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.

There were a couple of hooks that got me to watch this film. First, it was a chance to see a George Romero film that wasn't a "Living Dead" film. Then there was the poster with the faceless face; it looked very stylish. And best of all, it was free on On-Demand! Well, you get what you pay for. This film has a lot of visual style, but like many of the characters, zero substance. The plot had some good basics, but was often confused and muddling. Henry wasn't much of schlub; he was too good looking, had too much material wealth and didn't seem sympathetic enough. Mr. Romero should have taken some notes from some of the classic Twilight Zone episodes (anything w/Burgess Meredith for example). The rest of the cast is only fleshed out partially. For a visual film, I didn't get enough clues to let me know who's who. The one exception is Milo, who is WAAAAY over the top.

The are some good points in the film, most notably the Misfits being in the film and the use of the mask. The latter, is what sets Romero's Living Dead series apart from the rest of the genre. He makes a statement (living dead = mindless masses)with the film; in this case the faceless people who go through life being ignored and exploited. When the film touches on that theme, it comes alive and draws you in. Unfortunately, they are too few to make this film worthwhile.

Normally, I despise remakes, but I think this film would be a good one to revisit. As it stands, I give it 4 out of 10.

In BRUISER, evidence of a surreal paranormal event is almost perfectly captured on film by George Romero. The film's protagonist, Henry, weakly worms him way through life until the morning he awakens to find a blank, white mask where his real face once was. At one point, it's suggested the mask frees Henry to indulge in his rage fantasies, and then to logically murder those who have wronged him. Henry's innate goodness won't allow him to kill innocent people, but it's interesting to see that Romero never apologizes for Henry's murder fantasies. Henry is, like all of us, capable of brutal, heinous acts, if only in our heads.

As an idea, Henry's "Faceless" identity is fascinating, as it is believed that Henry has psychically formed the blank face from the material of his submerged rage. The problem becomes when Henry, and the film, decides to become parody, amused by the circumstance of the Faceless-ness. Henry's revenge, when he takes it on the vile cast of his wife, his boss, and his best friend/financer, does not reflect Henry's rage. The revenge is muted and lacking real anger, though much is made of what Henry will do when he goes after these people.

Romero made possibly his technically-finest film only to lose the incredible surreal event that changed his believable, solid main character into a vengeance machine, which weakens the story and its conclusion considerably. The instant Henry understands that the mask is truly HIS face is a great moment, and there are moments in BRUISER that stand up well with the best Romero has done.

It should also be pointed out that Romero comes from another time and mentality in filmmaking, when the idea of sex, sex by naked people, on-screen, in all it's almost-realism, was not ignored and disregarded...namely the 1970s, when there was something to be said for people getting it on that didn't require cutaways and soft lenses. It's almost refreshing in these puritanical days of zero-actual-sex in films, and talk talk talk of sex in every medium, and the threat of sex on "real TV" shows, to find Romero willing to show a little legs over the shoulders. Even if everyone who has sex in BRUISER is unrepentant scum, that still doesn't change the fact that we, the viewer, are witness to sex that isn't a slow-motion fantasia starring Jeremy Irons.

BRUISER is a fascinating film that suddenly unravels at the end, like an old baseball hit too hard. Still worth it, just for the great attempt at something original by an original, in Romero.

Bruiser (2000) was the long awaited return for horror film maker George A. Romero. While it was great to see old George back in action, the end results were a mix bag. A pseudo thriller about a brow beaten man who wakes up one day without a face! The guy uses this new (or lack of) identity to strike back at those who have wronged him in the past. Will this new face have any drawbacks? Can George A. Romero still make a watchable movie? You'll just have to watch Brusier!

The movie wasn't bad (but it's neither a classic) like some people have stated. It was a chance for Romero to get back into action after many film projects have died on the vine in the past ten years. He made a watchable movie on a real tight budget. Let's hope he'll get the opportunity to make more films.

Recommended for fans of George A. Romero. Others will not be so forgiving.