Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
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A drug mule is forced into a brutal prison hierarchy to save his pregnant wife from a vengeful crime lord.
The story
Bradley Thomas, an auto repair worker, turns to drug trafficking after a personal falling out with his wife, Lauren. After a botched drug delivery leads to his arrest, Bradley is sentenced to prison. While incarcerated, he is approached by a henchman for a drug lord who demands he assassinate a specific inmate in a maximum-security cell block. To comply, Bradley must navigate the violent hierarchy of the prison, eventually fighting his way into the most dangerous section of the facility to carry out the hit and save his family.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a failed drug run, Bradley Thomas is imprisoned and contacted by 'the Placid Man,' a henchman for a drug lord named Eleazar. Eleazar threatens to surgically remove the limbs of Bradley's unborn child unless Bradley kills a specific inmate in the notorious Cell Block 99. Bradley fights his way into the high-security area, only to discover his target doesn't exist. He is then captured by Eleazar's gang, who intend to torture him. Bradley manages to ambush and kill most of the gang, but Eleazar calls for a doctor to harm the baby. Bradley tortures Eleazar into calling off the operation. While the Placid Man and the doctor drive Lauren away, Bradley's associate Gil kills the Placid Man and Lauren shoots the doctor. Bradley then decapitates Eleazar, only to be murdered by Warden Tuggs.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 132
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- S. Craig Zahler
- Writers
- S. Craig Zahler · writer
- Cast and characters
- Vince Vaughn · Bradley Thomas; Jennifer Carpenter · Lauren; Marc Blucas; Mustafa Shakir; Dion Mucciacito; Geno Segers; Thomas Guiry; Udo Kier; Don Johnson · Warden Tuggs
- Genres
- prison; action; thriller; neo-noir; crime
- Themes
- violence; sacrifice; loyalty; consequence
- Tone and mood
- brutal; oppressive; grindhouse; unvarnished
- Premise and plot tags
- prison; action; thriller; crime; exploitation
- Content notes
- graphic violence; gore
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, particularly praising Vince Vaughn's performance and its 1970s exploitation style. It was named among the year's best films by several major publications.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 90% · review count: 99; Metacritic · score: 79 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Production trivia
- Vince Vaughn underwent physical training for the film's action and fighting sequences.; The film was inspired by the 1954 film Riot in Cell Block 11.; The film was shot in Staten Island, New York City.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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