Brutal Blu-ray Review

"Brutal" is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual and Unearthed Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The film's visual presentation is distinctly tailored to emulate the aesthetic of old, deteriorated film stock, featuring intentional elements like scratches, splotches, and even credit wobble. This degradation echoes techniques reminiscent of bleach bypass, yielding skewed colors and off-kilter contrast. Despite these artistic choices, the detail levels remain high throughout, particularly in close-up shots of gore, which reveal squirm-inducing fine details.

The film spans 66 minutes and is intentionally presented with a degraded picture quality that aligns with the gritty aesthetic typical of grindhouse cinema. This visual style appears deliberate, replicating the filmmakers' intentions faithfully. Takashi Hirose and cinematographer Magnus Thors utilize a standard palette and techniques influenced by prominent Japanese horror films like "Ringu." The 1080P resolution, encoded in AVC on a BD-25 disc, handles compression well, ensuring a relatively smooth visual experience. Black levels are acceptable, although some colors come across as more washed out, affecting overall definition and detail.

Overall, the Blu-ray’s video presentation effectively captures the raw and gritty vibe intended by the filmmakers. While the purposely degraded visuals might not appeal to everyone, they are executed with technical precision, maintaining high detail levels, particularly in its graphic content.

The audio presentation of the Blu-ray release of "Brutal" provides a robust LPCM 2.0 track, delivering a dynamic and immersive auditory experience. The film utilizes an eclectic mix of source cues and underscore selections, ranging from aggressive punk to delicate piano compositions that greatly enhance the atmosphere and emotional depth. Dialogue, though sparse, is rendered with clarity and precision, ensuring that every word is intelligible. Additional vocal elements such as screams and cries are also well-articulated, resonating with notable authority throughout the track.

The lossless Japanese 2.0 PCM soundtrack showcases commendable fidelity and sound quality. The film’s score, characterized by its intense thumping bass, occasionally tends to overpower other elements but remains effective in underlining the onscreen action. The audio track offers open dynamics, which facilitate a well-balanced listening experience. Moreover, English subtitles are available in a yellow font that mostly falls outside the widescreen frame, making them easy to read without distracting from the visual presentation. Notably, the back cover erroneously lists a Dolby Digital 2.0 track; however, the actual LPCM 2.0 track included meets high audiophile standards.

The Blu-ray extras for "Brutal," distributed by MVD Visual and Unearthed Films, offer a sparse but intriguing look into the film's production. These features include several music videos and behind-the-scenes insights, all available without English subtitles. The "Behind the Scenes" segment provides a time-lapse compilation of set footage, offering a glimpse into the overall filming process. The included music videos—from Nakigoto, Brutal, and Blood—deliver Japanese rap performances that add a distinct cultural texture to the extras despite their lower resolution and lack of subtitles. A selection of trailers for other releases by Unearthed Films rounds out the additional content. While not extensive, these extras are a valuable supplementary component for fans.

Extras included in this disc:

• Behind the Scenes: Look at filming from the set in time-lapse form.
• Nakigoto Music Video: Japanese rap music video.
• Brutal Music Video: Another Japanese rap performance.
• Blood Music Video: Third in the series of rap videos.
• Trailers: Previews for other Unearthed Films’ releases.

Brutal," by director Takashi Hirose, is a visceral examination of horror, showcasing Japan's tradition of extreme cinema. From the outset, the film's stylistic approach and gory content suggest an influence from renowned director Takashi Miike. The narrative introduces two serial killers through distinct vignettes, each obsessed with inflicting graphic, often genital-focused, mutilations on their victims. While its premise has the potential for deep psychological exploration, "Brutal" focuses on the raw brutality and shock value, lacking the nuanced subtext that fans of Miike might expect.

The film's minimalist narrative is largely devoid of dialogue, presenting a series of near-silent, harrowing scenes that rely on the visual spectacle of violence. The climactic “meet cute” between the male and female killers becomes a catalyst for intensified carnage, leading to a twist that hints at a possible sequel. Despite intermittent attempts at backstory, character development takes a backseat to extreme physical horror, which culminates in an unpolished yet undeniably intense cinematic experience. The inclusion of actress Katrina Grey offers brief Western recognition, though her role serves more as a footnote in this otherwise fiercely Japanese production.

With a runtime slightly over an hour, "Brutal" is not for the faint-hearted or squeamish. Its focus on realistic, in-your-face violence eschews mainstream appeal in favor of targeting a niche audience drawn to torture porn and experimental cinema. Victims’ pleas and screams fill the largely dialogue-free film, driving home the horror of each meticulously depicted murder. Though its storytelling may seem underdeveloped, there is a crude artistic merit in Hirose’s execution. His promise as a horror filmmaker is evident, setting expectations for future works that might refine his intensely graphic style while preserving the raw, disturbing edge that defines "Brutal.

Brutal is a quintessential entry into the Japanese torture porn genre, delivering an onslaught of graphic and disturbing scenes that push the boundaries of traditional horror. Directed by Takashi Hirose, the narrative primarily revolves around two killers, whose fixation on genital mutilation serves as an explicit anchor point for the film's thematic exploration of violence and depravity. Hirose skillfully utilizes stylistic flourishes that elevate the visual storytelling and contribute to the film's nightmarish quality.

The Blu-Ray transfer showcases the film's technical prowess, offering a stable and vivid picture that effectively brings out the grotesque details of Hirose's vision. The sound mix, although less distinguished, complements the unsettling atmosphere without overwhelming the visual experience. For fans who seek films replete with gore and macabre anatomical alterations, Brutal provides a unique and unflinching cinematic experience.

There's obviously an audience for intentionally provocative fare like this, but I have to wonder if even diehard horror fans are going to think the two genitally obsessed killers in this film are worth spending much time with. That said, Hirose certainly knows how to exploit stylistic flourishes, and for those who do like films filled with tons of blood and guts, not to mention some horrifying missing or altered body parts (that's a bit of a spoiler), Brutal may fit that peculiar bill perfectly well. With an understanding that Hirose is offering a stylistically altered look (and to a lesser extent, sound mix) with this outing, Brutal's technical merits are solid.