Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Alan Smithee Esq. Strong candidate for one of the best serial killer movies ever made. A strong mystery throughout and features some rather interesting sub-plots to boot. Don't let Dane Cook deter you from watching. It's also an interesting take on addiction and what lengths an addict will go to and the destruction created by these behaviors.

leplatypus I put this movie in the bin along Crash, Irresistible, Hannibal because i just blame the efforts and dedication to put inhuman, horrible violence and pain into an art object! Those movies prove that there's something wicked in our societies, a sort of dark cancer that kills our most positive and beautiful things! So here we are the voyeur of a serial killer and as the bad Beautiful Mind, it's suggested that he is not that responsible as he is managed by a vicious buddy! Things got really worse as he must become the mentor of his blackmailer and also because his madness is hereditary! For one time, we have the usual Clichés of the American movie torn in a different light (the wealthy boss, the happy family) but maybe what makes the difference here is the quality of the cast: Costner the good guy by excellence is excellent as well as Hurt (he looks like the Yellow bastard from Sin City), as Moore (even if always cold, athletic, tough) with a special mention for Dane Cook, the could be son of Fletch who adds here to his cool attitude a real ability for drama too!

fuadkhan2002 OK, I think this is the closest that you could ever come to seeing and meeting a real life serial killer in all his perverse psychology on display. Kevin Costner is outstanding in his portrayal of Mr. Brooks, a seemingly solid citizen and nice guy with a seriously evil and twisted side to him. The whole fractured psyche shown, with the invention of an imaginary alter ego that pushes him to commit atrocious murders, looks like a very true-to-life scenario of a split personality, the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome. The depiction of how the tension and frustration and excitement build in between the kills, till the killer trips and bursts through the nice guy persona is chilling and effective. However, even though I found the whole genetic basis of twisted psychopathic behavior to be an exceedingly intriguing premise, I am not so sure about a killing gene expressing itself so floridly, especially in a female, as female serial killers are so far and few in between in history and most could not be related back to a genetic basis. Still, this is one good, scary and original take on the whole serial killer genre. Watch it!!

NateWatchesCoolMovies There are a few films Kevin Costner has done in which he has really been allowed and been willing to test the boundaries of what is usually expected from him in a role. 3,000 Miles To Graceland and Eastwood's A Perfect World are fine examples. Perhaps the finest though is Mr. Brooks, a dark tale that showcases the actor in a terrifying turn and the last type of role you would picture for him on paper. Opposites are paramount in acting and cinema as a whole, and it's that type of contrarian casting choice that can lead to a performer's finest hours. In this case it's certainly one of Kevin's best outings, and casts him in a frightening new light, or should I say dark. Here he is Earl Brooks, husband, father, businessman and all round stand up guy. Except for the fact that he moonlights as a methodical and psychopathic serial killer. He sees it as an affliction, and is almost ashamed of it, whether by a tiny flicker of a soul he may have, or simply by the standards impressed onto society. He's efficient, cold and hopelessly addicted to the act of murder. His alter ego, or 'dark passenger' as the scholars say, is a cynical persona called Marshall, brought to life by a scary William Hurt. "Why do you fight it, Earl?" he drawls in that committed, laconic snarl that only Hurt can do. There's shades of his character from Cronenberg's A History Of Violence here, affirming my belief that Hurt is a pure acting prodigy and masterful of both the light and the dark within his craft. Earl has a daughter too (Danielle Panabaker) who he has worrisome thoughts about, and a picture perfect wife (Marg Helgenberger). One can't keep the turbulent nightlife of the serial killer a secret for one's entire life though, and pretty soon people start to catch on. A nosy Nelly (Dane Cook) catches a whiff of Earl's crimes and lives to wish he hadn't, and a keen Detective (Demi Moore) begins to piece the puzzle together as well. Earl is as clever as he is murderous though, covering his work and tying off loose ends with gut churning gusto. Costner carries the film terrifically, a man who is at once both uncomfortable in his own skin yet fits it like a glove when the camera dutifully bears witness to his killings. He's like a tiger who really can't change his stripes but wants to shield them from the judgment of others, and of course his own persecution. The scenes of murder are skin crawling in their frank, fly-on-the-wall nature, no slasher cinematics or gimmicky set ups here, just the icy horror of a predator extinguishing human life to sate the beast, and the nightmarish inevitability of death. Those scenes paint Earl in a horrific light, but the film doesn't try to convince us he's a monster using any usual methods, it just presents to us this man, his acts and his life surrounding them, without discernible condoning or condemning. It's cold, it's clinical and it's one of the best serial killer flicks out there.