Pluskylang
Great Film overall
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Kien Navarro
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
merklekranz
When you view a film by George A. Romero that misses the horror mark by a wide margin, there is the distinct possibility that it was never intended as horror, but something more, beyond the slice and dice genre. "Bruiser" is such a film. It has elements of "black comedy" throughout that bring to mind dark classics such as "Ms. 45" (annoying little dog and costume party finale). Peter Stormare is great as the bruiser boss from hell, and the acting throughout is good for this type movie. Visually it is classy and interesting. The story itself of "milktoast" getting revenge on his abusers while far from original, holds interest. - MERK
bowmanblue
There is a tendency among modern superhero (films) to portray their particular marked crusader as some sort of flawed, anti-hero - take Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy, Robert Downey Jr in the Iron Man films and The Watchmen.Bruiser was released in 2000, just slightly before this trend really took off. It's about a put-upon worker who wakes up to find his features have changed to that of a plain white mask. Therefore, now no one knows who he is, he seeks revenge on all those who scorned him. This sounds like a basic sort of superhero movie plot and, courtesy of zombie-lord George Romero, he adds a bit of horror into it too.Does it work? Sadly, not really.Although it could have been decent enough, it suffers from a lack of stars, a clunky script (Romero also wrote it and, as anyone who has watched his more recent zombie films will know he's kind off gone off the boil with his pen) and quite possibly budget. There's no real action and only a few kills. However, my biggest gripe was how our (anti?) hero was never really the put-upon loser he was billed as. Henry Creedlow works for a famous fashion magazine (think Vogue etc), has a beautiful wife, lives in a big house, drives a fast car and plays the stock market. From this we're supposed to feel sorry for him. Okay, he gets pushed around a bit, but, for me, it just didn't make him as much as a loser as the film suggested. Then there's the 'super villain.' Only he's not. Captain America fought Red Skull, with Batman it was the Joker. Here, the 'villain' is an annoyingly loud guy who sleeps with more women than Peter Stringfellow. He's not trying to kill anyone, nor is he trying to take over the world. He's just an idiot. Again, hardly someone you can truly hate (get annoyed by - yes - but not hate).Full marks for Jason Flemyng for his America accent. Maybe Bruiser will get a remake one day and give it a budget and a script makeover. In the meantime, probably one to avoid. Sorry, George - I still love Dawn of the Dead.
gavin6942
After years of being tread upon and cheated on, a man awakens to find his face has a been replaced by an blank, white mask.I have always appreciated Romero for his non-zombie films. Sure, he will always be known as the zombie guy, and his first three (Night, Dawn, Dead) are masterpieces. But he just keeps going... while some of his lesser known films ("Monkey Shines" and "Martin") are among his best work. This, too, is probably the last good film he made (as of 2013).Apparently, due to marketing it as horror, what resulted was the film going straight-to-video. I get that, but I do not know how to say this is not horror. I see it is a drama of sorts, but there is no denying the blood and supernatural elements.Peter Stormare is excellent (one of the best character actors alive) and, of course, Tom Atkins is the best part of the film. Tom is such a nice guy, it is a pleasure to see him excel.
Peppered_Productions
This was another fearnet offering - I knew I'd watched before, but wanted to be able to give a review, so I played it again.There are some cool things I liked about this film, and overall I think it was a solid story. We meet Henry, an average, passive guy. He is out of place in his job as part of a cutting- edge magazine. He is out of place with his bitchy self-absorbed wife. He leaves the world and those around him to run his life, and he is content, but clearly not enjoying life.We open with Henry's morning routine - he is exercising while listening to a talk radio show. The aggressive DJ pokes and prods at a man threatening suicide. On-air, the caller kills himself. Henry is fascinated.We glimpse Henry's girlfriend, Janine, who is irritable and refuses to acquiesce to his simple requests that she wrangle her yapping pup. He puts up with being ignored, and heads out.At the train station, he chats with his friend-slash-financial adviser, James. Henry meekly points out that he expected more money from their transactions. James smoothly deflects, and Henry admits that the scrutiny of the statements is up to his wife. Uh-oh.As everyone boards the train, a rude woman pushes past Henry. He fantasizes taking revenge, assaulting her. But, it's fantasy & he snaps out of it just in time to board the already-moving train.Clearly, Henry has some latent aggression buried within himself.At work, we continue the pattern of him being surrounded by egomaniacal, abusive users. His boss Milo Styles is the most blatantly abusive. In a meeting, he berates his staff while searching for his 'hot new cover model'. Styles' wife, Rosie, seems to be the only decent person amongst the circle of sycophants and users that Henry has found himself in. But, even she is trapped in the seedy surroundings.Ever-pleasing Henry plans his boss's barbecue party and gala masquerade. At the BBQ, Henry is fitted with a mask by the meek Rosie. His assignment is to make it resemble himself. Off to rejoin the party - he spies his wife wanking off his boss. He watches for a little while, but in his manner, does nothing.On the drive home, Janine is her bitchy self, barking at a gas station attendant. He brings up what he spied. She yells at him for not saying or doing anything. She eventually drops him off at home, and speeds off - advising him not to wait up. He has another violent fantasy, but does nothing. Defeated, he undresses, and gets himself a drink.He awakes to a startling phenomenon. His face has grown a blank white mask - much like the one he got at the party. At first mortified, he tries to rip it off. However, he becomes resigned, then elated by this powerful shield.When he discovers his maid blatantly stealing from him - he draws on the strength of this semi-anonymity. He asserts himself...albeit overly-so. The maid ends up dead, by accident. He returns to reality, and panic, when his wife unexpectedly arrives home just after this incident. Luckily, she is completely self-absorbed and planning to sneak around, so does not notice anything.High with the freedom of his mask, he systematically goes about confronting all those who have wronged him. There arises a question of whether he, himself, is redeemable as his behavior escalates. Even his ties to Rosie become questionable as we progress through the story. The mask doesn't leave his face throughout this revenge rampage.The ending struck me as semi-cheesy; however, the entire film was definitely watchable. There is good character development, especially with Henry. We also see that Rosie has more depth than one would expect. She could have easily been a throwaway character. Instead, she is layered with complexity.We watch Henry's growth (albeit not down the healthiest path), as the mask gives him confidence and strength. He retains a semblance of his humanity, epitomized in his affection for Rosie; however, he becomes far more a monster than the users around him. I also liked Peter Stormare's performance as Miles. He truly is a horny prick, but doesn't go so far as to chew the scenery. Leslie Hope stays grounded as the conflicted Rosie. And, of course, Jason Flemyng holds it together through the emotional extremes of Henry.It's not a horror - more of a violent drama/suspense, but George A. Romero lives up to his history of good characterization and storyline. Definitely worth a viewing.
