Horror movies can make a big impact on a small budget, and few films are as indicative of this as 2012’sThe Battery. The directorial debut of filmmaker Jeremy Gardner,The Batterycenters on a pair of former baseball players traveling across a post-apocalyptic New England ravaged by the horrors of atypical zombie outbreak. When the two stumble upon an organized group of survivors, their glimmer of hope is soon soured as the group continuously refuses their request to join them.
The Batteryis a relatively bleak tale befitting of the typical post-apocalyptic zombie movie setting, on paper leaving it in danger of falling prey to the multitude of tired tropes within the genre. Yet the poignant human drama, smaller scale, and long periods of quiet travel punctuated by intense danger make for a dizzying ride. All the more impressive is thatThe Batterydid it all on a miniscule budget of only 6,000 dollars, making it an incredibly successfulhorror film with a microscopic price tag.The Batterypunches far above its weight class in terms of critical appeal.
The Battery Is A Great Example Of A Low-Budget Horror Done Right
A Lack Of Resources Need Not Always Be A Limitation
There’s so much thatother low-budget horror films can learn fromThe Battery.First and foremost, the film nails its sense of scale, with a relatively low-stakes story compared to the often society-threatening hordes of zombies that often serve as the antagonists in similar films. Instead, the collapse of society has already happened here, leaving plenty of room for the audience to simply get invested in the survival of the protagonist duo. Even with only $6,000,The Batteryis able to conjure some impressive hordes of the undead that work for its tighter-knit world.
It helps that Jeremy Gardner himself, as well as producer Adam Cronheim, are both excellent in their acting roles as both Ben and Mickey, respectively. Their bond is very believable, and it’s interesting to see how the pragmatic survivalist Ben eventually rubs off on the idealistic, more sensitive Mickey. Getting invested in their characters is a great way to ensure the audience actually cares about thehorror movie victimsit threatens to kill, something that films with far larger budgets have failed at miserably.
Despite being made for peanuts,the low budget is rarely really felt, from the priceless acting to the conveniently cheap filming locations that mostly rely on the wilderness to purposefully convey a sense of isolation.The Batteryis a brilliant example of how to write for low-budget horror above all else, never undertaking a challenge that it knows it won’t be able to pull off. Perhaps this is because the film was allegedly mostly made-up on the spot, with no real script or even shooting plans to go off of.
Note: The Battery earned a remarkable number of awards from various festivals, including multiple audience favorite nominaitons.
How The Battery Holds Up Against More Expensive Zombie Movies
The Battery Punches Above Its Weight Class, Albeit With Limitations
BetweenThe Walking Dead, Zombieland,andTrain to Busan, the 2010s were absolutely crawling with zombie movies, meaning it may have been difficult forThe Batteryto stand out. Yet despite its incredibly limited budget, the movie is able to do some things better than its better-known 2010s siblings, namely, ensuring that its viewers are actually invested in the human beings on screen. Not only that, but the refreshingly limited scale and road-trip nature of Ben and Mickey’s wanderings add a unique spin toThe Batterythat remains all its own.
The refreshingly limited scale and road-trip nature of Ben and Mickey’s wanderings add a unique spin toThe Batterythat remains all its own.
Granted, the shoestring budget isn’t always completely invisible, with the cinematography and special effects on the zombies sometimes lacking compared to a traditional studio film with plenty of resources to spare. It’s impossible to act as though nothing will be lost switching over from anotherpopular 2010s zombie movieto the guerrilla horror project. But the kind of scrappy filmmaking encouraged by the critical success ofThe Batterycould certainly be encouraged more in the modern horror landscape.
