Bruiser [DVD]

I thought this lesser George Romero film was an ok watch, but it has received very little exposure since its release. The story is of Henry (Jason Flemyng)a guy who has been walked over all his life. His wife always insults him and is also having an affair with his boss and his best friend has been cheating him out of money. One morning Henry wakes up to find his face has vanished and replaced by a blank white mask. Now he knows it's time to act and get revenge on all those that have betrayed him..
Firstly the film contains good performances and is stylishly directed by Romero. It's slowly paced but i think it develops well and is well crafted. No doubt there are major meanings to the film that we all may have different takes on. But it's also quite fun to watch as Henry plots revenge on all those that have done him wrong. In all this is definitely worth a watch and it's a different viewing experience for sure.
Picture quality is good and extras include production commentary,trailer,misfits video. Yes these old punks even make an appearence in the film during the party climax.

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.

Spoiler Free.

This feels very Twilight Zone and it has all the good and bad things that comparison suggests. A low budget and lack of stars lead to a reliance on creative special effects and ideas. Some of these work, the mask that the character wears (or more accurately is melded into his face) looks amazing. It seems surreal, organic, strange, haunting and slightly beautiful. It would not be out of place in an early David Cronenberg horror.

However this film is little more than one simple idea, a guy gets pushed around too far and decides to take bloody vengeance. Sadly, that really is all there is to it. There is an idea of having your identity, your image of yourself destroyed thus allowing you to craft yourself a new one of your choice that doesn't quite work. As another reviewer has said on this page the protagonist never really seems to have suffered in equal amount to the punishment he inflicts on others.
The major negative of this film is the dialogue, awfully written, no subtlety what so ever, it explains the plot and weakens the film dramatically. Performances are great but very one dimensional (though this seems deliberate), nice to see Jason Flemying in a lead role and he rises to the occasion. His characters' girlfriend is pure sex and cruelty and she delivers wonderfully and believably. You may not recognize the name, Peter Stormare (the villain) but you'll recognize him as the actor who always plays extreme characters chewing through the scenery and always being over the top and this is one of his best, funniest and ridiculous performances that is always a lot of fun to watch.

Purchased from Amazon this dvd has no special features at all. Though picture and sound quality is very good for such a cheaply made film.

Directed well it has some really nice surreal moments, some gory set pieces and some well made sets, lighting and costumes that come together in a macabre finale in a freak-show party (featuring an unexpected cameo from the band 'The Misfits'). Though entertaining you're unlikely to watch this a second time. If you can get this for £5 or under it's entertaining enough to be worth a watch.