The Bat People (1974)
A chiropterologist slowly transforms after being bitten by a bat.
Genre
Characters/Groups
Cathy Beck - Marianne McAndrew
Boy in Pickup - George Paulsin
Girl in Pickup - Bonnie Van Dyke
Nurse - Laurie Brooks Jefferson
Character thumbnails with links to profiles
Detailed Synopsis
Dr. John Beck has a nightmare where he is attacked by bats. The next day, Dr. Beck and Cathy Beck drive to the desert for a picnic. They see a bat, which repulses Cathy. They go on a tour of a cave being given by a Park Ranger and as Cathy and Dr. Beck sneak away to have sex, Cathy slips and falls. Dr. Beck slides down to help her and hears a bat squeaking nearby. It flies into Cathy's hair and then attacks and bites Dr. Beck. The Park Ranger hears them yelling and saves them, but not before Cathy kicks the dead bat away. They go skiing and Dr. Beck has visions of bats chasing Cathy and attacking her. While they are sitting in the hot tub, Dr. Beck has a seizure and cuts his hand on his glass. He goes to see Dr. Kipling to have his hand bandaged and Dr. Kipling suggests he start getting rabies treatment as soon as he gets home. Cathy gets upset that neither Dr. Beck or Dr. Kipling are taking Dr. Beck's bite serious and they go to the hospital. Nurse gives Dr. Kipling a syringe full of the rabies vaccine and another Nurse looks on as Dr. Kipling injects it into Dr. Beck. Dr. Beck has an allergic reaction to the vaccine and Dr. Kipling decides Dr. Beck has to stay in the hospital for observation. Later Cathy asks Dr. Kipling if Dr. Beck will have reactions to the rest of the shots, but he tells her not to worry. At night Dr. Beck has a nightmare a woman is attacked by bats and her blood drained. Dr. Beck wakes up and notices his hand has transformed into that of a bat. The Nurse who handed Dr. Kipling the syringe is talking on the phone when Dr. Beck walks towards her and when she sees him, she panics and slips onto glass, which breaks and slits her throat and she dies. The next morning, the second Nurse finds Dr. Beck's ring on the ground. He asks her what all the commotion was that morning and she tells him about the other Nurse's death.
Cathy comes to visit Dr. Beck and he asks her to get him a psychiatrist and that he wants to stay in the hospital. He changes his mind and as he is buying Cathy a dress, he has a seizure. Sgt. Ward is standing outside the store when he sees Dr. Beck having the seizure and introduces himself to Dr. Beck. Ward questions Dr. Beck if he heard anything when the Nurse was killed and shows him his patient wristband he found near the dead Nurse. During the night, Dr. Beck sneaks out of his motel room and watches Boy in Pickup-Girl in Pickup, who is the same one from his nightmare, as they smoke a joint. Girl in Pickup asks Boy in Pickup if he is high and tells him she thinks she was sold oregano again. As they are kissing, Boy in Pickup premature ejaculates and leaves. As Girl in Pickup is about to leave, she is attacked by Dr. Beck and killed. Dr. Beck wakes up screaming and Cathy reassures him it was just a dream. Ward goes to their motel room and he questions Dr. Beck about the murder of Girl in Pickup and shows him a bandage that was found near her body. Dr. Beck goes to Dr. Kipling and tells him he thinks the dreams are a reality, but Dr. Kipling thinks he is just having fever dreams. While Cathy is visiting Dr. Beck he has another seizure and while Cathy goes to get help from the nurses, he starts to transform. He escapes from the hospital and steals an ambulance. Sgt. Ward chases after Dr. Beck in his patrol car, but Dr. Beck bumps him off the road. Dr. Beck eventually crashes the ambulance and runs away and hides in an abandoned barn.
Ward questions Cathy abut Dr. Beck's whereabouts the previous nights. Dr. Beck wakes up and meets a Tramp who offers him a drink. The Tramp tells Dr. Beck how he gets drunk and more and more depressed and Dr. Beck realizes Tramp's hand is broken and bandages it up. Dr. Beck has another seizure and transforms and kills the Tramp. He then returns to the cave. Ward sees Cathy out walking at night and invites her into his car. He drops her off at the motel and asks her if Dr. Beck ever hit her. Ward then tries to rape Cathy until she yells at him to leave. While going on a cave tour, a tourist takes a photo which catches Dr. Beck in the background and she is then grabbed by Dr. Beck and killed. He steals a car and then abandons it before heading to the hospital. He is caught by Ms. Jax and lies and tells her, he is a doctor. As he is looking for the rabies vaccine, he has another seizure and drinks from a blood bag. Ms. Jax runs and finds Ward and tells him where Dr. Beck is, but Dr. Beck is already gone. Dr. Beck makes a recording of his last will and testament and describes the transformations he is going through. After Ward plays Cathy the recording, she goes back to the motel and finds Dr. Beck there. He tells her that the caves are his new home and they have sex. While they are having sex, Dr. Beck transforms and Cathy screams. The Motel Owner hears her and runs to her room. He opens the door and asks if she is okay and then tells her if she needs anything he will be in all night. Ward goes to the cave and tracks down Dr. Beck. He starts assaulting Dr. Beck and Dr. Beck transforms and attacks Ward and then runs away. Ward returns to the ranger station and is bandaged by the Park Ranger. As Ward and Cathy are driving back to town, a large group of bats start to follow them. The bats fly into the windshield and Ward accidentally drives off the road and gets stuck. Cathy gets out of the car and lets the bats in and they attack Ward and he shoots himself with his shotgun. Cathy then walks to the cave.