Appearing in the early 2000s Bruiser was one of the later films helmed by George A. Romero (Night Of The Living Dead, The Crazies, Creepshow).  The film is a mix of modern parable/ drama, thriller, horror, and lopsided black comedy. It regards a brow-beaten business executive waking one morning, and finding out his face has been replaced by a blank white mask with pinprick eyes. The film is certainly an interesting/ if not wholly satisfying addition to Romero's filmography, and here, it gets a new release from Powerhouse. It’s available as either a Blu-Ray or UHD disc- featuring a new 4k scan of the picture, and a selection of new & archive extras.

Bruiser was a French-Canadian production appearing in the year 2000.  It was the 8th feature-length credit from Mr Romero- appearing between The Dark Half(1993) and Land Of The Dead (2005) in his filmography. He wrote and directed the film, and it was his final non-zombie-themed horror film before he passed in 2017.

The film focuses on late twenty-something executive Henry Creedlow( Jason Flemyng) who works for an edgy fashion magazine called Bruiser. He’s living in a half-built new build with his wife Janine (Nina Garbiras) and her small yappy dog who doesn’t like Henry.  As things unfold we find out that his best buddy James( Andrew Tarbet) has conned him on an investment deal, and his wired/ obnoxious boss Miles(Peter Stormare) is constantly belittling/ talking down to him.

Henry & Janine get invited to a BBQ party at his boss's place- where we meet Miles’s arty/ photographer wife Rosemary (Leslie Hope) who likes their house guests to make their own facemask- decorating as they feel fit. Meanwhile, as the party goes on Janine lands up with her hands down Miles's trousers- Henry sees it but does nothing or say anything. On the way home in the car Janine belittles Herny’s response- saying he’s a wreak hopeless man…she drops him home, and drives off into the night.

The next morning Henry awakes doing his normal bathroom duties- but just as he’s wiping the mist of the mirror and getting ready to shave, he notices he has a blank white pinhole-eyed mask attached to his face. From here he goes on somewhat of revenge on all those who have brow-beaten him, including the dramatic hanging from a tower block killing- which sees Detective McCleary( Tom Atkins) brought into the fray to track down the blank-faced killer.

The film is a decidedly mixed bag- finding some rewarding moments, ideas and a  (largely) effective genre-varied soundtrack blending jazz, moody choral moments, and punk rock. Rubbing alongside uneven pacing, awkward plotting, and some terrible acting.

 
The first real issue is the film takes far too long to get going.  For its first thirty or so minutes it plays like a drama/come-light black comedy, with not much vim or vigour. Yes, we get intrusive thoughts from Henry- as he gets belittled/ pushed around by others- but these feel too brief, and not satisfying enough.

When the ‘mask’ gets attached to his face- things do kick into gear more- as we move into thriller-horror territory. And Henry’s revenge is largely fairly neat, and at points quite creative. Oh, and we have a great OTT party scene with the house band been none other than horror punk legends The Misfits.

Flemyng is a decidedly mixed lead- moving between being a little flat/ unbelievable, to hamming it up as the adding to his mask madman. Hope feels like a paint-by-numbers wife having an affair character. I’d say the only wholly effective/ memorable moments acting-wise come from  Stormare as his smug/unpleasant/ego-heavy boss. And Atkins the silver-haired detective who's focused on getting his man.

I’ve always had a soft spot for much of Romero’s filmography - including his later Living Dead films that most folks wrote off. So I was keen to see Bruiser- and I must say I’m very split about the film- with the positives & negatives fairly even weighed against each other. 

This new release features a 4k scan- which looks nicely clean and crisp- with a bold picture throughout. On the extra side of things, we have a good selection of things. On the new side, we have the following: Behind the Mask (9.26) This is an onscreen interview with the lead actor Jason Flemyng. He starts off by talking about how he got the role off the back of Lockstock & Two Smoking Barrels(1998). He talks about the role being well paid, it was in Canada, and it was working with Romero- so it was a win/win situation.  He discusses how he could only drink milk & eat chicken breasts with the mask on, as anything else would stain the lips. We find out the director always praised his acting, never got stressed on set, and loved making films.  He talks about how he was initially disappointed with his acting in the film after seeing it in the premiere, but it’s grown on him over the years.  Next, we have A Perfect Fit (8.59) this is an onscreen interview with Dr.Chud- the ex-drum of The Misfits.  He starts off by discussing how the songs used in the film were a group effort.  He talks about how Romero was a polite and patient director.  We find out he recorded a score for the film- but never got the guts up to give it to Romero, though he does play a short sample of it in the interview.  He talks about how he stole a sign from on set, and got the director to sign a Night Of The Living Dead poster. He says he felt The Misfits were a perfect fit for the film, and finishes off by discussing the video he filmed for the band's song Scream- where they all got to become zombies. Lastly, on the new side interview-wise, we have The Worm That Turned( 11.44) which finds genre expert/ author Kim Newman talking about the film.  He starts off by talking about how it stands as his least-known picture. He discusses the reason for the gaps in the director's career, and that this was his first project filmed outside of Pittsburgh.  He comments on the sleek & urbane tone of the film, which differs from the more small town feel of his past work. He talks about how Romero had a talent for writing awful/ unpleasant characters- and he selected great actors to play them, like Stormare.  He talks about how he feels the film to hand connects with Romero’s 1977 film Martin. And how the film has a rewarding sense of ambiguity to it. Lastly on the disc is a standalone two-minute sample of the unused score

On the archive side, we have the following:  a 2001  audio commentary with writer-director George A Romero and producer Peter Grunwald. Interview with George A Romero (44 mins): a previously unheard 2013 audio recording of the legendary filmmaker in conversation with disc producer James Blackford. A 2022 Introduction by Jean-Baptiste Thoret (10 mins): the French filmmaker and critic looks at Bruiser in the context of Romero’s wider career. Original theatrical trailers, and Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials.

The finished release comes with an eighty-page book with a new essay by Craig Ian Mann, an extensive archival interview with George A Romero, an in-depth location report, a look at the Misfits’ Romero-directed music video, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits.

Bruiser is certainly not a top-draw Romero film, but there are some interesting elements & ideas here. And it’s most certainly great to have the film getting the Powerhouse treatment- with a bold print, and a nice selection of extras- new & archive alike.