A Country’s Refuse

The Snow Globe Holds the Answer

None of This is Real

When we read the description for The Bad Batch, we thought it would be a good candidate for a Saturday Night Drive-In review. The NETFLIX write up say it all: “Banished to a wasteland of undesirables, a young woman struggles to find her feet among a drug-soaked desert society and an enclave of cannibals.”

Cannibals.

It doesn’t get much more Drive-In Moviey than that.

And with a cast that included Suki Waterhouse (Assassination Nation), a non-aquatic Jason Momoa, a wick-free Keanu Reeves, and an always disturbed Jim Carrey, it seemed like a safe bet.

What we missed was that it was written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (who made the creepy A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), one of the more original, quirky, and creative talents in the game today.

As it turns out, The Bad Batch has far more in common with The Killing of a Sacred Deer than Mad Max. Much - if not all - of the movie is straight up allegory. Some is pretty in-your-face: cannibalism is 1 part consumerism and 4 parts the tendency of some groups in the U.S. to “eat their own.” Some, including perhaps the coolest meta nod in years - Momoa being told that the “answer” is in a snow globe (more on that in the after credits) - is a lot more subtle.

We’ll leave it to you to sort through the spaghetti bowl of possible interpretations. You can start your meal HERE.

Three out of Five Bunnies.

🐇🐇🐇

Any idea what the rabbit meant? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Post Credit:

Warning: Reality Warping Snow Globe Spoiler

The medical drama, St. Elsewhere, was a mainstream of weekly tv viewing back in the 1980s, examining the lives, deaths, loves, and trials of the staff of the St. Eligius hospital. It was also a launching pad for a few actors: Ed Begley Jr., Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon (NCIS), and some guy named Denzel Washington (Glory).

During the season finale, it is revealed that the entire series was (probably) a figment of the imagination of an autistic boy named Tommy Westphall, who “saw” into the world of St. Elsewhere by shaking…a snow globe.

Dig the Bad Batch? You might want to nibble on one of these!