Constantlyonthehuntandsufferingfromhallucinationsthatdrivehisviolentnature，anunnamedmaniscapturingwomenandsavagelybeatingthemtodeath.Meanwhile，awomanisluringmenintoaviolentend，bywayofherknife.Drivenbythesameforcetomaketheoppositesexsuffer，thekillers’fatesintertwine.Thetwomustfaceoffinabattletothedeath，inwhichtheyareforcedtorevealthehorribletruthbehindtheiraddictiontomurder.“Brutal”takesaninterestingapproachtoitsvisuals，drawingheavyinfluencefromWestern“Grindhouse”films，usingafiltertomakethefootageappeargrainy，damaged，andwithlightandcolorfluctuations.Unfortunately，thevisualstylingendsupfeelingmisguided，asotherthanapplyingthefilteritdoesnotimitateanyotheraspectsofthe“Grindhouse”genre.Despitetryingtodirtyupthefilm，itisapparentitwasshotondigital.Thecinematographyisalsoastepabovemost“Grindhouse”productions，withTakashiHiroseprovinghehastalentbehindthecamera.Exteriorshotstothosetakingplaceinsmallspacesareallcompetentlyframed，lit，andtransitionwell.Thedecisiontoaddaneffectontopoftheworkhurtsthefilm’simageryandevengivesasenseofdesperationtotrytocaptureacertaintypeofnostalgiawiththeaudience，insteadofrelyingonitsownstrengths.Itisunfortunatewhenonecreativechoicecanhurtaproductionsomuch.Thestoryof“Brutal”issimplebuteffective，itdoesattemptsomesortofsocialcommentaryabouttheviolentnatureofmenandwomen，butitdoesnotofferenoughdepthintothesubjecttojustifytheamountofviolenceondisplay.Thefilmdoesendonastrongnotewithaninterestingtwist，witharevealthatisboundtogrosssomeout，whilegivingothersachuckle.Inspiteofitssimplenature，thosewhoenjoyfilmsthatmakethemsomewhatuncomfortableandenjoythechallengeofgettingthroughsomeultra-violence，“Brutal”posesafunandentertainingchallengeinthatregard.