The Bad Batch

The Bad Batch

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
Produced by
Written by Ana Lily Amirpour
Starring
Cinematography Lyle Vincent
Edited by Alex O'Flinn
Production
company
Distributed by Neon
Release date
  • September 6, 2016 (2016-09-06) (Venice)
  • June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23) (United States)
Running time
 115 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $6 million[2]
Box office $180,851[3]

The Bad Batch is a 2016 American romantic black comedy horror-thriller film directed and written by Ana Lily Amirpour. The film stars Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Giovanni Ribisi and Keanu Reeves. Principal photography began on April 8, 2015 in Los Angeles.

It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival.[4] It was released on June 23, 2017, by Neon.

Plot

A young woman named Arlen is tattooed and dropped inside a fenced-in area outside of Texas. A sign declares that the area is considered property outside of the U.S. and that American laws no longer apply. Shortly thereafter Arlen is attacked by two women in a golf cart. When she awakens she is chained up and realizes she has been captured by cannibals who remove first her arm, then her leg. Arlen eventually covers herself in feces, causing one of the cannibals to untie her so she can be washed. Arlen uses this moment to attack the woman and escape, using only a skateboard. She is picked up in the desert by a strange man who takes her to a makeshift town named Comfort where she is cared for and given a prosthetic leg.

Five months later, a mostly healed Arlen heads out to the desert, where she sees a golf cart similar to the one she was picked up in. She finds a mother and daughter scavenging among waste. Realizing they are cannibals, Arlen shoots the mother. She takes the daughter back with her to Comfort. While there she goes to a rave held by The Dream (Keanu Reeves) the cult like-leader of Comfort. Arlen drops acid and wanders out into the desert. There she is found by Miami Man, the father of the child she took. When she comes to he tells her that he will take her back to Comfort so he can locate his child; otherwise he will kill her.

Arlen and Miami Man grow closer on their journey to Comfort. He reveals that he was put into the lawless territory because he was an undocumented immigrant from Cuba. Arlen is rescued from him by a man from Comfort who shoots Miami Man and returns Arlen to Comfort. Feeling guilty she begins to look for Miami Man's daughter. She eventually finds her living amongst The Dream's harem. Arlen goes to The Dream who explains that Comfort runs on drugs. When Arlen offers to become one of his harem he accepts her offer, but Arlen secretly removes her prosthetic where she is hiding a gun, holds one of the pregnant members of the harem hostage, and manages to extract Miami Man's daughter. She heads out of Comfort in a golf cart.

Meanwhile, Miami Man, who has been rescued by the same man who rescued Arlen, heads to Comfort to search for his daughter. Arlen and Miami Man meet and she returns his daughter to him before saying she wants to stay with him. Miami Man does not send Arlen away. Instead he kills his daughter's pet rabbit and the three sit down outside a campfire eating the food they have.

Cast

Production

In January 2015, Ana Lily Amirpour was announced to be directing the film, while Megan Ellison would produce under her Annapurna Pictures banner, and Danny Gabai and Sina Sayyah will produce under their Vice Films banner.[5] In March 2015, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, Jason Momoa, Suki Waterhouse, and Diego Luna joined the film.[6]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on April 8, 2015 in Los Angeles.[7] Film was also shot in Niland and Bombay Beach, California.[8]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2016.[9] Shortly after, Netflix and Screen Media Films acquired SVOD and theatrical distribution rights to the film, respectively.[10][11] However, Neon later acquired distribution rights to the film.[12] The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2016.[13][14] It was released in a limited release and through video on demand on June 23, 2017.[15]

Critical reception

The Bad Batch received mixed reviews from film critics. It holds a 43% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 58 reviews, with a weighted average of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Bad Batch has its moments, but it's too thinly written and self-indulgent to justify its length or compensate for its slow narrative drift."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 62 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]

Guy Lodge of Variety gave the film a negative review writing : "Though there's much to savor in the pic's lavishly distressed visuals and soundscape, its narrative feels increasingly stretched and desultory."[18] Lee Marshall of Screen International also gave the film a negative review writing : "The story runs out of steam - with a full ninety minutes still to go."[19] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review writing : "Running close to two hours, the movie is overlong and not without draggy patches, but it's sustained enough to keep you watching."[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Venezia 73". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  2. ↑ Wolfe, April (May 23, 2017). "Director Ana Lily Amirpour Makes American Movies Weird Again". LA Weekly. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Bad Batch". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Venice Film Festival 2016". Deadline. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Yamato, Jen (January 6, 2015). "Annapurna, Vice Board Ana Lily Amirpour’s Dystopian Love Story ‘Bad Batch’". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  6. ↑ Patten, Dominic (March 19, 2015). "Keanu Reeves & Jim Carrey Top ‘The Bad Batch’ Cast; Jason Momoa Confirmed". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  7. ↑ Pihl, Tommy (March 24, 2015). "Filming of "The Bad Batch" begins on April 8". jimcarreyonline.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ PEREZ, ABIGAI (April 27, 2015). ""Bad Batch" Brawley Casting Call Brings Out Something "Extra"". thedesertreview.com. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Bad Batch". Venice Film Festival. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  10. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (September 6, 2016). "Netflix Buys SVOD Rights To Venice Cannibal Fairy Tale ‘The Bad Batch’". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ Busch, Anita (September 15, 2016). "Screen Media Films Acquires U.S. Rights To ‘The Bad Batch’ – Toronto". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Bad Batch Trailer Reveals a Cannibal Wasteland". February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  13. ↑ Pond, Steve (August 9, 2016). "Toronto Film Festival Adds Movies by Leonardo DiCaprio, Werner Herzog, Marlon Brando". The Wrap. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "The Bad Batch". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ Staff, Vice (June 16, 2017). "Watch a New Clip from Ana Lily Amirpour's 'The Bad Batch'". Vice. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  16. ↑ "The Bad Batch". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  17. ↑ "The Bad Batch reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  18. ↑ Lodge, Guy (September 6, 2016). "Film Review: ‘The Bad Batch’". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  19. ↑ Marshall, Lee (September 6, 2016). "'The Bad Batch': Venice Review". Screen International. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  20. ↑ Rooney, David (September 6, 2016). "'The Bad Batch': Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
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