Bruiser

The young executive of a publicity agency Henry Creedlow (Jason Flemyng) is a man that has repressed morbid thoughts and is walked over by most of his acquaintances: his wife is cheating him with his boss and stealing money of his investments with his best friend; his housemaid is frequently stealing his house and offending him in Spanish; even his annoying poodle does not respect him. While in his daily morning routine listening to a talk show on the radio, he hears a man committing suicide live because he had been felt miserable and disrespected for a long time, and Henry feels impressed with the tragic event. On the next morning, he wakes up with his face covered by a white mask, changing his personality and seeking revenge against those that have humiliated him.

"Bruiser" is a very weird and one of the worst (if not the worst) movies of George A. Romero. The theme about a man that has a breakdown after years of failure and bad treatment, causing the loss of his identity and making him faceless to murder those that have somehow damaged his life is original, but something does not work well in the screenplay of this movie. In my opinion, the character of Henry should be more developed before the supernatural mask appears in his face, and the behavior of the nasty and extravagant character of Milo Styles, performed by Peter Stormare, should be more restrained to make him believable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Máscara do Terror" ("The Mask of Terror")

I was sadly disappointed upon seeing George A. Romero's latest film, Bruiser. I bought it used on VHS with no doubt in my mind that it would at least be visually entertaining and a cut above the typical slasher film genre.

However, I found it to be a bore and totally disappointing. On the plus side, the movie does have quite a bit going for it. The theme of "identity" and having an alter ego of sorts that pretty much plays out subconscious actions, is intriguing. I found the first third of the movie to be creative and suspenseful, as it played quite heavily with the mixing of fantasy and reality in the mind of the disturbed main character. Yet, shortly after this brief "tease", the movie descended into a typically plodding tale of a serial killer bent on revenging those who wronged him.

I think many of us can relate somewhat to the main character of this movie: a person who has been stepped on his whole life, is fed up being taken advantage of and wants to do something about it. The movie would have involved us more if it dared to be different. Making us doubt the goings on in the main character's mind or blending the real with the unreal would have made for a more cerebral and provocative film.

I expect much more from Romero, who, in my book, is a virtual master of horror who gave us the always timely cult classic Night of the Living Dead, as well as a few other less prolific, but noteworthy horror movies. Yet there is no evidence of that Romero here.

The entire third act is set in a glitzy, highly cinematographic dance club with a blaze of color, lights and energy. Yet, Romero fails to take advantage of all this flash. He brings no visual excitement into these scenes, yet instead, cuts from scenes of performers to scenes of the killer and back again. This is from a man who has collaborated on films with Dario Argento and other horror masters. These final scenes would have been a great opportunity for Romero to show off some creative editing and faster pacing so that we could feel more of this energy and excitement.

I enjoy horror movies and will watch anything Romero comes out with in the future, despite the shortcomings of this film. Bruiser has a great premise, some wonderful dark humor and performances that transcend most others in this genre. The execution of the story and the action, however, seems to be missing much needed panache.

After seeing George A. Romero's new horror movie, I must say that I was a bit disappointed. With the man's background, I think I was expecting a bit more. The story concerns a man who is constantly walked all over by his friends, wife, boss, and co-workers. At a party, a woman is making masks for the guests out of the molds of their faces. She does his. As the night draws to a close, he sees his wife cheating on him with his boss and she tells him nastily that she wants out of the marriage. After dropping him off home, she goes out for the night. The next morning, Henry (the main character) wakes up to find the mask from the party on his face and cannot be removed. With this mask on, he seems to change personalities. He is no longer the doormat and will not be taken advantage of. So, he proceeds to go after all the characters in the movie who have wronged him and pay them back. I thought this was pretty tame for a Romero movie. I mean, it's several minutes between the paybacks and their not even that impressive. With this film clocking in at about 90 minutes, it feels almost double that with the slow-pace the story moves in. I found myself anxious for it to just hurry up and conclude. The only thing that did catch me was the ending was pretty interesting. However, I really would not recommend this strange, but tame horror movie.

A man awakes one morning without his face - and he decides to take revenge on all people who betrayed him in a way.

This, in short, is the story of George A. Romero's first feature film since 1992's "The Dark Half", a decent if not really convincing adaption of Stephen King's story of the same title. And even though "Bruiser" is not a very spectacular or action- and goreloaded picture, it undoubtedly is Romero's finest film since his third zombie-epic "Day of the Dead" back in 1985.

It's a unique movie, rather quiet and sensibly developed: something You've see far too rarely in the last few years. The acting is also first rate, above all Jason Flemyng as the lead character. Peter Stormare is once again delicious, this time as the eccentric, sex-mad publisher of the "Bruiser"-magazine (you never really get to know what the magazine is all about, but it is obviously kind of a lifestyle magazine) and therefore Flemyng's character's boss. Stormare's enthusiastic acting is everything but annoying.

There is also some well placed humor in the picture, which has been present in most of Romero's films, only that this time it's more obvious than in his earlier pictures. The humor doesn't destroy the melancholy touch, though, that makes all of Romero's pictures so unique.

An audience who expects to see another "Dawn of the Dead" or "Creepshow" surely will be disappointed at first - but who ever said that "Bruiser" is a pure horror movie? It is more similar to "Martin" or even (in a metaphoric way) "The Crazies". One thing that's out of question is that Romero proves himself to be a real auteur, and it's always good to see new films from him - especially after an eight-year hiatus!

Highly recommended.

I got the chance to see Bruiser at a small screening in the presence of George A. Romero himself when he visited my college campus. I thought it was very interesting, a well written story as well as tightly directed. At the time I met with Romero, he wasn't sure if it would be released theatrically or move straight to video/DVD. He did tell me that it was produced by a small Canadian film company and may not be released in the U.S. for quite some time. Still, the Romero fans that I watched this with seemed to enjoy every second of it, as did I. I would refer this film to anyone who enjoys the dark comedy/cult classics such as Pulp Fiction or A Clockwork Orange.