'Goat' powerfully portrays horrors of fraternity hazing

“Goat” has a way of grabbing our attention. As the movie opens, recent high school graduate Brad (Ben Schnetzer) is leaving a party thrown by his older brother Brett (Nick Jonas) when a stranger approaches to ask for a ride. Brad agrees, even after the man beckons to a figure waiting in the shadows.

Something isn't right here — we know it and Brad knows it. Despite his discomfort, the teenager gets behind the wheel and starts driving. Brad's passengers end up leading him to a field, where they viciously beat him and then steal his car.

Five minutes in, and we're already breathless.

But “Goat” isn't concerned — at least not entirely — with the kind of random violence that gives people nightmares. It's about a more ritualized, socially accepted form of brutality that people choose to endure: fraternity hazing.

After a long recovery, Brad joins Brett at college, where his sibling makes a pitch for joining his fraternity. The idea of them being frat brothers on top of actual ones is appealing to both siblings. Brett — the more strapping and popular of the two — feels guilty about what happened to Brad and wants to keep him close. Brad, who is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, equates a fraternity with security: Here are a bunch of guys who will stick by him and stand up for him.

But only after they humiliate him and make him suffer.

“Goat,” directed by Andrew Neel, is based on Brad Land's memoir of the same name about the indignities he suffered at Clemson University (here replaced by the fictional Brookman College). Cinematographer Ethan Palmer frames the scenes — especially the most troubling ones — tightly, adding to the sense of helpless claustrophobia.

For the second time, we watch as Brad puts himself in harm's way, despite his better judgment. As a new pledge, or “goat,” he's kept awake for days at a time and force-fed alcohol and hot sauce. At one point, he's encouraged to do unprintable things to an animal. Despite all this, he can't bring himself to quit, even as he becomes more emotionally untethered. In the face of his unraveling, we're left to contemplate how torture masquerading as tradition stacks up against the brutal attack that starts the movie.

The movie features standout performances from a number of the young actors, including Danny Flaherty as Brad's roommate. Danny is also rushing the fraternity, and he ends up on the receiving end of some of the film's worst abuse. But Schnetzer is the one to watch, especially after Jonas' character — thanks to some strange editing choices — disappears for a good chunk of the movie. The actor, who turned heads in “The Book Thief” and “Pride,” gives a performance that's powerful in its restraint. Brad is a broken spirit, vulnerable and easily swayed by the herd mentality that keeps all of the recruits from stepping back and asking themselves why they're putting themselves through this.

“Goat” doesn't shy from showing us monstrous behavior, which might be more than some viewers can bear. This isn't an easy film to watch. But it's even harder to forget.