The Battery (2012)



The Battery (2012)
directed by:  Jeremy Gardner
starring:  Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim, Niels Bolle, Alana O'Brien, Larry Fessenden
format:  NTSC:  Region 1 Blu-Ray
tagline:  In a world ravaged by the undead Ben and Mickey must learn to survive...each other.

(out of 5)



The Movie:  Yeah another zombie movie!  Damn right.  As long as they are good I don't care how many they make.  The Battery was said to bring something new to the zombie genre.  Maybe this was a trick to bring in the haters or maybe I've just seen a lot of zombie movies either way this was nothing new to me.  Hardly any zombies and more human condition is possibly what these articles or reviews meant that I read but I just think of Dead Weight and others like that.  The Battery is kind of a hipsters zombie movie and that's a fun way to think of it.  Dragged a little bit in the end but this was a thumbs up movie for me.  The shots in this movie alone are worth the watch.  We have a nice abandoned factory shot, a waterfall, the picture below of the two men lying in a circular rock formation it's just very well photographed by Christian Stella.



The Script:  Ben (Jeremy Garnder)and Mickey (Adam Cronheim) are out in the world which is overrun with zombies.  They barely know each other but played baseball together as pitcher and catcher.  The entire film is them fighting, talking, interacting in a variety of situations including Ben forcing Mickey to kill his first zombie.  I found nothing unbelievable or hokey in the dialogue and very much enjoyed both characters even though I did find Mickey's weakness to be annoying given their situation.  But then the film would not have the dynamic between the two opposite characters it had.

The Gore:  In comparison to a lot of zombie films there really wasn't much but this was not the balls out gut munching fest and that didn't make it bad.  At least not for me.  Gore is HUGE with me I'm definitely a gorehound but it isn't necessary all the time.  Would I have liked to see a good gut-munching scene in this?  For sure but I'm fine with the way it was.

The Acting:  Loved both Jeremy Gardner and Adam Cronheim.  Their relationship in the film was very natural as was their acting overall.  Acting can really make or break a film and this one was really made by it considering their camera time.  A side note Larry Fessenden makes a cameo appearance which is always nice.

The Rating:  Four Bloody Handprints mostly because of the dragging end and after you see the film I'm pretty sure you'll agree.  I love slow paced dramas and all but sometimes you just have to pick it up somehow.  Kind of lost me there.  Overall great movie and I'll be rewatching for sure.