Review of Goat (2016) by Richard S — 08 May 2018

I read Brad Land's memoir a few months back and it makes for some pretty grim reading. Brad was subject to a brutal robbery after leaving his brother at a party. After months of recovery he decides to follow his brother to university. His brother is already a member of one of the most notorious fraternities on campus and the story follows Brad's attempts to survive their 'hell week' so that he might gain acceptance from both his brother and his friends. What follows are various hazing trials, bullying and a generally unpleasant time. The focus is on the relationship between the brothers, Brett's guilt over not being there when Brad was attacked and his struggle to protect him during the hell week.

Both the memoir and the film show fraternities for what they really are, organisations run by a group of meatheads, looking for any excuse to bully and intimidate.