Nanako

　　修一郎（真田广之 饰）年纪轻轻就成为了知名企业的负责人，长久以来养成的职业习惯令他不信任身边的任何一个人。一天，修一郎感到身体有点不舒服，于是前往唯一一家他信任的诊所看病，在那里，他解释了名叫孝之助（玉置浩二 饰）的男人。                                                                    　　孝之助是一个生活穷困潦倒的男人，但是却整天乐呵呵的，总是无条件的信任周围的人，他的存在让修一郎感到非常的不可思议，可以这么说，孝之助就是修一郎性格的反面。在和孝之助相处的过程中，修一郎渐渐学会了信任之道，与此同时，一位名叫香织（松岛菜菜子 饰）的女性走进了修一郎的生活，让他重新燃起了爱的希望。

Constantly on the hunt and suffering from hallucinations that drive his violent nature, an unnamed man is capturing women and savagely beating them to death. Meanwhile, a woman is luring men into a violent end, by way of her knife. Driven by the same force to make the opposite sex suffer, the killers’ fates intertwine. The two must face off in a battle to the death, in which they are forced to reveal the horrible truth behind their addiction to murder.　　“Brutal” takes an interesting approach to its visuals, drawing heavy influence from Western “Grindhouse” films, using a filter to make the footage appear grainy, damaged, and with light and color fluctuations. Unfortunately, the visual styling ends up feeling misguided, as other than applying the filter it does not imitate any other aspects of the “Grindhouse” genre. Despite trying to dirty up the film, it is apparent it was shot on digital. The cinematography is also a step above most “Grindhouse” productions, with Takashi Hirose proving he has talent behind the camera. Exterior shots to those taking place in small spaces are all competently framed, lit, and transition well. The decision to add an effect on top of the work hurts the film’s imagery and even gives a sense of desperation to try to capture a certain type of nostalgia with the audience, instead of relying on its own strengths. It is unfortunate when one creative choice can hurt a production so much.　　The story of “Brutal” is simple but effective, it does attempt some sort of social commentary about the violent nature of men and women, but it does not offer enough depth into the subject to justify the amount of violence on display. The film does end on a strong note with an interesting twist, with a reveal that is bound to gross some out, while giving others a chuckle. In spite of its simple nature, those who enjoy films that make them somewhat uncomfortable and enjoy the challenge of getting through some ultra-violence, “Brutal” poses a fun and entertaining challenge in that regard.