Brawl in Cell Block 99 **** (2017, Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Marc Blucas) – Movie Review

Writer-director S Craig Zahler’s head-banging, stomach churning horror thriller is exceptionally well done, mostly brilliantly done. It is ultra tense, deeply creepy and really exciting, often thrilling.

Doing a John Wick to revive his career with an extreme makeover, Vince Vaughn is absolutely great as endlessly resourceful boxer-turned-drug runner Bradley Thomas, who falls on hard times and lands in a prison war zone after a drugs deal goes wrong. Eventually he ends up in sadistic warden Warden Tuggs (Don Johnson)’s hellhole that looks like the rejects from the sets of Hannibal Lecter’s cells in The Silence of the Lambs.

No more Mr Nice Guy, then, Vince. The 6′ 5″ Vaughn (nicknamed Mr Sunshine), normally cast as slobbish but likeable characters of course, is plenty scary and credible as a bald-headed tough guy.

Hard to believe though the story may be, Zahler makes the movie credible every darned moment of its epic 132 minutes. By the end, you are really rooting for Bradley Thomas in his attempts to save his wife (Jennifer Carpenter), who is threatened in the most awful of ways if the hero doesn’t kill a man in jail.

Among the scary set pieces is an early scene where Vaughn sets about the destruction of his wife’s car on hearing she’s been unfaithful, and another near the climax when Vaughn stomps on another man’s head and crushes his skull that comes apart graphically. And, of course, then there is the titular Brawl in Cell Block 99, splendidly done.

Vince Vaughn sets about the destruction of his wife’s car.

In support, Johnson does a lot of scenery chewing, while Udo Kier is fun as the evil Placid Man.

Audiences need strong stomachs for this movie. The realistic graphic violence is terrifying, crossing lines everywhere.

It has a UK 18 certificate and the MPAA rating is R for strong grisly brutal violence, disturbing images and strong language.

It seems like an old-style drive-in movie, or a mall multiplex job, but there was screening at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017 and London Film Festival 2017.

Zahler is known for Bone Tomahawk (2015).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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