A mystery novel writer and her assistant in a spooky old house are sort of terrorised by the notorious Bat - guy in a hat and black mask who probably ought to sport a cape as well. Whoever could it be? Bat obsessed bat scientist Vincent Price who has a lab full of bats and keeps a giant stuffed bat on the wall? Or maybe the butler? Something about stolen bank money too.

Old movie, and feels even older than it is. This could be from the 40s. Basically a murder mystery with mild horror overtones. The Bat sneaks around this mansion casting menacing shadows and turning bats loose in there and such. A doctor played by Vincent Price drops by every few minutes to be strongly suspected of bat villainy.

Much is made of how vicious the Bat is, and my god how he tears the whole throats out of his victims, but the couple dead people I saw looked more like they were napping, and the only on screen kill depicts a woman swooning to death after being lightly cuffed. I'm saying you probably won't need a barf bag.

There's not much of what we love Vincent for here, but we do get a heavy dose of the great Agnes Moorhead. It's a shame she's remembered made up like a clown as Endora. First time I saw her in anything else was in that episode of Twilight Zone where she hits it out of the park as the haggard woman terrorised by little space men who land in her house. Forgive me a minute here but I just have to say what an amazing face that woman had. She was gorgeous in her day, yet could also curdle milk with just a look. She's perfectly charming here playing a nice lady but that's not really her best thing.

I'd give this movie a two and a half if I were one of those people who do half ratings. Half a skull looks too wrong. I did enjoy its dark house on a stormy night feel and the classy Ms Moorhead and Vincent Price, but if this movie were one ounce lighter it could be a really old episode of Murder.......She Wrote. The Bat is completely harmless and inoffensive though if you're sick of bad CG and modern young people running around yelling the F word. It's public domain so you'll somehow end up owning it on DVD anyway if you buy those ten cents a movie horror bundles.