The Bad Batch
An exiled woman crosses a cannibal-haunted wasteland and its divided settlements in search of survival, belonging, and connection.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- brooding
- surreal
- bleak
- cult movie night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film's lavishly distressed visuals and soundscape but found its narrative overlong, desultory, and intermittently draggy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Arlen is abandoned in a fenced Texas wasteland where displaced people form sharply divided settlements and communities.
Amputation and bodily alteration are central to Arlen's survival and to the film's stark visual language.
The plot offers limited exposition while Arlen moves among cannibals, settlement leaders, and enigmatic outsiders governed by unfamiliar rules.
The Texas wasteland and its settlements are emphasized through lavishly distressed production design, color, and soundscape.
Films like The Bad Batch, and why
Mad Max: Fury Road
shared post apocalyptic wasteland setting, sparse dialogue, surreal world-building, and brutal survivalist imagery
The Rover
shared dystopian isolation, cannibal horror, stylized violence, and eccentric outsider communities
Snowpiercer
shared provocative dystopian premise, allegorical social divisions, and bleakly comic genre experimentation
Mandy
shared surreal desert landscapes, grotesque social rituals, and art-house horror sensibility
Movie Details
- Director
- Ana Lily Amirpour
- Release Date
- 2017-06-23
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 5.3 / 10 (1191)
Cast
- Suki Waterhouse
- Jason Momoa
- Yolonda Ross
- Keanu Reeves
- Giovanni Ribisi
- Jim Carrey
- Jayda Fink
- Cory Roberts
- Aye Hasegawa
- Louie Lopez Jr.
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Bad Batch about?
- An exiled woman crosses a cannibal-haunted wasteland and its divided settlements in search of survival, belonging, and connection.
- What is The Bad Batch like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Bad Batch as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Bad Batch violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Bad Batch as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Bad Batch?
- Critics broadly admired the film's lavishly distressed visuals and soundscape but found its narrative overlong, desultory, and intermittently draggy.
- Which films are like The Bad Batch?
- Films with a similar feel include Mad Max: Fury Road, The Rover, Snowpiercer, and Mandy.
- How long is The Bad Batch?
- The Bad Batch runs 119 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Bad Batch?
- In United States, The Bad Batch streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
