This movie definitely is no pleasant entertainment, it slaps you right in the face and belly, it's unsettling and at many points utterly repulsive. Yet it's also fascinating, honest in its meaning (at least so it seemed to me) and very well made and acted. In this story (based on true facts) we follow two brothers to college, the one (Brett) already has a place in a very sought-after fraternity, the other (Brad) is (although reluctant) persuaded by his brother to apply for the same fraternity. For this he needs to partake in a hazing-process together with a group of other applicants. The next hour or so we witness this process. In what is called hell-week they are bullied, stripped, beaten, degraded, exhausted, filled up to nausea with liquor, covered with mud and excrements and urinated upon, one terrifying experience after another. It's appalling to see how far these hazings go and how the board and administration turn a blind eye, evidently for the same reason as the fraternity-brothers year after year repeat these hazings: because it's "tradition". Things deteriorate to the point that one of the group dies, supposedly by heart-failure due to the physical and psychological stress, and that's when Brad throws in the towel, joined and supported by his brother. This movie rests in my opinion on three major pillars: the overwhelming power of social pressure; the relation between the brothers, where in the end their love prevails over that social pressure; and the right to be yourself, even if that is someone who is not as brave as you would hope to be. This is all very convincingly brought by director Andrew Neel, not only with unrelenting realism in the harsh hazing-scenes but also with insight and compassion in the more reflective scenes between the brothers. Ben Schnetzer and Nick Jonas as the brothers are both outstanding. It was a tough ride to see this movie but it was also a very rewarding experience that lingered in my mind for a long time. I rank it a heartfelt 10.

This movie was an official selection at both the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. How it winds up with such a low rating on IMBD and a much higher rating on the competitor's site is and indication of the movies difficult subject. It can be hard to watch, it can be brutal, it can also be beautiful. Male bonding is frequently all of those things. It captivated me and so I recommend it.

I saw this film in the early hours of the morning on British television, without any recommendation to watch it. It was one of the most necessary, and at the same time one of the most brutal films I have ever seen. I do not want to give away spoilers, but the opening credits of half naked men shouting warned me that this was not going to be entertainment, and the opening scenes of a young man being beaten almost to death made me want to turn the film off. I watched it and followed this young man's path to recovery, and along with his brother entering an elite school for further education. Here the real horror began. He had to prove his worth by being 'hazed' which is as I understood it a ritual of various tortures to become 'worthy' of being there. The tortures and the verbal abuse I will not describe, except to say that it was like watching pages of description out of De Sade. The most used of the verbal abuses was anti-gay, along with others used against women. This was the heart, if that is the appropriate word, of the film, along with physical humiliation and torture. Not since Pasolini's 'Salo' have I seen a film like this; another condemnation of human nature that was equally necessary to see and try to understand. The film, as film, is in my opinion equal to Pasolini both for its cinematic merits, and also for daring to go into the lowest depths of humanity. I expected a very violent climax, but instead I saw the young man trying to come to terms with what he has been through. I must just add that there was no disjunction between the opening violence, and the violence in the school. As far as I could see they completed the circle of extreme torture filtering down from the top of society to the most dispossessed in our society. Necessary films are actually quite few, but this in my opinion is one of them. A fully justified 10 for its content, and what it tells us about aspects of human behaviour we would rather turn away from.

I'm surprised that this film has such a low rating on IMDb as I thought that the acting was excellent, it is probably quite true to life and it justifies the moral of the story very well. It is horrifyingly brutal from the outset with pretty graphic sex scenes so don't watch it with your little, 80 year old granny! It's not uplifting either so don't expect The Skulls. Also, it obviously doesn't have their budget. The washed out colouring, shaky camera style and stilted conversations gives it a much more indie feel than any of the big Hollywood movies. Ben Schnetzer was excellent in Pride, underused in The Riot Club and a completely sympathetic and damaged character here. I am so impressed by his acting skills and I don't yet think he's been recognised for how good he is. I wasn't sure about James Franco, he seemed to make a cameo just for the hell of it. He marches in, plays the psychopath, munches up the scenery and then disappears as quickly as he walked in. I've seen him play better psychopathic roles. The brother (Nick Jonas) is difficult to read sometimes - You're not sure where his loyalities lie (but then are you meant to know?). His character is complex but slightly unbelievable at times..... is looking good in front of your fraternity brothers really that important? This culture is totally alien to the UK. It is pretty uncomfortable viewing, especially considering how many pledges have died needlessly over the years in the US. It reminds me of the Stanford Prison experiment conducted at Stanford University, where strangely the (randomly chosen students who acted as) guards freely caused psychological distress to the 'prisoners' despite knowing they were being watched and not needing to cause this much distress. As one student in the group saw others acting cruelly, they began to do so and so the experiment spiralled out of control and was terminated early. It freely showed what one human being was willing to do to another in a situation of authority. Unfortunately, the plot takes the obvious route and the reaction of the university, the fraternity and the wild cannon are even more obvious. I think the film could possibly have done with a little more imagination but then again I don't think it's looking to surprise you, just teach you. Overall, I enjoyed this film and I could see how this could be quite true to life, as demonstrated by the Stanford experiment.

One of many ,you might say, but as a frat-pack movie its passable, but how realistic it is i am not sure.its drinking,partying,fighting, suppression, friendship, bullying and initiations. you get the feeling of being in the army barracks with the drill seargent hanging over you , screaming on his epiglytical strings, till you have no touch with the realities in the end.then your accepted and found good enough. and as the main clearly thinks in the end...for what???? there are also a bit of revenge in this flick,though it only snaps some air on the surface once in a while. revenge is one of the most addictive drugs when watching a movie, either you are a ''winner'' or a ''looser'' it always fascinates, and i wish that factor had been played better out in this story.. i admit that my emotonal strings were touched,but the film doesnt complete what it started, and ended in a never ending story. its an inconclusive film were youre not sure what the director and producers wants, are they pro-,even or against??? the acting are quite vivid, and reliable. its just lack of a good script that coulve made it brilliant my conclusion is that the american higher education system are administrated by ex-fraternity leaders, who has their eyes wide shut. when a film can make an old grumpy man angry, then you might want to see it too. eight stars it is.

The awful, normalised rituals of American fraterities are addressed in 'Goat'. I can't say if the brutality we see see here is commonplace; but it's certainly a documented fact that new recruits are basically tortured, encouraged by social pressures to consent, and college authorities turn a blind eye. But 'Goat' is a peculiar film, because it ties in this story with a secondary tale about an unrelated attack on one of its protagonists, and I don't really understand the intention of linking the two stories. The hazing rituals occupy by the bulk of the film, but at the end, no longer seem to be the point. In consequence, the movie is horrific, but oddly unfocused.

The Amazon plot is as follows: "After being assaulted, Brad Land (Ben Schnetzer) starts college ready to move on. His brother, Brett (Nick Jonas), is in a frat that Brad wants to join. Brett has concerns. While pledging, each new humiliating event threatens to destroy their relationship." The film is about the brother's relationship. Theme: Real brother, good. Frat brother, bad. Home is where the hurt is. Brett helps Brad get closure. I felt I missed the whole point of the film as it ended without giving me any real closure, leaving me hanging out in a field of nightmares. Supposedly inspired by real events, i.e. hazing still goes on, even though everyone and their mum have rules against it. Guide: F-word, sex, nudity.

First I want to say I think Nick Jonas should have won a Emmy for incredible acting. (Hope you get the sarcasm). But I just think it's stupid that people actually do this in reality. They go through all this to be apart of a stupid frat that doesn't mean anything after you graduate! Stupidity!

This film gets 90-percent of the way there. As a story of the relationship between two brothers, during a stressful time in the life of one, it's poignant and wonderful. To a discerning eye Goat's setting in a fraternity will come across, through most of the film, merely as set dressing for the underlying story, rather than an indictment of fraternity life generally. And at that level it works beautifully. Unfortunately, the last twenty minutes of the film flips into an anti-fraternity rant that, while not exactly coming out of nowhere, could have been better left on the cutting room floor. Nonetheless, Goat is a powerful and emotional film that, in this reviewer's mind, is touching, as opposed to disturbing as some have called it. The character development in Goat, beyond the two brothers, is minimal but the level of vague ambiguity it creates works perfectly in helping focus attention on their relationship. Nick Jonas' acting chops were a wonderful surprise. Ben Schnetzer and Gus Halper also deliver unrelentingly powerful performances. James Franco's sudden, albeit brief, appearance, is a little out-of-place and the presence of his character somewhat unrealistic.