Movies
[BD Review] ‘The Battery’ is Damn Good
The Battery written, directed and starring Jeremy Gardner is an emotional 100 minutes and 23 seconds of a zombie film. Like most zombie films, the story revolves around the humans involved. In this case it’s baseball players Ben (Gardner) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim). The two have been on the run from zombies for some time, and are surviving well. While Ben has to kill any of the undead that cross their path, it’s ok, because he is happy to do so as he has Mickey as a companion in the desolate world, which they now live. However, everything changes when the two find a set of walkie talkies. Soon they hear a radio transmission and the voice of a woman, Annie. Mickey becomes obsessed with Annie, which literally leads the friends down a path they shouldn’t travel.
I’ve reviewed a lot of movies for Bloody-Disgusting. I’ve reviewed a lot of bad movies, at that. And I’ve reviewed a lot of movies made on huge budgets, over a long period of time, that are just awful.
Check out these specs:
Shot On: DSLR (Canon 5D Mark ii) with Zeiss Lenses
Edited With: Adobe Premiere on a Windows PC
Budget: $6,000
Shoot Length: 16 days
The Battery is good. It’s damn good. For everything listed above, this movie is outrageously, insanely good. I went into this movie not reading the press kit info and watched it for what it was. Afterwards, I literally clapped and yelled “Brav-f***ing-O!” when I saw the specs. Jeremy Gardner, make more movies.
It isn’t just the above information that makes The Battery good. It’s the attention to detail. Ben and Mickey have been wandering, scavenging, living life the best way they can. Mickey has been longing for that normality they once had. The moment he hears Annie, you see that click inside him. The horrid longing for a woman and he’s hooked. You feel for Mickey in that moment. He just wants what he once had. While he is dreaming of that world, Ben has resigned to their apocalyptic reality. He ensures that Annie is not the gorgeous image inside Mickey’s head.
Mickey’s anguish is perfectly summed up not much later in the film. While taking a nap in the car – and with Ben nowhere around – Mickey is attacked by a female zombie. For a moment he thinks to call for help, but as the zombie girl presses her breasts against the car window, Mickey’s instincts turn on. And you can’t blame him. With Annie’s voice in his head, there is no reason he wouldn’t immediately do what he does. Gardner sets up a completely plausible situation in a completely realistic vision of an apocalyptic world.
Even better, earlier in the film, the two friends find toothbrushes and toothpaste. For a minute we see their ecstasy in the act of simply brushing their teeth. At first I felt the use of music and somewhat montage-like episodes were long running, however, after rethinking it – everything that happens in those long scenes is exactly what survivors would be doing. Whether it be brushing their teeth, or draining the juice from canned chicken to later use for hydration, the little details within The Battery are spot on.
The Battery proves something about the depths of the horror genre. There is very little gore, there is very little action – however the cinematic quality and the emotionally charged atmosphere are sculpted in the right manor to make it an excellent example of what can truly be considered horror. The film is set to premiere with a worldwide digital release in June. I eagerly await its debut. It is deserving of all the positive publicity it will receive.
Movies
SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!
As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.
Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:
Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.
Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.
Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.
Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.
Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?
Also check out:
The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.
Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.
And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.
These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.
Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.