殘酷的彼得

　　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.

難得的週末家庭夜變得殘酷無情，傑伊被突然闖入的陌生人挾持，與另外三名囚者受困地下室。當他們試圖逃離，卻陷入一場艱苦的奮戰，他得解決眼前痛苦的難題並拯救家人…

八歲的彼得（伍迪·諾曼 Woody Norman 飾）經常受到來自臥室牆壁內的神秘的、持續的敲牆聲的困擾——他的父母堅持認為這種敲擊聲只是他的想象。隨著彼得的恐懼加劇，他相信他的父母可能隱藏著一個可怕、危險的秘密，並逐漸喪失對他們的信任。對於一個孩子來說，還有什麼比這更可怕的呢？

故事以二戰末期為背景，講述五人美軍小隊奉命守護一座法國古堡。不料城堡除了殘餘的敵軍，一股超自然的邪惡力量也正在蓄勢待發。小隊眾人也面臨著比戰場上更加殘酷的威脅。

當Sadie發現男友凱文和自己最好的朋友有一腿時，Sadie設計了一個“浪漫”的週末，一個只有他們三人的聚會，聚會充斥恐怖、扭曲的性心理遊戲。陷阱已經布好了......被蔑視的女人發起怒來比任何人都要...

該片為1974年的經典恐怖片《德州電鋸殺人狂》的前傳電影。影片講述四個精神病犯人從精神病院逃出，並綁架了一名年輕的護士，他們一起踏上了血腥殘酷的旅程。追在他們身後的，是一對精神錯亂的德州騎警。

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.