Today, I’ll be discussing a movie called “The Bad Batch.” In this futuristic setting, people who are considered defective are banished from the city to live in the desert. Our protagonist, a girl named Orlin, has been marked with a tattoo behind her ear, labeling her as part of the bad batch.
Orlin is taken to the country border and pushed over the fence, left to fend for herself. She embarks on a journey towards a town called Comfort, where other outcasts like her reside. Along the way, Orlin encounters a broken-down car on the road and decides to get behind the wheel. She takes out lipstick and an old photo from her bag, contemplating her situation.
Suddenly, another car appears in the desert, causing Orlin to panic and attempt to escape. However, she is pursued, captured, and subsequently tied up among a heap of rubbish. Orlin struggles to free herself, but one of her captors notices her and injects her with an unknown liquid. As if things couldn’t get worse, the captor approaches Orlin with a hacksaw in hand, playing loud music on a receiver. Something terrible is about to happen.
Despite her injuries, Orlin doesn’t die as her wounds are properly bandaged. It becomes apparent that she has been abducted by a group of real cannibals. These individuals engage in constant physical exercise using homemade equipment to build their muscle mass. Their need for protein leads them to resort to eating human flesh. It’s a gruesome reality.
In this desert wasteland, the cannibals operate an open-air sports club, overseen by a man known as the Miami Man, who proudly inspects his possessions while sipping on soda. Among the captives, there are not only strong and muscular individuals but also those who are thin and missing limbs. It becomes evident that these captives are the cannibals’ next meal.
As Orlin regains consciousness, she hears someone screaming for help, but she feels powerless to intervene. The next morning dawns upon this desolate landscape, leaving us wondering what fate awaits Orlin and the other captives.
The cannibals notice that Orlin has attempted to free herself and has been injured in the process. The female cannibal removes the chain from Orlin’s neck and drags her somewhere while she goes to fetch water. Orlin finds an iron stick and hides it under her body. When the woman returns and tends to Orlin’s wounds, Orlin seizes the opportunity and strikes her tormentor with the stick. Another prisoner without legs watches her with interest.
Orlin crawls through the sand and among piles of various rubbish, she stumbles upon a skateboard. She lies on it and rolls across the desert towards Comfort City. However, due to her wounds and the scorching heat, she eventually loses consciousness. Ravens begin to circle above Orlin, perceiving her as potential prey.
A hermit living near the landfill discovers Orlin and carries her to the gates of Comfort City. The inhabitants of the city surround her, horrified by her injuries. They are uncertain whether Orlin will survive. Five months pass, and the people of Comfort City continue living their normal lives. A local madman roams the streets, repeatedly proclaiming that something must not be forgotten.
We see that Orlin has survived and been equipped with a high-quality prosthetic leg, enabling her to walk again. Orlin attempts to inquire about the urban madman’s intentions, but he cryptically replies that she must discover everything for herself. Meanwhile, a man from Miami draws a portrait of his daughter, and Orlin assists him in completing it.
The man steps outside and turns on the music, but he suddenly hears pleas for help. He spots a girl with one arm who begs for an end to her suffering. The man from Miami takes the poor woman’s life, cuts up pieces of meat, fries them, and feeds his family. His partner, Maria, expresses her distaste for such food. The next day, Maria takes the man’s daughter, and they drive together towards the junkyard, while the man remains at home, continuing his artwork.
In the junkyard, Maria and the girl collect various scrap metal and old objects. However, during their activities, Maria falls and injures her leg. Meanwhile, Orlin grows bored and entertains herself by venturing into the desert through a hole in a large fence. She fires a revolver at the crows, finding solace in these solitary moments.
A moment later, Orlin spots a car and a little girl in the distance. She walks towards them and realizes that the wounded Maria belongs to a tribe of cannibals. Maria pleads for mercy, explaining that she is merely trying to survive. However, Orlin harbors a deep hatred for cannibals and swiftly takes Maria’s life. It’s a long-awaited act of revenge. The little girl gazes sadly at Maria and sits beside her.
Meanwhile, a local hermit collecting garbage notices Orlin’s return to Comfort City, accompanied by the little girl. In the bustling city, people go about their own business, with some riding skateboards, others shopping, and some even observing the playful interactions of dogs. The baby girl looks around with curiosity and spots rabbits being sold on the street. She finds them beautiful and Orlin purchases one for her. Together, they head to the baby’s house, where she affectionately strokes her new pet. The baby doesn’t respond to Orlin’s questions and refuses to change her dirty clothes. Nevertheless, Orlin leaves the baby in her care.
The man from Miami rides his scooter in search of his daughter. He arrives at the dump and discovers Maria’s lifeless body, already attracting a swarm of crows. However, the little girl is nowhere to be found. The man encounters the hermit amidst the landfill and tries to communicate with him, showing him a notebook with his daughter’s portrait. The hermit, unable to speak, communicates through gestures, suggesting that if the man draws his portrait, he will indicate where to find the girl. The artist complies and sketches the hermit, who poses happily. Once the portrait is complete, the hermit writes on a piece of paper, “Find Comfort.” The little girl paints Orlin’s eyes and applies makeup, and in the evenings, they put on a show on the city square for all the residents of Comfort.
The DJ keeps the music playing, and everyone dances joyfully. A local guru named Dream takes the stage, delivering a sermon urging everyone to contemplate the meaning of existence and pursue their dreams. As part of the ceremony, people are offered various pills that can impact their psyche. In the midst of it all, Orlin takes one of the pills.
Meanwhile, Orlin accidentally releases the rabbit from her hands and goes in search of it. Dream finds the animal, and together with his pregnant assistant, they take the unattended baby girl. Orlin becomes worried, fearing that she has lost the girl. However, under the influence of the pills, she enters a trance-like state. An inner voice urges Orlin to leave the city, and she ventures out into the desert.
As Orlin walks through the desert, she admires the starry sky and experiences hallucinations. Suddenly, she notices a man from Miami standing behind her. Orlin assumes he is another vision and embraces the muscular stranger, mistaking him for her boyfriend.
The next morning, Orlin awakens in the desert without her prosthetic leg, which the Miami man now possesses. She realizes she is far from Comfort City. The man shows her a portrait of his daughter and demands that Orlin find the girl. If she fails, he threatens to end her life. Orlin has no choice but to agree.
On their journey, they encounter a bearded cannibal who proposes exchanging Orlin for a can of gasoline. The Miami man pretends to accept the offer, but instead, he throws one of his meat hatchets at the cannibal. They now have one less cannibal to contend with. The Miami man takes the cannibal’s hand as a source of food and continues the journey with Orlin.
As they travel, a dust storm sweeps across the desert, forcing them to seek shelter under an awning. At night, the Miami man roasts meat over a fire and consumes it. Orlin learns that he is actually from Cuba and was labeled as defective due to a lack of documents.
Orlin is uncertain whether her companion is good or evil. She shows him her tattoos and then takes a knife from him, attempting to threaten him. However, the man remains unfazed. Suddenly, a gunshot rings out as they are discovered by a shooter from Comfort City who patrols the outskirts. The shooter injures the Miami man and takes Orlin back to the city.
Back at home, Orlin feels constantly sad and thinks about the attractive cannibal. She goes for a walk in the desert and stumbles upon a notebook filled with drawings by the Miami man. Meanwhile, the wounded man is found unconscious by the hermit, who drives away the ravens and bandages his wounds. The hermit catches one of the birds and cooks it over a fire, providing sustenance for himself and the injured cannibal.
At home, Orlin examines the drawings and discovers a portrait of the Miami man’s daughter. She makes photocopies of the portrait and begins searching for the girl, asking every passerby if they have seen her. However, nobody has any information. Orlin notices a group of pregnant girls among whom the girl resides, holding a rabbit in her arms. It turns out that the girl now lives in Dream Palace, where she is well cared for, adorned in beautiful clothing, and provided with delicious food and toys.
The Miami man recovers and the hermit brings him back to the landfill, where they find a working scooter. The hermit leaves a toy ball with figurines for the cannibal and departs for the desert. Orlin heads towards Dream Palace, which is guarded by numerous pregnant concubines. She is allowed inside, and Dream emerges from the pool, presenting Orlin with a tray of pills. Dream considers himself the savior of Comfort City and explains that the pills represent the city’s economy. When Orlin expresses her desire to have a time machine to fix everything, Dream hands her a tomato. Orlin states that she wants to have a dream within herself, as the pregnant concubines’ t-shirts bear such inscriptions.
Orlin is escorted to the bedroom and left alone to compose herself. She retrieves a gun hidden within her prosthesis and hears a knock on the door. Concealing the weapon behind her back, she opens the door and takes one of Dream’s women hostage. Orlin demands that they hand over the girl and allow them to leave Comfort City. Dream appears with the baby, entrusting Orlin to care for the rabbit and handing it over to her. Orlin, the baby, and the hostage drive through the desert in a car captured from Dream Palace. Once they reach a safe distance, Orlin releases the pregnant woman and takes control of the wheel. Throughout the journey, the little girl holds her beloved rabbit in her arms.
In the desert, they encounter the Miami man, and father and daughter embrace. Orlin asks the man if he would like to spend time with her. He responds that the girl should return to Comfort City, where she could become someone’s prey. However, Orlin enjoys living in the desert. She takes the man by the hand, and the baby starts acting up, craving spaghetti that they were fed at Dream Palace. The Miami man asks Orlin to look after his daughter while he takes the rabbit from the girl. Orlin closes the baby’s eyes, causing her to cry. The three of them then sit by the fire and eat fried rabbit meat. And thus, the movie comes to an end.
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