it deserves.
The Film: This campy, entertaining cheapie from PRC Pictures features Bela Lugosi as a chemist who plots an elaborate revenge scheme on his business partners, whom he feels have cheated him out of his share. To this end he develops a mutant breed of vicious, oversized bats and trains several of this breed to home in on a special chemical which he then blends with shaving lotion. Presenting gifts of the lotion to his partners as a peace offering (and browbeating them into splashing it on themselves while in his presence), he subsequently unleashes his monstrous pets to tear them to pieces. Believe it or not, this was one of PRC's more successful horror programmers, spawning a the sequel Devil Bat's Daughter. Excerpt from MRQE located HEREThe Devil Bat was the first horror film made by the Producers Releasing Company, a low-budget indie, rebuilt from the failed Producers Distributing Corporation. And the mark of this lower-echelon Poverty Row studio is all over The Devil Bat. Testament to the film's lowly origins is the appearance of charismatic exploitation film actor Dave O'Brien as the slick reporter Layton. O'Brien's most famous screen performance is undoubtedly as the deranged "hophead" who murders and rapes under the influence of "reefer" in Louis Gasnier's 1936 anti-drug cult film Reefer Madness. The Devil Bat bears other marks of its cut-rate origins in its clearly limited budget for special effects (the resemblance of the Devil Bat to a furry kite propelled through the air is typical), some amateurish performances and - let's face it - a ludicrous storyline, though the original story's author George Bricker took great pains to argue the circumstances could happen. Despite such bargain basement flourishes, The Devil Bat has a sublimely weird ambiance and is unquestionably mesmerizing, due in large part to Lugosi's intensely creepy performance as a man driven to murder by his warped sense of wounded pride. Excerpt from TCM located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Devil Bat surfaces on Blu-ray from Kino. The image quality shows plenty of speckles and it does not appear to have had any restoration beyond the transfer to 1080P. This is only single-layered but compared to the weak public domain DVD or TV versions I've seen - it appears to be the best. It is thick but exports detail with the layered contrast. Outside of the confines of Dr. Paul Carruthers laboratory things tend not top brighten extensively. There are a few visible vertical scratches but for those keen on the film I doubt any of the imperfections will deter appreciation of the hour-8-minute horror. the video does not look a exceptional but it supplies the best visual appearance we are likely to see.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Audio is transferred via a linear PCM 2.0 channel track at 1536 kbps. It has some light hiss inherent in the print and dialogue is as imperfect as you might imagine for a lower tier production of the era. Actually it sounds quite strong (Bela's cackling! and the first screeching sound of the Devil Bat itself) - perhaps sounding superior than the visual image. There are no subtitles.
Extras : Kino include an audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith (and of Video Watchdog Magazine). He covers quite a lot of detail with a lot of his personal affection for the film after his first exposure to it in the early 70s. I like his pace and what he tends to focus on - positives more than flaws. There is also an Image Gallery and a trailer for White Zombie.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze August 31st, 2013
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
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