Cinephobia Releasing has announced the summer release of Brute 1976, a brutal and blood-soaked homage to ’70s horror classics like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Directed by Marcel Walz (That’s A Wrap, Pretty Boy) and written by Joe Knetter (Twilight of the Dead), the film hits select theaters this August, with a digital and VOD release scheduled for August 26, 2025.
Set 1976, the story follows Raquel and her girlfriend after their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile, a group of unsuspecting people are in the desert for a photoshoot—only to cross paths with the demented Birdy family, a masked group of psychopathic killers lurking in an abandoned town.
“Brute 1976 is bloody and sexy, with a deranged family so demented they make John Waters’s Pink Flamingos look like a paradigm of family values,” said Cinephobia President Raymond Murray. “Brute 1976 restored my faith in horror that shocks.”
BRUTE 1976 official trailer from Cinephobia Releasing
The film stars Adriane McLean, Sarah French, Gigi Gustin, Dazelle Yvette, and Adam Bucci, and was produced under the Neon Noir banner. Special effects are courtesy of Robert Kern III (Prey, Creepypasta), with Marcus Friedlander (The Getback) as Director of Photography. Executive producers include Dirk Schürmann and Tobias Schürman.
Brute 1976 promises a visceral, relentless experience for fans of classic grindhouse horror with modern production grit.
“It was hot, it was dirty, and it was bloody,” said director Marcel Walz. “I’m sure the audience will feel that on screen.”
