SDCC Review: The Midnight Meat Train
Filed under: Horror, Lionsgate Films, Theatrical Reviews, ComicCon
Easily the best Clive Barker adaptation since the first Hellraiser film, Ryuhei Kitamura's The Midnight Meat Train is so absolutely a "horror fans only" experience that I'm not surprised that Lionsgate wants to give it only a cursory theatrical release before dumping it into DVD. I do not mean that as a knock on the film. As a matter of fact, this is certainly one of the most effective horror films of the year -- but man, oh man... it would be a really tough sell on 1,200 screens. It's kind of an unfair catch-22 where certain horror movies are concerned: if you "go dark," dabble in grimness, and don't cater to the under-18 crowd, then there's a good chance your "hardcore" horror movie will debut on DVD (at best) or, like The Mist and The Ruins, arrive in theaters very quietly.
But let's hear it for the filmmakers who still insist on pushing the envelope, giving the horror fans something dark and challenging, and focusing more on mood, atmosphere, and scares more than in catering to the widest audience possible. Frankly, if The Midnight Meat Train hits only 100 screens (which is Lionsgate's current plan), I'd take that as a compliment paid to the movie: This is not a mainstream horror flick. If all you know of horror films is stuff like Prom Night, consider yourself warned.
Based upon Barker's gruesome short story, The Midnight Meat Train is about Leon (Bradley Cooper), an aspiring photographer who is instructed by a snooty agent (Brooke Shields) to delve deep into the underbelly of New York City. To this end, our hero (?) decides to take the subterranean route, but while snapping some photos in a subway station late one night, Leon catches a glimpse of a towering and mysterious figure (the effortlessly malicious Vinnie Jones), and he begins investigating the man's late-night activities. Wow, what a bad idea.
Suffice to say that "The Butcher" earns his nickname on a nightly basis: He stalks the nearly-deserted subway trains for unwitting victims, and his favorite methods of dispatch include a nasty hook and a giant hammer. (He uses both weapons with much skill and alarming frequency.) And just as Leon decides he's had enough of the one-way cat & mouse game, the Butcher catches wind of the photographer and manages to drag him into the horror.
What sounds like a basic "train slasher" flick is actually quite a bit more intriguing than that. Astute viewers (or those who've read the source material) may figure out the reason for the murders early on, but that doesn't stop Mr. Kitamura from doling out ample portions of grim gore, unsettling atmosphere, and a consistently bleak tone. So it's not exactly a picnic of a flick, but hell, who expects a picnic from a Clive Barker story?
Bradley Cooper anchors the film very well, offering an ambitious but decent guy at the outset -- and a slowly devolving obsessive as the flick marches on. The lovely Leslie Bibb contributes a very welcome sense of warmth and humanity to the proceedings -- which only serves to make the nasty stuff even nastier. Also, Cooper and Bibb share a few quiet scenes together that give us an actual 'rooting interest' in this twisted tale. Roger Bart adds a little color as the couple's artsy pal, and Brooke Shields delivers a few cool scenes as a brutally honest art exhibitor.
Best of all -- and the main reason that The Midnight Meat Train will prove to be a hit among horror freaks (if perhaps nobody else) -- is that screenwriter Jeff Buhler manages to maintain the sly sense of dread that permeates the best of Barker's horror tales. Combined with an unflinching (and surprisingly artistic) eye from a very slick director, this is one seriously grim little tale. It's the sort of horror flick you'll want to follow up with The Wizard of Oz or maybe The Princess Bride -- but I mean that as a compliment.
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. Very nice review! Midnight Meat Train sounds like my cup of tea...or blood for that matter
Any word on what theaters it may play?
Posted at 12:03AM on Jul 27th 2008 by HorrorSociety
3. I'm so incredibly *relieved* to hear praise for this film. It was a mystery for me whether it was getting the hushed release because it was "BAD" or because it was just "TOO HARDCORE" for mainstream audiences to stomach.
The story was one of my all-time favorites from Barker's "Books of Blood" and I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the movie all year. This review has served to get me all TWITTERPATED IN ANTICIPATION. I cannot *wait* to see it now!
Any one know which cities it's being released in?
Posted at 12:23AM on Jul 27th 2008 by Erin P.
4. They say don't judge a book by it's cover, I'll unfairly judge this movie on its title. Midnight Meat Train...
Posted at 9:48AM on Jul 27th 2008 by C.A.
6. I can't wait for this one. One of my favorite Barker stories, and I was a little nervous the film wouldn't be able to stand up to it, but this review has me really excited. No doubt it will be playing here in New York, and I will be seeing it right away.
Posted at 2:58PM on Jul 27th 2008 by NP
8. I'm really looking forward to seeing this!
Posted at 11:12AM on Jul 28th 2008 by Jon
9. Huh. I liked this a lot at Fantasia, but coming at it as a fan of Kitamura's rather than Barker's, I do feel like the ending sort of comes out of nowhere. I gather it's what's in the source material, but I wonder if that makes it a fans-only experience.
Posted at 12:37PM on Jul 28th 2008 by Jason Seaver
10. Saw a screening of this for test audiences a few months back, and I would translate the review line "horror fans only" to "people who have seen enough horror movies to know to isolate 'kills' as the main currency in a film, who have appropriately low expectations overall, and expect little more than some gore."
I had a much more negative reaction to what I saw. Here's hoping some edits were made, and my sentiments were tied more to the cut I was privy to, and not the theatrical version reviewed here. I'd like it better that way for sure.
Posted at 4:13PM on Jul 28th 2008 by stalinsays
11. ever heard of a movie be released straight to discount, 2nd run, and dollar theaters? check your local listings...
Posted at 11:16PM on Jul 30th 2008 by Demogorgon
12. Yeah, I work at a 2nd run and we've never opened a movie before. Baffling since I previewed it last night and I really enjoyed it. I was a fan of the short story as a teen and the movie really did the source material justice. It definitely wasn't as gory (not to mention a much better movie than) a lot of other Lionsgate movies that got a wide release. The 100 2nd run screens opening is very odd.
Posted at 1:41PM on Aug 1st 2008 by Ben
13. Poor Clive Barker -- always getting screwed by distributors. Remember back in 1990 when "Nightbreed" was released with an opening-weekend ad campaign that had art recycled from (no kidding) "Bad Dreams" (1988)?
Posted at 3:51PM on Aug 2nd 2008 by Joe Leydon
14. I don't know what happened I added a comment the other day and it still hasn't appeared yet. Anyway, what's going on with this film? A couple of my friends and I want to go see it. It's one of the most solid story in Clive Barker's Books of Blood short novel series. Please get this thing out on limited release in the major cities, Philly too.
Posted at 4:10PM on Aug 4th 2008 by J.
16. saw it.. not bad at all.. the Quinton Jackson cameo was pretty cool lol
Posted at 4:22AM on Oct 11th 2008 by The Ghost of Stephen Foster
1. my kind of movie... thanks Scott
Posted at 10:32PM on Jul 26th 2008 by Rashad Ferguson