For more than a decade, American citizens have been fearful of a divided country leading to an outbreak of violence. Hollywood has often depicted such nightmare scenarios in dystopian movies as Alex Garland’s Civil War and The Purge franchise. Yet, on a low-budget scale, 2017’s Bushwick brings the chaos outside the major cities and into America’s backyard.

The gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick serves as the backdrop for a full-scale insurgency in Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion’s relentless thriller. As a depiction of the outbreak of a second Civil War, Bushwick puts politics in the background to put the viewer amid the chaos while its stars, Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow, fight their way to survival. Not only did the film make the most of its small budget on a creative level, but it was also a true test of Bautista’s versatility as more than just another rising action star.

What Is ‘Bushwick’ About?

Bushwick takes the concept of a hypothetical scenario of a major American city becoming battlegrounds for an insurgency, with Milott and Murnion taking a cinematic approach akin to The Raid and Children of Men. The film plays at a relentless pace right from the start as the outbreak begins through the eyes of a college student, Lucy (Snow), and her boyfriend (Arturo Castro), arriving at an empty Brooklyn train station that becomes ground zero for the attacks. With the camera moving continuously through the madness of Lucy witnessing her boyfriend’s death and running through the streets to avoid captivity by men in tactical gear, Bushwick’s tone is established in a matter that makes the audience feel like they are in the middle of a war zone.

With a limited budget in contrast to Garland’s more blockbuster-driven Civil War, Bushwick does not waste time on lengthy philosophical conversations about politics and the cause of social divisions. Once Lucy encounters ex-soldier-turned-janitor Stupe (Bautista), they simply run throughout the decaying neighborhood seeking shelter, locating loved ones like Lucy’s sister (Angelic Zambrana), and looking for answers to the whereabouts of the DMZ. The politics that are present in the story play through subtle visuals of the gentrified neighborhood and the frequent radio announcements about the government’s response to the civil unrest.

The one key moment where Bushwick’s politics are put on display is when Stupe interrogates a member of the New American Coalition (NAC), a mercenary organization of successionists from Texas and multiple Southern states. As a true veteran, Stupe is disgusted by the NAC’s racially motivated actions against minority-centric cities. The reveal is poignant to Bushwick as a cultural melting pot, showcasing the various residents ranging from African Americans to Hasidic Jewish people standing together side-by-side against an army of hate.

Dave Bautista Separates Himself From Every Action Star in ‘Bushwick’

For the former WWE superstar-turned-actor, Bautista doesn’t rely on typical action hero tropes and witty one-liners, as Bushwick has virtually no humorous scenes at all. Unlike his past work in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Bautista plays Stupe as very subdued, exhausted from fighting, and running on fumes to survive. Though his physicality shines in the intense fight sequences, he shares similarities to world-weary heroes ranging from Mad Max to Children of Men’s Theo Faron as he grounds himself as a warrior looking to hide from war rather than to run towards it.

The versatility of Bautista in Bushwick is what sets him apart from his wrestling counterparts Dwayne Johnson and John Cena. His most heartbreaking scene comes at a significant point in the story when he reveals to Lucy his trauma stemming from the death of his family during the September 11th attacks. Much like Rambo’s final monologue in First Blood, Stupe reflects the real-life pain of those who lost loved ones on that tragic day as well as the pain many veterans feel after fighting on the battlefield. His exhaustion from war even makes him more reluctant to help Lucy until she finds the courage to fight back alongside him. Bautista’s underrated performance in Bushwick helped to pave the way for his shift into nuanced dramatic roles in Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and Knock at the Cabin. Bushwick is less of a cautionary tale than Civil War and more about everyday people taking a stand to protect their neighborhood. Its power as a narrative stems from the frightening belief that what goes on in war-torn, third-world countries can happen here.