The Battery: Two Guys, Several Zombies and Lots of Music

The Battery is the story of two men and their quest to survive a world ravaged by zombies. The $6,000 film is slowly gaining recognition in the horror world and will undoubtedly motivate many slacker filmmakers to write their own horror film.

What I appreciate most about The Battery is the way Jeremy Gardner made the budget work. He could have pushed a massive script upon Hollywood with uncertain results. Would anybody see it? Would anybody read it? Would it get butchered in the filming process? Would Will Smith and Jaden Smith star in it? Instead, he made an intimate film about two baseball players navigating unknown territory. The term “Battery” refers to the relationship between a pitcher and catcher. Their opposing jobs and personalities are what keep them alive.

Jeremy and Adam are opposites who somehow work as a team. Jeremy is the realist who kills the zombies, looks after Adam and is ultra careful in his efforts to survive. Adam is the dreamer who listens to music at great peril, still dreams of love and has a very odd encounter with a female zombie. They are odd little fellas who love baseball, music and somehow can deal with each other in long-term isolation.

The story takes place months after the initial zombie infestation. The two locked themselves in a house for several months and weathered the first wave of undead. Eventually, they escape into the woods where they roam, hunt and play catch. The movie starts with Adam listening to his headphones while the braver Jeremy is pilfering a house of all its canned goods. What follows is 100 minutes of long shots, drunken dancing and strategic blankets.

The film is full of static two shots involving the two talking, walking and sitting. The abbreviated shooting schedule eliminated over the shoulder shots and the limited budget forced them to never shoot wide shots featuring the zombies. Thus, anything involving seemingly massive numbers of zombies had to be kept tight with a shallow depth of field. Their scenes in the car at the end provide an earned claustrophobia due to the fact that they were just roaming massive fields, orchards and woods. Essentially, they recognized all of their constraints and were able to capitalize on them.

I’ve also found an interesting trend in zombie/infected angry person films. The Battery, Warm Bodies, Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later have all used music incredibly well. The music creates memorable moments, moods and atmosphere that I can still see vividly. Do zombies lovers appreciate good music? Do they need to lighten up the violence? Check out the soundtracks and you will find some gems.

Watch The Battery. Appreciate what they did with a minuscule budget. Dig the music. Look forward to the many copycats that will certainly be created.