Brendan Steven Kemp (aka "Steve") is the main antagonist of Fresh. He is played by Sebastian Stan.
Biography[]
Brendan was a cannibalistic serial killer who frequently kidnapped women (usually those who either had no family or little-to-no conections to their famiies) and kept them in cell-like rooms in the basement of his luxury home in the woods. There, he would cut off pieces of their bodies for him to either eat or sell to other wealthier cannibals; something he is implied to have done for many years. At some point, he fell in love with a woman called Ann (who is strongly implied to have been a former captive of his since one of her legs is missing, thus she was likely driven to madness) and the two married, bought a house and had two kids, with Ann also agreeing to assist Brendan in his cannibal business activities.
One day, while at a supermarket, Brendan meets a woman named Noa and finds himself attracted to her. After introducing himself as "Steve", he manages to charm her to a point where they exchange numbers and go on a date at a bar. The two become romantically interested in each other, and after a few more dates, "Steve" invites Noa to spend the weekend at his luxury home in the woods. There, he gives her a drugged cocktail, which knocks her unconscious. He then takes her into a room in the basement and chains her to the floor. After she wakes up, "Steve" tells her that he's going to "sell [her] meat", but, as long as she behaves, he won't kill her right away and will instead take care of her and keep her alive for as long as possible in order to keep her "meat" as fresh as possible.
The next morning, Brendan is seen prepping pieces of a severed leg which once belonged to Melissa, another captive. He places the pieces in various packages which are then taken away to be sold to the rich cannibal clients. That night, Brendan visits Noa in her cell, and she asks to use the shower. He allows her to do so and unchains her (but only after he forces her to smile). While leading her to the bathroom, Brendan is kicked by Noa, who then tries to make an escape, but he grabs her and knocks her out. He then punishes her by surgically removing her buttocks before chaining her in the basement once more. Meanwhile, Noa's best friend Mollie starts getting suspicious of Noa's whereabouts, even when Brendan texts her pretending to be Noa. After realising that Noa might be in danger, Mollie does some investigating and discovers both Brendan's real name and his address, which she goes to, but not before texting her phone location to her friend Paul just in case. When she arrives at the house, she meets Ann and informs her that Brendan is apparently dating Noa, but then Brendan himself arrives and denies knowing who Noa is when confronted by Mollie. Mollie then calls Noa, who's phone begins ringing in Brendan's pocket, leading Ann to knock Mollie unconscious.
Whilst in her cell, Noa learns from fellow captive Penny that she is one of, if not the only victim of Brendan's who has had sex with him. She later reads a magazine given to her by Brendan, in which she finds a note written by a previous victim revealing that Brendan giving her the magazine is a sign that he "likes" her, and encouraging her not to give up. Noa thus decides to play into Brendan's attraction to her by acting seductive and claiming that she is interested in what human meat tastes like. As a result, she and Brendan have a meal together, which primarily consists of a large ball of human meat. Noa pretends to enjoy it, but secretly vomits it up after Brendan puts her back in her cell and leaves to get Mollie from the trunk of his car and take her unconscious body into his basement.
Some time later, Brendan invites Noa to a more formal dinner, giving her a pink dress to wear for the occasion. The appetizer is a dish of pate adorned with the liver of Melissa. After finishing the meal, Brendan shows Noa a secret cubbyhole shelf filled with photos and belongings of his previous victims. Noa recognises Mollie's phone amongst the items. They then get back to dinner, having a first course which primarily consists of breast meat. Brendan implies that the breasts originally belonged to Mollie, leaving Noa deeply distressed, but she manages to play it cool and avoid suspicion.
Death[]
Brendan's death
Brendan, now officially in love with Noa, ignores the fact that he forgot to put on her handcuffs and decides to put on some music, which he and Noa dance to before heading into the bedroom. There, Noa tricks Brendan into letting her bite his penis before blinding him by rubbing toothpaste in his eyes. After locking him in the bedroom, Noa quickly frees Mollie and Penny from their cells as Brendan breaks out of the bedroom, and the three ladies get into a fight with Brendan in the kitchen. After knocking him out, the three hurry outside and flee into the woods as Brendan pursues them with a handgun. As Brendan searches for the women in the woods, he is attacked by Mollie and knocked to the ground. Mollie beats him down before Noa shows up and grabs Brendan's gun. After forcing him to smile at her, she pulls the trigger and shoots him in the head, killing him.
James gave Brendan the Golden Chainsaw because it was a brutal climax.