select intellectual mind and and important folk deem special for forward the human race once a thermonuclear war be to rage across the globe and find themselves fight for their very live underground in their fancy governmentally ( supposedly ) secure bomb shelter well equip with all the resource they could possibly need a vampire bat and which rest within a cavernous area secret to them and enter and attack when the group be most vulnerable . with a female assign and via tap recording and guide their day to day activity and offer a planned regimen for them to survive on and the group find themselves at odds with raymond couzins and a loudmouth who often stir up bad vibe with his constant talk of conspiracy theory and and drunken insult . yet and perhaps there be some truth to what he say a dr. peter macomber ( bradford dillman ) hold a secret which will only add to the worsen mental state of the group a a whole . realize that they be merely part of an experiment on how a group could function together in an isolated situation and have such a catastrophic event take place and the group hope that a signal have reach washington and for couzins and in a bumbling mishap that damage important electrical equipment result in the death of a member and leave them with few alternative leave . major gordon elli ( richard jaeckel ) come up with a method that could be quite dangerous . someone could climb an elevator shaft 17oo foot which could open a door to the outside provide a chance for contact help . macomber and despite the group hostile feeling towards he and his government which put them in their difficult crisis and come up with an idea on how to kill the bat and through electrocution by suckering them with blood a bait . i must say that this be a pleasant form of entertainment . sure and the special effect be rather inferior to today modern technical improvement and but they do not seem to bother me all that much because i find the cast so much fun to watch and and the premise be quite enjoyable . it essentially mix the always reliable animal attack premise with the theme of nuclear war and how mankind could deal with such a thing . perfectly cap these element with a government conspiracy plot yield terrified character in search of an exit . perfectly 70 carry the sensibility of the time and with a cast of familiar face . i thought dillman have a startlingly good scene where he admit to who he really be and the hoax that have put them all in grave danger . i think dillman realistically display the emotional weight his character be bear in both come clean with his confession while show that he believe that the experiment be for the betterment of mankind . i thoroughly enjoy cooper a the antagonist and and jaeckel be a delight a the sincere army man and burden with keep the underground shelter under operation despite a series of set back that make that nearly impossible . i also love this confrontation between the accuse couzins claim elli be perhaps behind a conspiracy to keep them in the shelter . jaeckel and cooper produce some firework . some performance be overwrought and as often be the case for make for television movie with character actor and but i think the situation stressing and depress those catch between a rock and a hard place and warrant such heightened emotion . i think woody elevator shaft climb be quite suspenseful . it sure have me bite my nail . i do think the story provide some food for thought and and be a perfect time capsule of what be on the mind of the country at that time .