Midnight Meat Train

Honestly, I just happened to stumble upon "Midnight Meat Train" by chance. I like to think I'm a solid movie buff, but sometimes films like these just slide right passed my radar. However, I do have an adequate excuse. It has come to my knowledge recently (I'm talking hours ago) that Lion's Gate held back from giving this Clive Barker adaptation a wide release and instead dumped it into cheap, small town theaters charging a measly one dollar to see the film. What the hell was the studio thinking you asked? Well, even I have yet to figure out the motivation behind that. Truth be told, however, maybe the folks at the Gate had good reasoning for their lousy support. While "Midnight Meat Train" is certainly not an utter disaster by any means, it's not exactly the crafty horror sensation the buzz has made it out to be. It falls somewhere along the lines of "Hostel" its graphic depiction of brutality but it's nowhere near as pointless. Hell, for a dollar, I'd definitely be obligated to see the film again.

What a drastic change it must have been for director Ryuhei Katamura to move from exclusively foreign material to an all out American splatterfest. Fortunately, while not much development takes place in the plot, Katamura isn't about to let that stop him from shooting an artsy motion picture that allows the viewer a front seat pass into the mind of a heartless serial killer who's motive proves to be even more shocking than the sick set pieces the director has constructed.


Based on a story developed by a strong contestant in the running for the definite 'master of horror', Clive Barker, "Mightnight Meat Train" has no intention of drawing the viewer into a premedidated mystery, but instead relies heavily on other aspects to gain acceptance from the audience. Unfortunately, this is a style of filmmaking that just doesn't seem to be effective. While the conclusion offers a reasonably logical explanation regarding everything that has taken place throughout the previous segments, it's not enought to declare the film as gripping. Grant it, a difficult task for any screenwriter is to make the story's primary focus one specific character, yet Jeff Buhler accomplishes just that, sweat free. In the same tradition has "Hostel", however, a great dependency is forced upon the gore factor. Had "Mightnight Meat Train" arrived in theaters before the long string of subjectively similar pictures including "Captivity", "Hostel" and "Saw", viewers may not have been so immediately dismissive. No matter how much one can try to sugar-coat the truth, sooner or later it's bound to be revealed and that is there's a tedious story-line at hand, neither compelling nor worth remembering.

The film obviously belongs to Bradley Cooper who's grounded performance is perhaps the only aspect that keeps the film moving along. He's riveting in his alteration from a well-educated photographer to a traumatized soul after witnessing unbearable situations of absolute blood shed upon seemingly innocent civilians. His journey to the truth only antagonizes his feelings of disgust which leads him to have much more in common with the film's sadistic antagonist than he could have ever imagined. Working opposite Cooper is the heartless serial killer played by screen favorite Vinnie Jones. He's very in depth with the character, but the script offers little room for his part to properly develop.

Showcasing the infamous blue tone we've come to expect from any Japanese horror feature, this is one of the few incidents where the use of this color proves significant. It gives the film a gloomy, underground mood that immediately establishes an unsettling sentiment amongst the audience. The crafy camera work and flashy editing are also pleasant factors and are wonderful contributions to the remarkable display.

There's no creativty in the camera work, no special effects worth mentioning and the back drops look like they were put together in five minutes with a can of spray paint and a few speckles of glitter.

Most are quick to dismiss the score as a distraction, a cheap way to create suspense prior to the jump-in-your-seat moments that really count. Though true in most horror films, the morbid instrumentals are used here in fine fashion. They work remarkably well with the long shots that prepare the audience for a terrifying revelation that is sure to come as the camera creeps closer and closer to the unseen lying just inches before us.

Did I like "Midnight Meat Train"? Well I certainly have no hatred for it. The biggest probem here is that a handful of what the film has to offer has already been presented on more occasions than one. Had the story had a little more weight, perhaps a wider range of characters and a more compelling execution in regard to the overall set up, this may very well have been the horror film of the year. Unfortunately, a lack of heart amongst the studio and even the filmmakers robbed "Midnight Meat Train" of its potential making it one of the more dull experiences I've had all year.