A typical weekend down the shore takes a bizarre turn into the mysterious New Jersey Pine Barrens as six girls and five obnoxious fist-pumpers become the unsuspecting targets of a mentally-deranged killer.
一觉醒来的亚当(雷?沃纳尔 Leigh Whannell饰)发现自己被困在一个废弃的厕所里。他的对面是同样命运的劳伦斯(加利?艾尔维斯 Cary Elwes 饰)——他们被人用铁链绑住了腿,并吃惊发现二人中间横亘着一个恐怖的死人。死人鲜血淋漓,左手拿录放机右手拿枪。 亚 当兜里被人放进来一盘磁带,他赶紧放到录放机里。磁带里说,劳伦斯必须在今晚6点前杀死亚当,否则二人将同归于尽,劳伦斯的家人也不能幸免。而面前死人流出来的血,剧毒无比。 一个血腥的死亡游戏开始了。在剩下不多的时间里,他们必须找到线索,逃出地狱。在最后关头,当他们以为重见天日的时候,新一轮的噩梦才刚刚开始。
Constantly on the hunt and suffering from hallucinations that drive his violent nature, an unnamed man is capturing women and savagely beating them to death. Meanwhile, a woman is luring men into a violent end, by way of her knife. Driven by the same force to make the opposite sex suffer, the killers’ fates intertwine. The two must face off in a battle to the death, in which they are forced to reveal the horrible truth behind their addiction to murder. “Brutal” takes an interesting approach to its visuals, drawing heavy influence from Western “Grindhouse” films, using a filter to make the footage appear grainy, damaged, and with light and color fluctuations. Unfortunately, the visual styling ends up feeling misguided, as other than applying the filter it does not imitate any other aspects of the “Grindhouse” genre. Despite trying to dirty up the film, it is apparent it was shot on digital. The cinematography is also a step above most “Grindhouse” productions, with Takashi Hirose proving he has talent behind the camera. Exterior shots to those taking place in small spaces are all competently framed, lit, and transition well. The decision to add an effect on top of the work hurts the film’s imagery and even gives a sense of desperation to try to capture a certain type of nostalgia with the audience, instead of relying on its own strengths. It is unfortunate when one creative choice can hurt a production so much. The story of “Brutal” is simple but effective, it does attempt some sort of social commentary about the violent nature of men and women, but it does not offer enough depth into the subject to justify the amount of violence on display. The film does end on a strong note with an interesting twist, with a reveal that is bound to gross some out, while giving others a chuckle. In spite of its simple nature, those who enjoy films that make them somewhat uncomfortable and enjoy the challenge of getting through some ultra-violence, “Brutal” poses a fun and entertaining challenge in that regard.