I wondered how I had missed an effort by the usually brilliant Ti West for over a decade, especially since the intro, so humorously filled with spooky old Hollywood themes (including a tombstone in a 19th century graveyard that without a trace of subtlety says YOU lol) seemed like a promising horror comedy... It has all the tropes, including a distinct modernized Night of the Living Dead feel, which will appeal to those of us who have seen too many horror films, and a truly eerie soundtrack which reminded me of NASA Sounds of the Planets on YouTube. ..but for all of this somehow the film drags and you just don't care about any of the bitchy, whiny 20- something main characters at all. Fun background flick for Halloween season or a one time necessary viewing for die hard horror fans, but as a stand-alone film it seriously falls flat. Everything else I've seen of his is so good I wonder if this was his college film class project.

Creature Feature? Check Vampire bats? Check Zombies? Check Full moon? Check Halloween night? CheckThis movie has reached campy awesomeness. It is sort of like "The Birds" meets "Night of the Living Dead" while narrated in a black and white "Creature Feature" style. This film does an amazing job of paying homage to classic horror themes. While I find it odd that that vampire bats turn people into zombies rather than vampires...I strangely loved this film. The acting is better than most acting I find in student films. The director created amazing tension. This film does not have a complex plot that will make you want to watch it time and again, it was very entertaining and fulfilling for those of who love the classic horror genre. I also enjoyed the campy fun and chuckled several times throughout the film as I recognized those tell-tale themes that this film tipped its hat to. I felt as if I was watching a version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, but with bats instead of birds.

Strange Title for my review. Strange movie. Four kids (with only one cell phone between them) break down in spooky rural area. Infected bats are about, one bite makes you a flesh eating zombie. Okay. The premise has all the earmarks of being a slow to boil thrilling tale but like it's music, it's all screechy violin noises and no substance. The young people had no individual character traits, most of the dialogue seemed poorly improvised and though Director Ti West has several 'swelling' moments ultimately they lead nowhere. Again we have character who behave as though they've never seen a horror film. Now let's get to the "Wait --What" moment. The film begins in a cheap 1950's studio where we are introduced to a Dr. Demento-type TV host of horror films. Tonight's movie is the Roost. Those sections are in black and white and suffer, purposely however, through tacky sets, props and that hokey dialog we have come to know from the Creature Features of our youth. It was completely incongruous and unnecessary to the plot of the four kids of the story. The styles didn't even match, the chemistry was wrong and pulled the viewer away from the intended tale. I cannot believe the film maker started out this project with that in the original script. It seems tacked on. I kept it on because I was doing things around the house having given up after the first 30 minutes (during which time little happens. Not much happens at all. I do think director/writer Ti West is talented and will be looking down the road for his next film.

Okay little creeper using the "more is less" approach with quite a wacky premise..four young adults, on their way to a wedding taking a scenic route, meet a dangerous detour when they come across deadly bats(who have formed a colony within the barn of a nearby isolated farmhouse)which turn those they bite into zombies! Character actor Tom Noonan serves as a type of creature feature host for this flick, even interrupting at one point when he found the whimpering(..at the seemingly hopeless situation they face)of brother Elliot(Wil Horneff)and sister Allison(Vanessa Horneff, whose lip sticks out in a pout for most of the duration, as she complains, gripes, moans & groans about this and that..)grotesque. The first victims to encounter an unfortunate demise at the teeth of the bats were the elderly couple who live in the farmhouse and a policeman the group need assistance from in order to reach their car which was wrecked when a bat crashed into their windshield leaving the vehicle's axle locked on a big rock.The film is shot, on digital, entirely in the night which probably makes the bats more effective. I think those killer bats were mostly CGI, but the director has them flapping past the screen and at victims at such a frenzied state, one can barely tell. When you get a good look at the bats on top of a roof window, they aren't as effective..but as a collective swarming around their prey, I think the CGI isn't a detriment. The film really follows the characters as they try to remain out of the path of the bats, but when the zombies pop up out of nowhere that double threat really heightens the suspense. I like the disorienting violin strings as they get under the skin..this is what the director also uses to keep the viewer on edge. Not a bad way to waste about 75 minutes..looks like a little indie horror flick that might be featured within the "8 films to die for.." collection(whether or not that's a compliment or insult depends on the mixed response those film so often receive). The gore, if you're wondering, comes from the zombie flesh ripping and blood spatter.