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Title: Fangs (2002) |
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Review of Fangs
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Comments for Fangs
- Posted on 2007-10-23
The Attack of the Mutant Flittermice
The film begins at a university. Two young women are in a science laboratory where bats are kept for scientific study. Can anything go wrong with blood-sucking bats? The Professor makes a deal with his students. What could happen if the bats escape from their cages? What about the laws about importing foreign species? The background to this story is how a small town changed in a few years with the influx of thousands of families. [A foreign species?] The janitor meets the blood-sucking bats and says goodbye. [Were there similar influxes of new people to small towns in the 19th century? Yes, but it was desirable then.]
The animal control officer shows up at the crime scene. He must investigate the missing bats. The young beautiful homicide investigator doesn't like him. [One of the oldest movie cliches?] There are comic touches to this "horror" film, which is not based on any supernatural happenings. The heavyweight armed guard finds some trespassers at a house under construction. The builder wants to keep bad news out of the newspapers, even if he has to stop his advertising. [Just like in "Jaws".] There is a scene that recalls "The Birds". Poor doggy! The humor is subtle again, it doesn't preach. Can there be a murder without a murder weapon, a witness, a suspect, or a motive? Then it must be a natural and peaceful death, says the Police Chief. There is nothing here that can alarm tourists or home-buyers.
What caused this to happen? [No mention of `global warming' in this film.] There is a scene where a red flare is ignited. Do bats fear lights? Because they would be easy prey for hawks and owls? Will the evil landowner and his crooked sheriff evict an old man from his ancestral farm? [Does this remind you of those old westerns?] A flashing red light attracts the killer bats. Could genetic engineering have produced an undesired side effect? The film shows how politics can affect a police investigation. [Is this only true in films?] The "Apple Blossom Dance" provides a venue for a classic showdown. [Does this remind you of "Buffy"?] That mysterious stranger is outside the auditorium.
Then the bats attack the crowd at the dance. Will pieces of cut up aluminum cans work a miracle? "Chaff" works in this movie, its in the script. The crowd flees in a panic. Somebody is arranging things to cause a bat attack. This is not an accident! [Surprised?] There is a clue to the villain, then a scene shows who it is. What can happen if a banker forecloses on a loan and cheats a man out of his land? Will it lead to murder? The special effects provide a climax to this story. Of course there is a happy ending that is also funny.
This film does not have the horror of the classic films from the 1930s (during the Great Depression). It does have its comic spots, and as a social satire. The story lost its bite because of the need to keep a PG-13 rating. "Love at First Bite" was a funnier film.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2007-10-23
Fangs don't bite
"Fangs" is a borderline movie,attempting to be a horror movie,but trying its hand at comedy at the same time. The mousy detective and the handsome animal control officer (with a ditzy teenaged daughter) try to solve the mystery of killer bats and save the Apple Blossom Festival. Corbin Bernsen stars as a sleazy real estate developer.
"Fangs" has its funny moments. The bats look toothless,and it isn't gory. In trying comedy and horror,it fails (spectacularly) at both.
Score: 2
- Posted on 2007-09-25
Three stars: Fun, but you have to be in the mood
There is a scene in the movie in which a teenager reports that a police officer could not issue a speeding ticket because the teenager had too many aluminum cans on his dashboard, thus rendering the officer's radar ineffective. This news gives the films heroes, officer Ally Parks (Tracy Nelson) and veterinarian John Winslow (Whip Hubley), a brilliant idea. If they cut up lots of aluminum cans, they can use them to jam the bats' radar and save lots of lives.
A purist might wonder what good jamming radar does when bats rely on sonar, and if you're such a purist, this film is not for you. On the other hand, if implausibilities such as this don't bother you too much, this film has something to offer, in large part because it's not Bats. "Fangs," by contrast, does not seem to take itself too seriously, is thoroughly derivative of other films in the heavily-mined animals-run-amok sub-genre (e.g., Slugs, Squirm, and Slither, and those are just the S titles), and has two lead actors who are fun to watch.
The bare-bones outline of "Fangs" is familiar enough. A small town finds itself terrorized by a particularly nasty form of a familiar creature, here bats that have been genetically modified. The powers that be, real-estate developer Carl Hart (Corbin Bernsen) and police chief Sam Taylor (Michael Gregory), naturally oppose any sensible effort to rid the town of its problem, so the young duo of Parks and Winslow must go it alone. Not surprisingly, they begin to develop a romantic interest. In short, there's nothing new here.
Still, "Fangs" is fun in its way, especially because the leads Hubley and Nelson are likable and their relationship fun. As long as you're not expecting anything on the order of classic films like Jaws or The Birds, "Fangs" is an enjoyable film to watch while sharing a bowl of popcorn with the family. (And this film is appropriate for the family. I am not certain, but I do not recall any profanity, and there certainly was no nudity. The violence is minimal, consisting almost entirely of people swatting away bats.)
Score: 3 - Posted on 2006-11-22
OUTSTANDING HORROR/COMEDY MOVIE
If you like horror movies that are not so scary or violent and have more comedy, this movie is definitely a must have. Here we have a a heard of genetically mutanted bats that escape from a university lab in SCOTTSVILLE, CALIFORNIA and fly on a blood thirsty rampage. Out to stop the bats are TRACY NELSON and the WHIPPIN' HUBLEY who get off to an extremely bad start. However, as they investigate the attacks together, they fortunately fall in love and marry. TRACY NELSON who was once a battered and murdered housewife, sister of ISSABELLA HOFMMAN who wanted justice for the death, in "THE PROMISE" is now gracefully resurrected as the fiesty local detective (also moved from LOS ANGELES) who does not tolerate "the contamination of evidence with WHATEVER!!!!!". The WHIPPIN' HUBLEY was once a F14 FIGHTER in TOP GUN with TOM CRUISE and then an elite team member led by STEPHEN SEAGAL in EXECUTIVE DECISION. Now he is the local veteranrian, part-time animal control worker, who does not tolerate being called the town "DOGCATCHER?!?!?!?!?". With extra help from the veteranian's daughter KATIE STUART and her ENGLISH boyfriend LUKAS BEHNKEN who are both documentering the attacks, can they stop these attacks before it's too late? Watch and find out. And whatever happens, don't light "A FLARE!!!!!"
Score: 5
- Posted on 2005-07-06
Gotta be batty to think it's good.
Fromn the get-go this movie stays boring and stale. This had to be a made for TV movie, i'll wet myself laughing if they claimed this was a motion picture.
A sceintist geniticly altered a bunch of bats and then they escape and attack when there called via remote. The ugly cop and her new dopey love interest & local animal control expert are on the case while his annoying and cant act for s*** daughter and boyfriend think there news reporters who keep follwing them around looking for an exclusive. All in a small and corrupted town.
This is obviosly a TV movie. It plays more like a pathetic soap opera with slight attempts at humor from time to time, while adding killer mutated bats into the mix. It is neither a horror, nor suspence. There is nothing frightining about the film except for the bad acting. It's a no wonder you wont have seen these actors before, nor will you in future. The effects of gore are laying a cows rib bones on the back of an actor and then hanging plastic bats over him then add some badly created CGI shadows to create an effect thats so bad it's not even laughable.
The movie is a waste of time. If you wanna see a Bat movie, then the actual title BATS was a better movie, but, it wasnt great either... but leaves this one for dead.
Rent it if you feel ill and have the need to puke at bad acting.
Score: 1