MST3K (1010)

1010 - It Lives by Night - Usually I like these types of a movies. Low-budget horror from the 1970s? A scientist who goes too far versus a redneck sheriff? A werebat? Never seen one of them before… that like a vampire? Sign me up! Meh, the results were not quite as exciting as I might have imagined. One trouble spot was Dr. Werebat's lack of acting chops. His facial expressions during his "rabies" convulsions were so incredibly lame they couldn't even qualify as "unintentionally hilarious." He sort of walked through the film half-expressionless and half in the grip of some nasty constipation. Another downfall was the meandering, go-nowhere plot. There was a half-hearted stab at some Philip K. Dick-style "is it real?" stuff with Mrs. Werebat claiming her husband was having drug-induced hallucinations. That might've been interesting, but it wasn't sold very well at all.

The riffing only managed to elicit weak smiles on my part. This felt like an auto-pilot episode to me. Sure, there were individual lines that might have been funny, but they never got any humor-momentum going. As is typical of late, the host segments aren't worth mentioning (though I do think Mike looks good with a 'stache, even though he already tried that look a couple years ago). Am I running out of energy or are they? Or both?

Little free advertising for local business, eh there guys?

"You know, if I'm ever asked to do a love scene with someone turning into a bat, I'll do it, but only if it's tastefully done." (6/10)

film d. Jerry Jameson (1974)
mst d. Kevin Murphy (18 Jul 1999)