Brutal Relax (2010)
10/10
Wish you were here.
8 November 2011
Shorts, albeit fifteen minutes in length as in this case, simply do not come better as this, if combined comedy and horror is your cup-of-tea. Mr. Olivares has been given Doctor's orders to take a well earned holiday, after what seems like a detox of high anxiety and stress, and to relax, meet new people, sunbath, take pictures and above all avoid all manner of stress.

It is not only José Ma. Angorrilla, who plays the tense Mr. Olivares, and his Mexican "handle-bar" moustache, that takes hold of the limelight here but the way in which we see him taking his own style of relaxation; plopping into a wet, muddy pit and immersing himself in its qualities, totally, at the amusement of the other holidaymakers.

The cause of Mr. Olivarez's condition is never bought to light, just his cure, but the completely bizarre and hilarious, and extremely shocking, way in how poor Mr. Olivares deals with this stream-pressure release will make Tom Savini look like a choir boy on a Sunday outing. It all comes to the boil as Mr. Olivares is quietly listening to his Walkman (portable audio cassette player) and the beach is invaded from what can only be described as creatures-from-the-deep, human in form but demonic in both appearance and nature, they then proceed to mutilate, brutalise and kill all those on the tiny enclosed, pebbled beach. That is until Mr. Olivares's portable audio cassette player packs-in and his stress levels bring themselves to the boil once more, resulting in pure mayhem and madness in a battle sequence that will have you squirming with hilarious reaction. It is a battle that has the best special effects and make-up that will stand proudly next to any recent, or past, epic zombie movie.

While only a smattering of dialogue at the very beginning, "Brutal Relax" shows itself in the guise of the Silent comedies, the language of its highly explicit visuals and stupendously funny antics are all that are needed to tell this story of violent conflict and of how Mr. Olivares copes with his stress levels. Showing at the Leeds International Film Festival (November 2011) it had a healthy response and is really best seen on the Big Screen with many like mined people to appreciate the full force of the grotesque and the dark humour. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you squirm and after this, you're going to need a good, long holiday to get over it.
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