Bruiser (2000)

*Get a physical copy of "Bruiser" on Amazon here*
*Watch "Bruiser" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get "Bruiser" wall decor on Amazon here*
*Get the album "Misfits" by Misfits on Amazon here*

Almost a decade after his underrated adaptation of Stephen King's novel "The Dark Half", Romero finally returns to the director's chair with a lovely little suspenser that must have made Wes Craven green with envy.

Jason Flemyng is Henry, a put-upon nobody who is treated like crap by his wife, Janine (Nina Garbiras), and one of Romero's most vile creations- boss Miko, played with a lot of balls (literally, we get to see them) by Peter Stormare. Miko is the pig who runs the magazine Bruiser, where Henry toils. Henry's best friend tries to calm him in relation to money, Henry's maid is stealing from him, and even his wife's annoying little poodle hates him. One morning, Henry hears a listener shoot himself on a talk radio show. This event changes him. Henry likes to imagine what would happen if he killed himself, or pushed back against the world that is pushing him around. For a company masquerade, Henry is fitted with a blank white mask that must be decorated. After he catches his wife with Miko, and she rejects him at home, Henry loses all sense of identity. He wakes up one morning, wearing a blank white mask he cannot remove, and begins acting on the murderous impulses against all the people who have been treating him like trash, or not noticing him at all.

This film could be considered a cousin to Joel Schumacher's "Falling Down," except in this case, Henry is not a somebody who is fed up with everyone, he is a nobody who becomes everyone's whipping boy. Some of the line readings here are off, but the main cast of characters more than make up for it, especially Stormare. Romero makes a very un-"Night of the Living Dead" and "Martin." His direction is so clean and modern, with a good jazz score highlighting Henry's perceived nonexistence in a crazed material world. If you are seeking the Romero of the past, look elsewhere. This is not a slasher film. Romero, who also wrote the screenplay, showed he does not have to stick to zombies, he could handle a psychological thriller very well. The video box cover makes this look like another "Friday the 13th" flick, with a silhouetted man with a knife that does not appear in the movie, but this is so much more. I think many of the negative reviews came from dashed expectations more than a reaction to Romero's change of pace.

Romero had some duds, including the stupid "Monkey Shines," but I think this was one of his better efforts. "Bruiser" went straight to video, and died, and that is unfortunate.

Stats:
(2000) 99 min. (* * * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by George A. Romero
-Cast: Jason Flemyng, Nina Garbiras, Peter Stormare, Leslie Hope, Andrew Tarbet, Tom Atkins, Jonathan Higgins, Jeff Monahan, Marie V. Cruz, Beatriz Pizano, Tamsin Kelsey, Kelly King, Misfits
(R)