The Bad Batch

Hoo boy. This movie requires some effort. What starts off as a brutal exploitation flick, surely to weed out the meek, evolves into an absorbing treatise on primal human conditions in a barren, deserted wasteland.

While Ana Lily Amipour's sophomore effort contains pulpy roots, littered with outrageous characters and circumstances, it also tackles some grand topics. Our white trashy heroine Arlen is unceremoniously turfed out of society to fend for herself behind a Texan fence, where lawlessness and depravity are the rule of the day. She is soon captured by a tribe of cannibals, and mayhem ensues.

Dystopian futures as these don't seem all that far fetched any more. "The Bad Batch" may serve as a warning, but chiefly it serves as dusty entertainment. Much like the "Mad Max" franchise, it is a world full of crazies scrambling to survive in glorious sunbaked vistas.

Sporting a primo porn stash, Keannu Reeves pops up as a bizarro, robe clad cult leader. Giovanni Ribisi slips in several rambling, asylum escapee diatribes, but it is an unrecognizable Jim Carrey who absolutely steals the movie as a wizened bag man.

"The Bad Batch" has the art junk, lost inhibition, drug and music orgy feel of Burning Man, and because it's stealthily asking tough questions, has much more going for it than the cheap veneer may indicate.

I've seen 1 and 2 star reviews, and I've seen 8 or 9 stars. This movie lies somewhere in the middle. There is a ton of talent in this movie, and the story was interesting enough, but there is a ton of wasted potential here. I hope to see this directors next effort as I'm sure the craft will be refined. Overall, it can be a tuff watch, but the performances are outstanding. If you want something original check this out.

This film tells the story of a young woman who is captured by Cannibalistic tribe in the desert.

I cannot believe how bad this film is. The first word is spoken at the twenty minute Mark. The film is constantly provides close ups of amputees, so much that it almost feels like it's a fetishistic thing. There is almost no story, and the only so called story is just to provide reasons for more amputation. The film is beyond terrible. I don't know how it attracted three big actors.

I typically like post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows. I don't mind the premise of the movie, but nothing about it grabbed my interest, except that it was so bad (and with its cast) that I figured it had to get good at some point. It didn't. Lack of action and dialogue was bizarre, to say the least. Maybe if they had cut out the little dialogue that there was it could have fallen into a silent movie category and had something. I'm left with a void trying to explain how I feel about it. I suppose that is how I feel about.

I STRONGLY recommend everyone watch this.

Is it good? No. Is it coherent? Hah! Is it the worst movie ever? Quite possibly.

So why would I recommend anyone watch this steaming pile of incoherent garbage? To come back and read the IMDb reviews after.

There's something cathartic about seeing the immense anger of all the other poor viewers who survived this experience. Their frustration, their rage, their inability to comprehend the world any longer... after you watch this "movie," you too will understand that sensation. And it is truly uniting.

... but from the perspective of a good use of time, no, don't watch this. It has no plot, horrible acting, and dialogue written by (and likely for) a 4 year old. It did have one incredible accomplishment though - the director managed to turn $6 million into $100,000 box office gross. So it has that going for it.