Bruiser (2000)

After years of being tread upon and cheated on, a man awakens to find his face has a been replaced by a blank, white mask.

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero

Stars:

Jason Flemyng, Peter Stormare, Leslie Hope

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Flemyng	...	Henry Creedlow
Peter Stormare	...	Miles Styles
Leslie Hope	...	Rosemary Newley
Nina Garbiras	...	Janine Creedlow
Andrew Tarbet	...	James Larson
Tom Atkins	...	Detective McCleary
Jonathan Higgins	...	Detective Rakowski
Jeff Monahan	...	Tom Burtram
Marie V. Cruz	...	Number Nine
Beatriz Pizano	...	Katie Saldano
Tamsin Kelsey	...	Mariah Breed
Kelly King	...	Gloria Kite
Susanne Sutchy	...	Colleen
Balázs Koós	...	Chester
Jean Daigle	...	Fadush

Storyline

The young executive of a publicity agency Henry Creedlow is a man that has repressed morbid thoughts and is walked over by most of his acquaintances: his wife is cheating on him with his boss and stealing his investments with help from his best friend; his housemaid is frequently stealing from his house and insulting him in Spanish; even his annoying poodle does not respect him. While in his daily morning routine listening to a talk show on the radio, he hears a man committing suicide live because he had been felt miserable and disrespected for a long time, and Henry feels impressed with the tragic story. The next morning, he wakes up to find his face covered by a white mask, changing his personality and letting him seek revenge against those who have humiliated him.

---

Plot Keywords:

tablesaw | face | mask | revenge | white mask | 

---

Taglines:

If looks could kill.

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, violence, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to George A. Romero and his wife Christine Forest on the DVD commentary on Dawn of the Dead (1978), the distributors of Bruiser (2000) sold it as a Romero horror film (example of that is the poster with the gashes on the white face). Both Romero and Forest felt that it wasn't just a horror film but more of a story of a man who is going through difficulties in his life. The fate of selling this movie as a horror film was this movie ended up going to video instead of theaters.

---

Quotes

Henry Creedlow: The man had gone to market, to buy a diamond ring. The man who never noticed, that he was not a king. He choose the brightest sparkle, a diamond made of glass. The setting bright and gold, was crafted out of brass. The man spent all his money, the jeweler was a cheat. He told the man that royals, wore diamonds on their feet. The man went proudly walking, inside his shoe the ring. And no one ever told him, that he was not a king.

---

Connections

References The Lone Ranger (1949)

---

Soundtracks

Underground
Performed by Moist

User Reviews

Identity Crisis

The young executive of a publicity agency Henry Creedlow (Jason Flemyng) is a man that has repressed morbid thoughts and is walked over by most of his acquaintances: his wife is cheating him with his boss and stealing money of his investments with his best friend; his housemaid is frequently stealing his house and offending him in Spanish; even his annoying poodle does not respect him. While in his daily morning routine listening to a talk show on the radio, he hears a man committing suicide live because he had been felt miserable and disrespected for a long time, and Henry feels impressed with the tragic event. On the next morning, he wakes up with his face covered by a white mask, changing his personality and seeking revenge against those that have humiliated him.

"Bruiser" is a very weird and one of the worst (if not the worst) movies of George A. Romero. The theme about a man that has a breakdown after years of failure and bad treatment, causing the loss of his identity and making him faceless to murder those that have somehow damaged his life is original, but something does not work well in the screenplay of this movie. In my opinion, the character of Henry should be more developed before the supernatural mask appears in his face, and the behavior of the nasty and extravagant character of Milo Styles, performed by Peter Stormare, should be more restrained to make him believable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Máscara do Terror" ("The Mask of Terror")

Details

Country:

France Canada USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

13 February 2000 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Bruiser

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,960

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Barenholtz Productions, Romero-Grunwald Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1