The Badger Game (2014)

A chronic philanderer falls victim to an extortion scheme when he is abducted by four masked strangers demanding retribution for his sins.

Directors:

Joshua Wagner (co-director), Thomas Zambeck (co-director)

Writers:

Thomas Zambeck (story), Joshua Wagner (co-writer)

Stars:

Augie Duke, Patrick Cronen, Jillian Leigh

Cast

Cast overview:
Augie Duke	...	Alex
Patrick Cronen	...	Kip
Jillian Leigh	...	Shelly
Sam Boxleitner	...	Liam
Sasha Higgins	...	Jane
Marc Siciliani	...	Clive
Josh Eichenbaum	...	Bartender
Aria London	...	Victoria

Storyline

A chronic philanderer falls victim to an extortion scheme when he is abducted by four masked strangers demanding retribution for his sins.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2016 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Badger Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actors Augie Duke and Patrick Cronen met and began dating while playing evil brother and sister duo Alex and Kip.

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Crazy Credits

Immediately after main title card: badger game noun

• a scheme in which a married "mark" is tricked into a compromising position and blackmailed.

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Connections

References Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968)

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Soundtracks

The Coventry Carol
Traditional English carol

User Reviews

Solid Indie Thriller

I only seem to review indie films on here. This is a solid B thriller. Classic plot, vaguely predictable twists, but well done.

The script doesn't call attention to itself. The cast is unremarkable and unknown. These sound like criticisms but they're not. Usually this kind of low budget "horror" contains moments where the audience cringes in second hand embarrassment for the cast or writer, not here. A big budget version of this with a name cast and a polish to the dialogue is easy to imagine.

But while there are no lows, it also didn't have the occasional and surprising highs I associate with watchable mumblegore. The film quality leaves something to be desired. I know it's digital but some films overcome that. Many scenes were hard to see clearly. Some potentially striking imagery was too muddy to land effectively. The camera work is solid but there was just nothing distinctive about the look, in contrast to You're Next or House of Last Things or (to go old school and even more unfair) Halloween or Blood Simple.

A higher end version would also have a better soundtrack/score to create atmosphere. The sound design that is there is quite good, knowing when to let us hear only something truly unpleasant.

It's not uneven but I found myself occasionally wishing it was. If this director goes on to the big time I won't be surprised but I also won't expect flashes of brilliance based on this outing.