PIC of the Week – Brawl in Cell Block 99
Article series by Ray Schillaci
Image Entertainment delivers a Blu of the tough-as-nails 2017 prison movie Brawl in Cell Block 99. First off, this is the follow up to writer/director S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk, which in many ways was a better Kurt Russell western than Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. Zahler’s western was brutal as hell, but it had an excitement that kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Now, the writer/director delivers an all-out grindhouse prison movie like the ones many of us relished seeing in our drive-in back in the day. Talk about nostalgic!
On top of all that, Zahler has given us the hardest edge version of Vince Vaughn (Hacksaw Ridge, True Detective). Although some may consider this a no-nonsense “B” movie, Vaughn more than deserves the accolades he’s been receiving for his portrayal of an ex-boxer who loses his job as an auto mechanic and is pushed into being a drug runner that eventually lands in jail. Once in prison, Vaughn’s Bradley Thomas is thrust into a world of savagery, and his sojourn becomes a vicious battle of survival for him and his family.
Zahler is an in-your-face filmmaker that has no bones about making his audience flinch and feel very uncomfortable. His film is “B” movie madness in a good way. If this was the ’70s, his film would be a darling of the midnight circuit.
This is not just a straight action flick. Zahler’s film is a well though out character study that glides into some pretty bleak territory. It’s a slow-burn, pot-boiler that breaks into fits of rage as Bradley Thomas tends to do. Zahler also brings to the screen a bad-ass prison warden in Don Johnson (Miami Vice, Django Unchained), stealth-like and cool as ice, along with disturbing, flawed portraits of sad people played by Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) and Udo Kier (Blade).
Image Entertainment offers a 2 disc set (Blu and DVD) with a 1080 HD transfer in 1.85:1 and lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mis. Extras are a little on the skimpy side that include Journey to the Brawl: The Making of Brawl in Cell Block 99 and a Q&A at Beyond Fest with the cast and crew. But, it does include a cool double-sided cover that offers a more “B” movie-like flavor which I prefer to use. Best price for this Brawl is at Walmart for $14.96 or, if you wish to check it out first, Redbox has it available, but only on DVD.
