“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

“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

 “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

“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

“Looking at this box cover, I immediately thought ‘Oh crap, what am I in for now?’ You can imagine my surprise, when I was stunned to discover that, you know, BRUTAL isn’t half bad. It has an eighties slasher feel to it, with a pinch of comedy that even had me chuckling a few times. Brutal is, dare I say it, actually clever in some parts. The cast is good, as well. Jeffrey Combs is great (but then, isn’t he always?) as the town sheriff and looks excited just to be out of his lab coat. Angel fans will recognize Sarah Thompson as the naïve deputy and Michael Berryman plays a supporting role where he’s not only a good guy, but also kind of a hero! Now, I may be talking this film up because I had zero expectations, but I must say that while I was watching this so-called slasher, a strange thing happened. I found myself as interested in everything else as I was in the gore set pieces. For a direct-to-DVD release, Brutal has a quite a lot of extras. There is a lengthy behind-the-scenes featurette and a still gallery. There is also a commentary with director Ethan Wiley. It’s pretty in-depth and considering he is by himself, he holds his own. He talks at length about how wildfires threatened the shoot on several occasions and that Brutal is a prequel to his 2006 movie, Blackwater Valley Exorcism, in which some of the same characters appear.”  -- Horror Section