Brutal is an indie/art house film that falls into the horror/terror category. The full-length feature film was shot with a single digital camera and tracks a group of ghost hunters/documentarians as they search for a reported haunted site along a river bank in Caledonia, Wisconsin. While looking for the spot where the young boy who disappeared is rumored to appear, the group runs into the wrong person.
This is the debut film of Milwaukee native Nuna Minch. With a background primarily as a musician and leader of the band NUNA, Minch achieved notoriety for once performing at the world’s largest music festival – Summerfest – in a wheelchair with a neckbrace and backbrace on after a serious car accident two days before. Minch has taken this fervor into his role as writer, cinematographer, editor and music supervisor (his brother Mark scored the movie) of Brutal.
The cast is new and fresh and much of the action is “real.” Budgets didn’t provide for breakaway or padded walls or fake instruments of death. Concussions, broken bones and real blood were a daily outcome of shooting. When there’s that squeamish moment where you wonder, “How did they do that?” be aware they just did it and that sickening sound just may be real. Brutal’s premiere showing is October 30 at 7pm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Downer Landmark Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave. Cast: Nuna Minch, Anya Minch, Andrea Minch, Mark Minch, Paddy Fineran, Mclain Kittleson, Michael Viers, Jacqulyn Rousseau, Roni Alwaise and Mike Schoen. The website: Brutal
Here’s a quick peek:
