The Battery: A Modern Masterpiece

The Plot:

Stranded in the outskirts of Connecticut during a zombie apocalypse, Baseball catcher and pitcher Ben and Mickey, respectfully, are just two guys trying to make it to the next day in a world not guaranteed. As the two move from place to place, surviving on whatever they find, they soon find zombies are the least of their problems. When Mickey gets obsessed with a strange voice on a random air-wave everything changes. Mickey’s obsession doesn’t sit well with Ben. Surviving the apocalypse is easy. Surviving each other is the real problem.

The Review:

I first heard about this frugally made zombie film on the Killer POV podcast. A few Scream Factory bigwigs were the guests and were discussing their upcoming slate. The Battery was the one new film in a slew of old catalog re-releases. I love Scream Factory, but it’s not a label that’s into releasing new films on home video for the first time. The two, along with the three hosts, praised The Battery. On top of that, I started hearing strong buzz about the film from a lot of horror outlets I trust. So it was settled; I would blind buy this flick and take a chance. That moment may have changed my life. So let’s head to that great state Connecticut, high five that SOB Vince McMahon, and break it down as I review Jeremy Gardner’s 2012 indie epic The Battery.

The Direction:

Writer/Director Jeremy Gardner directs The Battery with poise, passion and discipline. Made for a mere six thousand in Connecticut, and in only fifteen days, The Battery is by far one of the best made films I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. Gardner’s direction is a major part of the film’s overall success.

A major reason part of that success is his insistence on the long take. I call it The School of Carpenter-legendary Filmmaker John Carpenter often used long takes to tell his narratives-Director Gardner seems to have been an A student. The Battery is filled with long takes that add to the films sense of loss and endless openness. From the beginning shot we get the long takes and it’s quite beautiful. The long take isn’t the only reason the film is well directed though.

Let’s go get more of your dead girlfriend’s stuff-Ben

The Battery is also beautifully assembled. There are these amazing montages in the film, with equally amazing music accompanying them, which will blow you away. A lot of these montages are showcasing non-human nature, how beautiful it is, and how effortlessly it has continued in the face of humanity’s extinction. It’s a great irony to the nature of the humans and the zombie apocalypse that has changed it. I was moved more than a few times during the film due to the way it was edited.

The ending is also quite powerful. I won’t go into detail, but there are some directing choices that Gardner made that makes the ending extraordinary. The documentary on the blu goes into the choices he made, apposing his DP and editors, and he most certainly made the right decision.

The Acting:

With only a handful of speaking roles in the film, The Battery showcases some pretty great acting. About ninety percent of the film is our two leads surviving the zombie apocalypse alone so I’ll stick to them. The supporting cast is strong, but the appearances are quite brief.

First is Ben, played masterfully by Writer/Director Jeremy Gardner. This guy has serious talent and scene after scene proves that his chops aren’t a fluke. Not only is the guy extremely funny, effortlessly smashing each line like Gallagher with Sledge-O-Matic in hand, but there’s also a lot of heart to his portrayal of Ben. However subtle it may be. Ben seems like a guy that could have once been a little more lenient as a person, but has now been emotionally scabbed over due to the zombies that took his loved ones and now inhabit the earth. Ben knows that the life he used to live is over, long gone, and a moment of hesitation could result in not beating them but joining them. He must kill every one of the undead, and Ben does it with glee.

One scene that stands out is one where Ben’s trying to get Mickey to kill his first zombie. Gardner is excellent here. Mickey is the weaker link and Ben wants to get him comfortable “killing” the undead so he can feel safer in a world over run by zombies. Without giving too much away, the scene is awesome and really shows how good Writer/Director Jeremy Gardner is at performing. The end of the film is also strong because of Gardner’s performing.

Second is Mickey, played by former baseball player turned actor Adam Cronheim. Cronheim’s Mickey is a perfect polar opposite of Gardner’s Ben. He’s an idealist and an overall weak individual. Mickey longs for the embrace of his girlfriend. Mickey wants to play his headphones at full blast in a world full of the smooth sounds of the hungry undead band. Mickey misses staying in a house that could at any moment fill up with the very same hungry undead still broke looking for that human dollar menu. You know, the cheap eats. Without Ben’s strength and bravery, Mickey would have been eaten by breakfast; Mickey spends a lot of time crying over split zombie milk.

Ironically, Cronheim is much better at the heavy emotional scenes than he is making ideal chatter believable. Some of the scenes where the two are just shooting the breeze come off as slightly awkward and forced because of Cronheim, but the real serious scenes he knocks out of the park. While Cronheim is absolutely the weaker actor of the two, these aspects he excels at by far. The same scene I mentioned for Gardner, the one where Ben is forcing Mickey to make his first “kill”, is a great one for Cronheim and really shows what skill he has.

The Script:

Jeremy Gardner’s script is a breath of fresh air for not only the zombie genre, but the horror genre as a whole. It’s sharp, eye opening and leans on character much like zombie master George A. Romero’s many dead tales. It fact, The Battery is almost entirely comprised of character moments. The film rarely dabbles in plot churning, something I would normally be opposed to. Luckily, The Battery turned out to be a rare, character driven, masterpiece.

What’s more interesting is the fact that a lot of the film was improv. According to the stellar doc on the Scream Factor blu-ray,Tools of Ignorance: The Making of ‘The Battery’, a lot of what made it on screen was made up on the spot. I’m still calling the film written due to the fact that the writer was making up a lot of the material while performing. Call it organic writing on the spot.

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On top of all that, the script is full of wit and ideas. Gardner has a unique way of looking at things, he certainly has a unique voice, and that same voice is heard throughout the script. Some of the stuff Ben says is not only hilarious, but also extremely poignant. His input is simply realistic observations brought on by analyzing past situations and coming to grounded conclusions. Most of the time it’s in response to something Mickey has said. As for ideas, the film is about the little things in life that can never be lost. The little things that make us uniquely human. The little things that make us, no matter how much we mimic the animals, extremely different. There are these little moments that will make you reflect and possible smile at your own existence. The little things are really all we have.

The Verdict:

The Battery is that rare film that will leave you speechless. It’s a beautifully crafted piece of art that deserves to set along many of the genre’s most classic entries. The film is without a doubt an achievement. Pick up the Scream Factory disc today and get ready for something different.

Grade: A+

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