Bruiser(2000)
2000 · George A. Romero · 99 min
After years of being browbeaten and walked on, a man wakes one day wearing an expressionless mask, fitted with a personality that enables him to take revenge.
Thriller · Horror · Mystery
5.6148 votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Bruiser scares
The story builds slowly around one man's quiet unraveling before shifting into a string of calculated payback killings once his blank mask takes hold. It plays more like a dark, twisted character study than a traditional scare-fest, with tension coming from watching someone snap rather than from jolts or stalking. There's a streak of bitter, almost satirical humor running through the violence, so it feels less like straight horror and more like a revenge thriller with a strange, unsettling gimmick at its center. Good for viewers who like character-driven dark stories more than pure fright.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Bruiser rates psychological 3/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 3 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 70 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 45 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, simmering setup about buried resentment gradually gives way to a steadily escalating string of confrontations that keep intensifying toward the end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3.
How scary is Bruiser?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Bruiser rates 2/5 — moderately scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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