July 11th, I headed over to the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Theater for the World Premiere of Battle Scars. The red carpet was filled with the cast, crew and their biggest supporters. One of the running themes of red carpet interviews for Battle Scars was the passion they each shared for getting the word about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that veterans are suffering from post war as they try to reintegrate into civilian life. While my husband is a Army veteran, he did/does not suffer from PTSD but this story still feels like it hits very close to home.
While Battle Scars does help to spread awareness and start conversation about PTSD, this is also thriller of a movie. Luke Stephens (Zane Holtz) arrives home from war in Afghanistan on his brother’s doorstep suffering from both PTSD and physical wounds. While you cannot see the wounds, they are still quite raw for Luke. He wants to reintegrate into civilian life without having to rehash what happened to him on his tour of duty, but his veteran dad will have none of it.
Luke has a hard time communicating with his wife (Amy Davidson) putting a strain on their marriage. He heads to a local local strip club one night and meets Michelle (Heather McComb), who leads him into a violent world every bit as dangerous as the brutality Luke had initially come to the strip join to escape. The thriller takes off from this point.
One of my favorite parts of Battle Scars is the beginning and end where facts and stats about veterans and PTSD are shared. It is startling to learn how many individuals deal with PTSD post tour of duty and there are no significant resources out their to help.
Click here to find out more about Battle Scars and where to stream it