A hilariously bad thriller
January is often referred to as the “dump month” when it comes to big screen movies. Any new projects destined to fail, including ones from big studios are rushed out without much fanfare in the hopes that they’re quickly forgotten. It’s not all bad of course, but Brazen is a perfect example. And what a bad movie this is.
Now, Brazen almost feels like a guilty pleasure in every sense of the word. You’ll feel guilty watching this, and likely ashamed at enjoying parts of it. That enjoyment doesn’t come from the story, plot or characters though, it comes from the tone this film adopts.
Brazen embraces its story so seriously and believes in its ridiculously illogical story with such enthusiasm that it’s actually funny at times. And that’s probably the only compliment I can give this one. Beyond that, there’s absolutely nothing here worth recommending.
The story plays out like a bad Hallmark movie, centering on a popular murder mystery author called Grace teaming up with a cop named Ed to track down a serial killer. These murders start with Grace’s sister, Kathleen, who works as a teacher by day and a webcam performer called Desiree by night.
So naturally, this murder mystery author know more about killings than the police (which she’s never questioned about I may add) and soon becomes integral to catching the killer, even outsmarting the officers on occasion.
The mystery itself plays out like a paint by numbers script. You’ll find yourself guessing every twist and turn long before these clueless characters do, and it’s not helped by the painfully heavy exposition that borders on amateurish.
“Oh hey there Sean from Michigan. How are you?”; “Ed from the police department, who happens to be my new next door neighbour, would you like a coffee?”; I could go on but you get the point.
There’s a massive amount of suspension of disbelief needed to even get into this movie, requiring one to overlook the bland script, poor plotting and wooden characters. I mean, what police department would let the sister of a victim work so closely on this case and not even investigate her?
Even when the killer is revealed at the end, you’ll likely shrug and retort “called it,” before blandly watching the rest of the film. And bland is probably the best word to describe this project.
Brazen is a mundane, predictable and utterly forgettable thriller. There are some good unintentional laughs in here but that’s not a great advert for a film that otherwise feels like a waste of 90 minutes. Avoid.
Read More: Brazen Ending Explained
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Verdict - 2/10
2/10