BRUTAL
(Lionsgate 2007)
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Michael
Berryman, Sarah Thompson,
Written and Directed by Ethan Wiley.
Produced by Ethan Wiley and Roel Reine.
Executive Producer: Barry Barnholtz.
When the remains of a young woman are
discovered, a dimwitted sheriff, a
beautiful deputy and an autistic
tracker begin a frantic search for the
brutal murderer. But when the deputy
learns she’s the killer's next target,
she must stop the ruthless slasher
before it’s too late.
“This movie is an example of why you should never judge a book (or in this case, DVD) by its cover. This flick surprised the hell out of ... You’ll have yourself one entertaining ride. It was light and campy, and it never took itself too seriously...” –-Ammon Gilbert, Arrow-In-The-Head
“Brutal spends a lot of time being anything other than your
typical serial killer film. It digs into backwoods politics, human sexuality, ancient mathematical theories, and small town adultery as much as it does body parts and
motive... Even better, it contains acting that circumvents the
standard direct to DVD ideal, exploring the intriguing
dramatic arc of more than one engaging personality, and it
piles on the local color with its shot-in-an-isolated-setting
spatial ambience. …brilliant turns delivered here by Michael
Berryman, Jeffrey Combs, Eric Lange and Sarah Thompson…
…explosions of emotion, glimpses of potential directorial
flare, and proof that performers outside the mainstream can
more than handle the rigors of real acting. It bears repeating
how good the cast is.” -- Bill Gibron, DVD TALK
“A film...that doesn’t settle for simple slaughter and stupidity. Wiley’s commitment to creating characters who aren’t 17-year-old sex addicts looking to party (and be killed) is admirable.” --Allan Dart, Fangoria
“I have to give director Ethan Wiley a lot of credit for this movie, as you can see how much care he put into this. It's not too often that a direct to DVD slasher flick is this well made… The effects were well done… Brutal is a solid film.” --Ed Demko, Bloodtype Online
“One of the better DTV slasher flicks that I've seen...It's brutal, it's entertaining and it's just a surprisingly good time.” --Frederik Nordstrom, Slasherpool
All photos on this page by Ed Fox
a Wiseacre Production
BRUTAL debuted as #7 non-theatrical DVD rental in U.S. Source: Video Business.
Apart from some fearlessly brutal gore, a twisted concept and some nice insensitivity, the star of the show is Eric Lange's performance of Evan, the coolest serial killer to hit the screen since Dahmer was reincarnated as a moth and flew down the fast lane of a motorway on a cold winter's night... Brutal has been criticized for the killer's identity being revealed at the beginning of the movie, but that fact doesn't spoil the entertainment factor in the slightest. In fact, getting to know the lovable Evan makes him seem like such a more menacing character. ...a nice stalk-n-slash with inventive gruesomely executed butchery, some cool characters and an endearing and understanding look at mental disorders... Brutal takes the slasher slash serial killer concept and injects entertainment without resorting to cheap gags and potty humor and introduces the viewer to a serial killer for all potential teenage serial killers to aspire to.
-- Horror Extreme