Distributor : Accent. Author : Glenn Misztal Movie : 3.5/5 In this day and age of big budget zombie films, and Hollywood seeing how they can push the boundaries with special effects and CGI, ‘The Battery' is a very simple, yet refreshing independent zombie movie. The big budget of makeup and CGI isn’t evident and I was absolutely OK with that as it sometimes can be overkill (pun not intended) . For instance, the zombie makeup wasn’t as detailed as other zombies movies you may see, but I chalked it up to the zombies not being as decomposed. Premise of ‘The Battery’ involves two work colleagues (you can hardly call them friends) Ben (Jeremy Gardner) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim) that are in the survival quest zombie apocalypse together. Yes, we’ve seen this scenario many times before but definitely not shown in the type of storytelling or friendship shown here - its an unlikely pairing and there is a real contrast between the characters. Mickey is the quiet, sensible, clean shaven short haired slim person of the duo, whilst Ben is his large, loud, bearded scruffy haired offsider. If survival the zombie apocalypse wasn’t enough, it doesn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse in the film and their quest for survival turns into a quest for sanity. With zombie films being all the rage nowadays and it’s really hard not to compare this movie to other zombies movies and the rules set out for survival : ‘Don’t make any noise using guns - you’ll attract the zombies’. ‘Have someone on lookout constantly - someone has to keep watch’. There is none of that here - Ben and Mickey are living an absolutely carefree life drinking, listening to music, scratching instant win scratch-offs and smoking cigarettes. If there was ever an award for the zombie apocalypse life was done in style, these two are great contenders. The tone of the movie isn’t as serious as say ‘The Walking Dead’, although it’s not as light hearted as a zombie satire like, say ‘Zombieland’, the tone falls somewhere in between. These guys have the really of the zombie apocalypse hit them at times, and at other times, they have their own shenanigans at heart. Video : 3/5 Shot in a ratio of 2.35:1 ratio (i.e., black bars at top and bottom) the video is quite solid. The video is clear yet somewhat mystified in some shots. The film takes advantage of the soft video that film makers use while filming stretching green country side shots. It was also great to have the director of Photography explain a fair bit of it in the commentary as well. Audio : 3/5 The beauty of indie films in that a lot of independent music can be used and showcased in the soundtrack on the films own budget. Fair bit of indie music in The Battery' . Some of its catchy. Some of it is forgettable. Some of it is rememberable thanks to Ben dancing around with a bottle of scotch and a handgun in one scene. All of this is used in Dolby digital 2.0 audio. Extras : 3.5/5 The Disc itself is decently loaded with extras: - Cast and Crew Commentaries - Including the two main actors, director and Director of Photography. - On-the-Set Featurettes. - Music - The music shown on the movie is shown sung live. - Outtakes - I found these hilarious. Mostly were of the actors goofing around, but still funny. I felt I got to know the actors a little bit. Overall (3.5/5) M: 3.5 V : 3.5 A : 3.5 E : 3.5 So all in all a great zombie indie flick. If you’re a sucker for zombie films, then you’ll like this movie. Would I Watch it again? Yes, definitely. Would I enjoy it again? Absolutely. BUY
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