History Film / ItLivesByNight

->''"Squeak."''[[note]]''"Fucking squeak."''[[/note]]
-->-- '''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Tom Servo]]'''

-->- '''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Crow T. Robot]]'''

-->- '''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Tom Servo]]'''

* SomewhereAnEntomologistIsCrying: During the cave scene, Cathy is swarmed by a group of large cave beetles. Johnny tries to reassure her that they're just "mites." Considering that the largest known "mites" are 1/8th of an inch long, Johnny's confusion is hard to credit.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
** Vampire bats [[MisplacedWildlife do not live in the United States]], and needless to say being bitten by one (even one with rabies) would not turn you into a bloodsucking man-bat.
** Johnny inexplicably refers to the large, cave-dwelling beetles which crawl over Cathy's leg as "mites," which tend to be microscopic.

* WorstAid: Johnny's doctor fails to ask if he has any known drug allergies before administering the first dose of the serum.

* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: What kind of doctor ''is'' John, anyway? It's implied at first that he's a bat expert (chiropterologist) and even says that he's visiting the caves for research. But a throwaway line later mentions that he's a doctor of preventive medicine. He's also a skilled enough physician to properly bandage the homeless man's hand.

* NotThatKindOfDoctor: What kind of doctor ''is'' John, anyway? It's implied at first that he's a bat expert (chiropterologist), but a throwaway line later mentions that he's a doctor of preventive medicine. He's also a skilled enough physician to properly bandage the homeless man's hand.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Sgt. Ward, a.k.a. Sheriff Menacing W. Pervert.

%%* CarChase: Man, for a crazy guy Johnny drives like a maniac! Wait...

* ArbitrarySkepticism: It's understandable Dr. Kipling is reluctant to believe Johnny is becoming a half-man, half-bat creature, but it's harder to credit why it takes him so long to believe that he might be a murderer. When Johnny all but confesses to murdering the nurse, the doctor convinces him it was a drug-induced hallucination and suggests that he see a psychiatrist.

* IWantGrandkids: Kathy mentions that her mother is pestering her about when she and John will start having kids. Her answer? Brag about how good he is in bed to her mother.
* {{Jerkass}}: Johnny seemed to be an asshole even before he was bitten, especially to his wife Kathy. Made even more cringe-inducing by the fact that the two actors who played Johnny and Kathy are real-life husband and wife.

* SkewedPriorities: Johnny regards his bat research as more important than spending honeymoon time with Kathy.
* UndyingLoyalty: Kathy is loyal to Johnny regardless of circumstance.
* WhamLine: When Kathy and Ward arrive at the cave at the end, we get this from Kathy...
-->'''Kathy:''' [[FaceHeelTurn Goodbye, Sergeant.]] (''sics a swarm of bats on him'')
* WorstAid: Johnny's doctor forgets to ask if he's allergic to the rabies serum. HilarityEnsues. OTOH, how would anyone know whether they're allergic to the serum if they've never had it before?

* ArbitrarySkepticism: It's understandable Dr. Kipling is reluctant to believe Johnny is becoming a half-man, half-bat creature, but it's harder to credit why it takes him so long to believe that he might be a murderer. When Johnny all but confesses to murdering the nurse, the doctor convinces him it was a drug-induced hallucination and suggests that he sees a psychiatrist.

* BatPeople: Stewart Moss gets bitten by a bat and develops odd symptoms. Everyone around him thinks it might be rabies, but he's actually transforming into a were-bat every night. He was a JerkAss to begin with, but in his bat form he starts actively murdering people -- [[GreyAndGrayMorality and he's still supposed to be the protagonist]].

* CatapultNightmare: Several times. At one point he just darts up and starts screaming.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: John is implied to have had some primal connection with bats (apart from being a bat-ologist) even before he's bitten. He was having disturbing nightmares about them well before the incident where he got bitten (and even before the movie), was able to hear strange sounds that heralded the appearance of bats (sensing their location as well), and caused bats to have uncharacteristic behavior (showing up during the day, becoming aggressive) in his presence.
* MonsterMisogyny: John kills four people, on-screen (not counting Ward, who was killed by a bat swarm). The only one not a young, attractive female was a drunk hobo - who got several lines of dialog before dying.

* WorstAid: Johnny's doctor forgets to ask if he's allergic to rabies vaccine. HilarityEnsues.

* UndyingLoyalty: Kathy is loyalty to Johnny regardless of circumstance.

%%* CorruptCop: Sgt. Ward.

* CarChase: Man, for a crazy guy Johnny drives like a maniac! Wait...

* CorruptCop: Sgt. Ward.