The Battery Review - NP Approved

The Battery (2012)

Cast: Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim, Niels Bolle
Director: Jeremy Gardner
Country: USA
Genre: Drama | Horror
Official Site: Here

Editor’s Notes: The Battery plays across Canada tomorrow in participating Sinister Cinema venues including Cineplex Cinemas Yonge -Dundas Cinemas and SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas. For more information visit www.cineplex.com/Events/SinisterCinema.

The Battery tells the story of Mickey (Adam Cronheim) and Ben (Jeremy Gardner, who also wrote & directed), two baseball players who saw their careers get cut due to something known as the zombie apocalypse. The start of the film already sees the duo doing what they can to survive, whether it’s playing loud music through a giant pair of headphones to drown out the madness, or fishing just to find some peace. While raiding an empty house, they discover some decently working walkie talkies, and that in turn leads to the discovery of a possible sanctuary. The two argue about whether or not they should try to find the place, but first they have to deal with the world around them. A world that now has complete control of their fate…

 The Battery is film that screams “independent” at the top of its lungs; a standout example of people making their own darn movies. 

I couldn’t help but be struck of what The Battery laid out on the forefront. Cinema is as rich and glorious as it’s ever been, but the behind-the-scenes methods of films coming together has changed, and is still changing. Something like this wouldn’t have been made decades ago without a major players in front or behind the camera, or without the promise of a profit. The Battery is film that screams “independent” at the top of its lungs; a standout example of people making their own darn movies. Finding the funding, the equipment, and the drive themselves, somehow. Now that, in turn, brings out  a lot of people from a metaphorical woodwork that think they can make movies. Let’s face it, a good chunk of them can’t. An even smaller chunk can pull something decent off or show small traces of promise. Then there’s Gardner, who has the multiple hat system going on here as a star, writer, director and various others. He is in the rarest of the classes. He shows absolute talent.

 On paper, The Battery might sound like another experimental mumblecore exercise in horror (I once expressed my feelings on that subgenre). I will dare say that in the hands of someone else, that could have easily been the case, especially when you look at the film’s soundtrack; something that it boasts proudly. A mumblecore zombie film? Please, no. And truth be told, I honestly don’t know if The Battery is considered to be a mumblecore piece by the masses who have seen this already. What is evident is this: either it’s not mumblecore, or the genre itself has finally…finally evolved.

The film clocks in at about 104 minutes, which at a first glance could be considered quite long if it’s a movie just featuring two people. This is one challenge that Gardner and his talented crew just nailed; structuring a pace that’s nearly flawless. We see Mickey and Ben try to survive, always moving, always bickering. I cannot stress enough how this all could have gone horribly wrong. Even decent levels of acting, lighting and writing could have made this just another indie horror quest. But no. The Battery displays raw and eager excellence in all of those aspects. Gardner and Cronheim aren’t famous or established (in fact this is Cronheim’s first film), and maybe right now they’re not firing on an A-list actor level, but that’s fine. They’re doing what’s best for the story, for the simply wonderful script Gardner provided, and their performances are perfect for this. The aforementioned soundtrack (which I suggest you look into getting) is a list you wouldn’t find in traditional horror, but that’s also ok. Each song either creates the vibes or modifies it to the current situation just beautifully. Cinematographer Christian Stella does a fantastic job of formatting the atmosphere that accompanies the screenplay’s utter rage.

 And speaking of the script, this is where The Battery has to be complimented the most. Gardner displays sheer confidence in himself without coming across as egotistical in the slightest.

And speaking of the script, this is where The Battery has to be complimented the most. Gardner displays sheer confidence in himself without coming across as egotistical in the slightest. The force behind the film, and possibly behind his drive, is powered by the want to make you care about two people that could be simply passing you by under normal circumstances. The clashing of personalities evolves into something beautiful instead of carrying its weight around like a lazy sack. The events these two go through are winding, and just when you think you know what’s going to happen next, you’re thrown for a loop. You settle back down, compose yourself, and then you’re thrown again. This is the mindset of The Battery for about the last half hour. It supplies humility, humor, dread and discomfort all while working around a notion of optimism. The final minutes are shattering, and it has one of the best last lines I’ve heard in a film in years.