Customer Reviews

Bruiser

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

iam a film student and whole my life i've been interested in horror genre.i can't describe the emotions and feelings that i have , while iam watching a horror film,specially GEORGE A.ROMERO Films.Describing the world and the human beings identity and personality,as the way he sees gives me the feeling of not being alone in this world.THERE ARE NOT SOMANY PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO UNDERSTANDS THE HORROR FILMS AND THE HORRORGENRE SOMUCH,THAT MEANS NOT SOMANY PEOPLE TO SHARE THIS KIND OF WORK OF ARTS.I SAW BRUISER LAST YEAR WITH MY LOVING GIRLFRIEND AND A FRIEND ALSO A FILMSTUDENT AT THE SAME UNIVERSITY OF MINE.After seeing George A.Romeros The Bruiser i had a small fight with him about this movie,because he did'nt quite understand the movie.Thats why not everyone should see these films,people like you give a bad name and make stupid critics.thanks for the fılmmaker like George A. Romeros who shares his mind with us.
Thanks for reading

After a long hiatus, George Romero returns with a startling and innovative film that's not so much a horror film but a character study of a victimized magazine executive with no sense of identity......who suddenly finds himself literally without an identity, as he wakes up one morning to find his face replaced by a blank white mask.

The premise is strong, the actors are all terrific, and there are a handful of classic Romero scenes that emphasize his humorous and satrical side rather that his flesh-eating side, but the script has a not-quite-finished flavor that keeps the film from being satisfying. Instead of focusing on the main characters, we have a pretty useless subplot involving the police that adds nothing to the film, and the Halloween party climax is badly edited and disappointing.

A good film, but not a great one. If you forget about flesh-eating zombies and pay attention to Romero's scathing, cynical attacks on consumer culture and the loss of identity in the modern world, then you will find this film worth a viewing.

The Name George Romero Brings To Mind One Film....Night Of The Living Dead. Let Me Start Of By Saying If You Plan On Compareing This Film To NOTLD Then Your Not Likely Going To Injoy Bruiser, But In No Way Does That Make It A Bad Film. I Bought This Film After Reading The Liner Notes In The Misfits Album "Cuts From The Crypt" Which Contains 2 Of The 4 Misfits Songs Featured In This Film, Which I Will Get To Later. The Film In Short IS Not In My Opinion Horror. But Then Again It's Not Drama, Action, Suspense, SCI-FI, Or Any One Genre Of Film. The Story Is That Of Henry. A Young Bussiness Man Who Works For A Magazine Called Bruiser (Hence The Title). All His Life He Gets Steped On By The People He Trust And Loves Mos. His Wife, His Best Friend, And His Boss. But One Man Can Only Take So Much. One Day He Wakes Up To Discover His Face Has Turned Into A Living Mask. Thus His Revenge Begins. Some Sceans Seem To Linger On A Tad But Not Too Much (The Films Only 99 Minutes Long). Half Of The Film Is Much Of Henrys Stress Which Leads Up To Him Finnaly Standing Up For Him Self. The Second Half Is Pure Revenge. Liek I Said The Deaths Arent Grusome Or Bloody, But To An Extent Thats What Makes Them Seem Very Real. Although The Reason For Henrys Face Turning To A White Mask Is Never Explained It Does Add A Certin Mistique To The Film. And Seeing As His Mask Isn't Like The Run Of The Mill Horror Mask I Say It's A Good Thing. There Isn't Much Gore Here But The Feel You Get From The Film Seems Very Satisfing. One Of Those Things Were You Love The Killer And Hate The Victims. The Film Ends At A Bruiser Masquerde Party/Rave Were My Favorite Band Of All Time "The Misfits" Play For Any Other 'Fits" Fans Out There The 4 Songs Played Are "Decending Angel" And "Scream" From The Album "Famous Monsters" And "Fiend Without A Face" And "Bruiser" Which Were Written For This Film But Not Released On CD Till The Misfits Put Together "Cuts From The Crypt". The Film Has One Very Creative Death Sceen That In Volves A Laser Used In The Misfits Set Performence. All In All I Give This Film 3.5 Stars. It's Not Horror But It's Still A Very Interesting Film That Leaves A Few Unanswered Questions. Special Features Include Commentary, And The Music Video For "Scream". After Viewing This Film You Will Be Left With One Of 2 Thoughts. If Yur Open Minded - "That Was One Of The Most Unique Films In Years". If Your Close Minded - "That Was Crap I Dint See Any Guts!!". SO In Closeing I Say If You Want To See Something Different Or Collect Films By Romero Or Collect Films For Any Other reason Or Like Me Simply Want To See The Misfits Then Yes i Recomend This Film. If Your Looking For A Gore Fest Or A Film Like Night Of The Living Dead Then You Will Be SEVERLY Dissapointed. Fangs For Reading Guyz. Peace

After eight years, Romero returns. This movie, was of course, NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING. Not from George...

However, I enjoyed the movie as it is a odd mix of Kafka's The Metamorphosis meets Joel Schumacher's Falling Down with Michael Douglas.

Poor, meek, downtrodden Henry Creedlow finally wakes up & realizes that human beings are treating him like crap. He has hallucinations during these bad times about doing the things, and bad things they are, to the whole, insensitive human race.

Henry is getting screwed by life & he ain't gonna take it anymore! He wife is screwing his megalomaniac & sexually charged boss, his best friend in the world is screwing Henry, GEEZ, does this guy get a break? Even the hired help is screwing poor Henry, strangers on the street are rude & the yippy pampered family poodle treats him with contempt!

Until...

Henry gets some HUGE cojones, with the aid of a white mask replacing his face. Thus, making him the ultimate in an anonymous killers.

Speaking of killers... There is an excellent soundtrack and appearance by The Misfits in an ultimate, hedonistic head banging, party scene.

This isn't REALLY a horror movie, per se. It is a quietly crafted and sophisticated revenge of the downtrodden picture that I really and truly enjoyed!

Happy Watching!

Bruiser, written and directed by George A. Romero, legendary horror creator of one of the scariest movies of all time, Night Of the Living Dead, tells a sort of flat tale of what happens when an unassuming mouse of a man wakes one day to find he has lost his face, only to be replaced with a white, featureless mask. The title refers to a fashion magazine where the lead character works.

Henry Creedlow (Jason Flemyng) is your typical 'nice' guy who struggles with many aspects of his life. His wife has absolutely no respect for him, claiming he's a loser and going nowhere, while engaging in an affair with Henry's boss (Peter Stormere) who verbally abuses Henry every chance he gets. Not only that, but Henry's best friend and financial advisor has been stealing from Henry, causing Henry to go deep into debt in his efforts to try and create a lavish house only to satisfy his wife. Henry's world is a bleak one, fleshed out with revenge fantasies and the occasional thoughts of suicide.

Then, one day, Henry wakes up to find his face is gone. In its' place is a white, featureless mask which empowers Henry to take matters into his own hands, righting the wrongs, dealing with those, in a rather bloody fashion, who've taken from Henry for so long.

Given this movie was written and directed by George Romero, I was, as probably many others, expecting more than what we got. There were brief moments of visceral violence, but not nearly as much as I would have expected. I never really felt a sense of suspense as the faceless terror stalked his victims. The kinder, gentler horror of George Romero I suppose. The makeup to create the 'new' Henry certainly looked spooky, but the meandering of the plot squashed any possibilities of chills and thrills out of the movie for me. And given the fact that there were no likeable characters in the movie, there was no real fondness ever developed, no attachments made, and thus, not much interest when various characters met their fate. Even the character of Henry never provided any bonding to the audience, as first he is this meek, little man we may feel sorry for, but sympathy is far from liking, and then he turns into this brutal, remorseless killer finally dealing with matters that could he himself let deteriorate to the point they did.

The movie on this disc is presented in wide screen format, and special features include a trailer for this movie and a couple other Lion's Gate releases, production commentary, and a Misfits' music video, as the band, in its' form current to the time, makes an appearance in the movie. Bruiser had much potential, but lacked the bite I was really looking for...Romero fans will probably be disappointed if they are looking for something along the lines of his other releases like NOTLD, The Crazies, or Martin. While those movies definitely reside out of the mainstream, this one plops itself right in the center of it, and suffers.

Very creative in my opinion. The characters were strong. Storyline was well done; Henry had to finally learn to stand up for himself & stop being a nobody. Not a masterpiece but still very good.

George Romero's contributions to the horror genre are legendary. Here is the guy who made "Night of the Living Dead" in the late 1960s, single-handedly bringing flesh-eating zombies into the lexicon of millions of horror fans. Two sequels followed with differing levels of success, but Romero's zombie films most importantly inspired several Italian directors, most notably Lucio Fulci and Umberto Lenzi, to churn out a plethora of grue drenched films featuring the shambling dead. Of course, Romero didn't just sit around during the intervals between zombie films; he made other films that, while not as well known as the trilogy of "Dead" films, are eerie in there own right. There is, of course, the gritty picture "The Crazies," a film about a viral infection's devastating impact on the residents of a small Pennsylvania town. Another one of these movies is his latest one, "Bruiser." "The Crazies" was a great, low budget effort that really worked on many levels. Sadly, "Bruiser" is a poor vehicle that, in my humble opinion, rarely works on any level and sullies this director's reputation in the horror genre.

Bruiser is the name of a fashion magazine where the film's protagonist, Henry Creedlow, spends his day trying to earn a buck. And work he must, for his life appears to be one huge money pit. His gorgeous wife Janine expects a lot from her husband, like nice cars, fancy clothes, and a huge house decorated with expensive accoutrements. Not content when she receives these nice things, Janine hounds Henry constantly about not standing up for himself. We soon learn that she has a point: Creedlow wines to his stockbroker pal, who just happens to handle Henry's finances, about not earning enough money on his investments. Henry doesn't really do anything drastic, like change brokers, but instead stews quietly to himself about his cash flow problems. More challenges await Henry in the deteriorating relationship with his boss at the magazine. Milos Styles is a world-class jerk; a domineering, spastic dragon who takes great joy in belittling those around him. Although Creedlow has a good relationship with Styles's estranged photographer/mask sculpturing wife, Milos makes him want to scream. But what's a guy in debt up to his eyeballs going to do? Quit? That's out of the question. Instead, Henry Creedlow internalizes his anger, only occasionally indulging in imaginative acts of bloody violence carried out against his persecutors. For example, when a pushy woman elbows her way ahead of Henry at the train station, he fantasizes about pushing her underneath the train and revels in seeing the wheels roll over her head.

Things are about to get worse to the nth degree. Problems arise when he sees wife Janine and boss Milo fooling around at a work party. His wife actually has the nerve, when confronted by Henry about her indiscretions, to argue with him over his meek acceptance of her adultery. This incident is the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back, and Janine secretly plans to leave her weak willed husband. At this point, something interesting happens. Henry awakens from a night's sleep and discovers his face covered by a mask eerily similar to one Milos's wife gave him the day before. Our hero panics when he realizes the mask is somehow molded to his face, completely impervious to any attempts at removal, and now really is anonymous to the outside world. He uses the mask as a means to get revenge against his oppressors and chooses Janine as his first target. When Creedlow learns how successful the operation against his wife was, he plans other attacks that threaten his embryonic relationship with Milos's wife while bringing in unwanted attention from the police. The movie concludes at a party thrown by Milos for his employees and models, where Creedlow must decide if his ultimate revenge plot is worth risking his life.

I loved the first twenty or thirty minutes of "Bruiser." Only a cold-hearted jerk would fail to empathize with Henry's plight. Here's a successful guy who has got it all, and no one pays him an ounce of respect. Romero makes sure that the enemies arrayed against Creedlow adequately embody evil, from the snotty Janine to the overbearing Styles. You just know "Bruiser" is going to turn into a revenge film with Creedlow gunning for his enemies. The only question is what type of revenge film we will see, and it is in this aspect that "Bruiser" ultimately disappoints. After Creedlow woke up with his white mask, the movie started to drag horribly. I knew I was in trouble when I kept glancing at the clock on the mantle and found myself astonished that only a few minutes had gone by when it felt like hours. This film is horribly arthritic for a revenge picture, with so much time passing between killings that boredom rapidly sets in. Even worse, the murders we do see are rather tepid affairs definitely not worth the wait.

A few things really work for the movie. I can't remember the last time I saw such a stylish film, with characters wearing expensive looking clothing interacting in houses loaded with sumptuous decorations. A few of the characters, particularly Styles's wife, appear downright patrician in their demeanor and appearance. If only Romero had contrasted the posh surroundings with some gritty violence, "Bruiser" could have been a real winner. As far as the DVD goes, you get a gore filled music video from The Misfits, a commentary from director Romero, and trailers for "Bruiser," "O," and "Faust." You get a nice picture transfer too. Romero will have to do better than this if he wants me to sit down with one of his pictures in the future, however.

to sum it up..henry is a business man that has gotten no where. his boss is having an affair with his wife,and his best friend is stealing thousands from him.
he wakes up one day, to find a blank face. he then proceeds to get revenge on those who have done him wrong. the final murder was a little weak, but still a good movie..the misfits did a really good job in the club scene. while the 'fits perform scream, fiend without a face, and bruiser, henry takes a laser and kills his boss who is suspended from the ceiling as if part of the show.
also i liked the video for SCREAM. Romero did a great job directing it.

George A. Romero's Bruiser is really a great combination of horror and comentary of humanity. Yes you do see scenes of horror, a woman's head being crushed by a train, a woman being thrown out a window of a building with an extension cord wrapped securly around here neck, yes you do see things of this nature, but the main focus of the film seems to revolve around the life of an everyday guy who is walked on everyday of his life by his wife,boss (the 2 are sleeping together), his best friend cheating him out of money that belong to him, but one day he wakes up and his face is replaced with a white mask, he then starts to sink into insanity, carrying his twisted revege on all those who have wronged him. Romero shows this cruel and hard world that is sometimes true, but just as he shows this Romero also shows that even in the most unexpected places youn can find a real friend, someone that can give you hope when you need it most. Bruiser is not a striaght out horror film, it's more of a social commentary just as he had done earlier in his classic dead films, Romero this time shows maybe humanity is not all that bad.

Perhaps what makes this movie so bad is the fact that it could easily have been so good. With legendary horror director George Romero, and a cameo appearance from the greatest band of all time, the Misfits, "Bruiser" seemed like a sure shot. The surreal, Kafka-esque story that formed its basis was solid, and for the most part, the acting was up to snuff. So where does this movie fail? The script.

It starts out stunningly well, and continues to go strong right up to the point where Henry murders his light-fingered maid. Unfortunately, from that point on, it quickly disintigrates into greater and greater absurdity, bottoming out with a climax so ridiculous that it left me shaking my head. The film could have been a harrowing study of the terrible price of revenge on man's soul. Instead, the protagonist comes off as a twisted role-model for the power and benefits of self-assertion. Apparently, the most efficient way to take charge of your life is to strangle your wife to death with an extension cord.

Even through the muck and mire of this film, Romero still manages to serve up some very poignant imagery, and the Misfits video on the DVD edition is great, but I would counsil you to stay away from this movie. Or if you absolutely must see it, rent it first and check it out before spending your hard-earned money.