The Bad Batch (2016)

Genre: Thriller

Directed by: Ana Lily Amirpour

Cast: Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Jim Carrey, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves

Time: 115 minutes

In an undetermined Dystopian future, the undesirables of society, referred to as The Bad Batch, are labelled and dropped off in a fenced-in area outside of Texas to fend for themselves. Arlen is a new member of that bad batch. Soon after being processed and cast away, she is captured by a group of cannibals, who go on to cut off one of her arms and one of her legs. She finally escapes and is brought by a hermit to Comfort, an improvised town in the desert, where she is nursed back to health. As she ventures back to where she was captured, to seek revenge, she finds a little girl that will follow her back to Comfort. This will bring the child’s father on a mission to get her back.

This movie has a lot of things going for it. I love the use of music, be it in its presence or in its absence. When it is used, it is cool; but, the silence also helps creating a mood at the right times. It was also a nice treat to see Jim Carrey in a different role, where he did not have to rely on words to convey emotions. The acting in general was pretty good and the main premise was interesting.

Unfortunately, in spite of all of its merits, The Bad Batch kind of fell apart at some point. It was an overstretched piece that got way too thin down the line and became less and less interesting.

Rating: «««