The Midnight Meat Train

In the 1980’s the name Clive Barker was a name to be reckoned with, his Hellraiser books were not only were revolutionary in their written style, when they made the transition to film that style literally dripped from the screen. The 80’s made way for the 90’s and while the Hellraiser movies were hits, they had become so through the English market; nothing had been that phenomenal a hit in the United States. This was until Candyman, Barkers writing took viewers on a horror tale unlike anything they had seen before. Mid 90’s however the world had lost its interest with Barker, movies like Nightbreed and The Lord Of Illusions took viewers down familiar horror paths, Barker had lost his ability to remain unique in the horror market. But now after ten years in the wilds Barker has returned, and his first movie is a real gem.

In The Midnight Meat Train we follow undiscovered talent Leon Kauffman (Bradley Cooper best known from TV’s Alias) trying to make a name for himself in the world of artistic photography. His photographs are indeed cutting edge but nothing that we had not seen before. A meeting with Gallery owner Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields) gives him food for thought “You were in the right place, at the right time!” she tells him, then finishing by telling him that he does not have the guts to go further. In the middle of the night Leon goes out into the subways to capture the image of fear in a photograph. Disturbing an assault Leon gets just the photographs he needed while saving a young model in the process as she faced a group of young thugs. In doing so however the model boards a train, a train ride that will cost the model her life, for on this train rides Mahogany (Vinnie Jones) a vicious killer who attacks and murders humans like cattle.

Even though I knew this was Clive Barkers big comeback film, under the directorial eye of Ryuhei Kitamura and screenplay writer Jeff Buhler; having seen the trailer earlier on this year I was not sufficiently convinced that lessons had been learned, the trailer looking no different from the average gore filled slasher, but watching the movie was something very different.

Like the very best horror movies, The Midnight Meat Train moves into continuously new ground, one minute it’s one thing, the next it’s another. The wonder of the movie is that you never quite know where the movie is going, and to be honest unlike many others you cannot even begin to hazard a
guess. As I sat watching the movie, my thought on who Mahogany was and why he did these unspeakable acts, soon passed, there was just far too much going on all round. Between Vinnie Jones hitting people’s eyes out with hammers, to these strange dream sequences and more confusing who the dreams actually belong too; there are so many aspects to this story. This could sound like a bad thing, but this is honestly not the case, this constantly evolving, frequently changing story keeps the movie fresh, rather like Barker’s Hellraiser and Candyman did. Around 30 minutes in something really interesting happens between Mahogany and a thug on the train, if at this point you have had any doubts about the movie, particularly fears that it is going in the same direction of other movies, then your mind will be changed, the scale of the situation increases two-fold. And this is only the beginning.

The special effects of the movie are pretty “out there”; they are very good indeed but not entirely realistic, indeed it seems that the production team have gone for something visual above everything else. In one specific scene Mahogany attacks a group of people after a night out, the first victim is struck on the back of the head, with such force the victims eyes fly out while still moving, and a woman’s head is literally knocked off her shoulders, again still moving. Far from realistic bearing in mind that the weapon of choice for Mahogany is a meat tenderiser, but as far as viewing entertainment goes something special, to hear an audience cry out “Oh my God!” and the like is really quite funny.

I’m always convinced there is a strong argument for casting ex sport stars in movies then referring to them as actors, this is not something I approve of; when you see Vinnie Jones as out midnight butcher you realise that for once this was absolutely the right decision. From a standpoint of girth, to the rather unusual way his eyes sink back into his head, Jones looks like the role was created for him. In the first 20 minutes, when he has committed seven murders you look at him and realise he is the embodiment of fear, rather like Rutgar Hauer was in the original Hitcher movie.

The casting of Bradley Cooper as Leon is a masterstroke, if you ever saw Alias, Cooper played Will Tippen, the best friend of Sydney, and the one that in your heart you wanted her to be with, rather like real life he was the loser in love and as a result overlooked. Here he bears a similar resemblance, a failed photographer and a coward that you like as the movie begins, but as he moves further and further through the movie, encouraging all sorts of nastiness you have to look again. By the time the movie has ended he is something so far removed from how he started, but this is not like putting a skinny man in a fat suit, you see him progress, grow, become stronger; and this transition makes him far scarier than Mahogany. Cooper made the movie his own,
to the extent that if the movie was ever remade you would not understand how anyone could replace him.

In the movies passing of the lead title (as the film progresses you are given the opportunity to see events through the eyes of other characters) you focus on Maya, Leon’s Girlfriend played by Leslie Bibb (Iron Man), and Jurgis (Roger Bart – Desperate Housewives, Hostel 2); while both are weaker actors, they effectively need to be, they enter events in the dark, but are quickly put in the firing line. As the movie moves to the third quarter you actually have to ask yourself who is the leading actor, as Maya becomes a one woman army; at this point I addressed whether her acting was weaker deliberately from the offset, as towards the conclusion this was far from the case.

Despite his lack of input, this is clearly a tale from Clive Barker, from the fact that the director has given you this very visual look, where you can see all the textures and there is this wonderfully unique filming style, to the down and dirty horror of the movie, On the basis of this movie expect to see a bold return of the author into the movie industry, and above all... Prepare to be scared.