WAMG First Look: BAD BATCH

During my week long coverage of SXSW 2010, I ran into an indie filmmaker outside the Alamo Drafthouse named Abe Schwartz. After speaking with Abe for a bit, I learned about his groovy sounding film called BAD BATCH, which is literally on the cusp of being released upon the world for all to see. Check out the trailer, synopsis, website and poster for BAD BATCH and also check back soon for my review of the film.

SYNOPSIS
Have you ever had a bad high? In the do-it-yourself vein of Clerks and Paranormal Activity, Bad Batch is a fresh, new, indie feature that’s equal parts cinéma vérité and stoner comedy.

One night, an unlikely group of college students (who met on Facebook) consume a full tray of maybe the strongest marijuana-laced brownies known to man. Hannah, a Jewish, sexually ambiguous hipster looking for a fun time, plays host to Lavar and Jenkins, two African-American cousins who couldn’t see the world more differently. Lavar’s reserved, not so smooth with the ladies, and is overcoming the recent death of his father. Jenkins is a star defensive player on the college football team who will sleep with pretty much any willing female.

Sexual, psychological, and social tension ensue as the three characters soar higher and higher in close to real time… and it’s all escalated once they realize the brownies might be laced with a substance potentially more harmful than just marijuana. (Who knows what can happen when you purchase pot from a shady rabbinical student?)

Bad Batch marks the first feature from writer-director Abe Schwartz and represents an honest depiction of getting absurdly high, (as well as a modern take on race relations.)

So often, marijuana is depicted on screen as a hilarious holy grail or as a gateway to harder, darker substances. Bad Batch depicts the true middle ground and is especially timely as so much controversy currently surrounds medical marijuana legislation.

Featuring a timeless B&W aesthetic, an all-original hip-hop/electronica score and mind-altering sound design, Bad Batch is one realistic high that you won’t forget.

Check out the BAD BROWNIES Official Website.