Unfairly buried by its distributors in the US, this film takes what could have been a drab set-up and gives it some real bravado, energy and creativity.
The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:19
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: A creative and energetic adaptation of a Clive Barker short story, with enough scares and thrills to be a potential cult classic.
Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for sequences of strong bloody gruesome violence, grisly images involving nudity, sexual content and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:31-10-2008
Synopsis:
Next stop…death.
When Leon Kaufman’s (Bradley Cooper) latest body of work – a collection of provocative, nighttime studies of the city and its inhabitants -- earns the struggling photographer...
Next stop…death.
When Leon Kaufman’s (Bradley Cooper) latest body of work – a collection of provocative, nighttime studies of the city and its inhabitants -- earns the struggling photographer interest from prominent art gallerist Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields), she propels him to get grittier and show the darker side of humanity for his upcoming debut at her downtown art space.
Believing he’s finally on track for success, Leon’s obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters -- ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.
With his concerned girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb) fearing for his life, Leon’s relentless fascination with Mahogany lures him further and further into the bowels of the subways and ultimately into an abyss of pure evil – inadvertently pulling Maya right along with him.
The horror thriller Midnight Meat Train stars Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers, TV’s Alias,), Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand, Snatch), Brooke Shields (Nip/Tuck), and Leslie Bibb (the upcoming Trick R'Treat, Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby).
Also starring are Roger Bart (Hostel: Part II, TV’s Desperate Housewives), Peter Jacobson (Goodnight and Good Luck), Barbara Eve Harris (TV’s Prison Break), and UFC mixed martial arts fighter Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.
Midnight Meat Train is directed by critically acclaimed Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Azumi, Sky High) in his American debut, and based on legendary horror writer Clive Barker’s popular, eponymous short story from his classic Books of Blood collection. The screenplay was adapted by Jeff Buhler. --© Lions Gate
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Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones, Roger Bart
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones, Roger Bart, Peter Jacobson, Brooke Shields, Barbara Eve Harris
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Screenwriter: Jeff Buhler
Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard S. Wright, Eric Reid, Jorge Saralegui, Clive Barker
Composer: Nobuhiko Morino
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for The Midnight Meat Train
The film hurtles towards the final ‘revelation moment’ like runaway train. If only it had stopped to take on board some of Barker’s heavy mythical dread.
The Midnight Meat Train is destined for cult status as an minor horror gem.
Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, who kicked off his career with 2000's impressive micro-budget zombie flick Versus, delivers plenty of stylish visuals and an admirably unrestrained attitude to gore.
Midnight Meat Train can best be described as splatter noir. It's Fritz Lang by way of an abattoir.
MEAT TRAIN is the first BOOK OF BLOOD to depart from the station in a long time and it's refreshing to see that the film carries that bleak, yet romantic touch of Clive Barker all over it... it's guaranteed to make you squirm, scream and beg for more!
Midnight Meat Train brings an unabashed brutality to the horror genre.
Destined to be a cult classic as a vicious, brilliant, and disgusting horror film...
It's excessively and imaginatively gory, presented in a straightforward manner, but with the slightest hint of a wink.
Midnight Meat Train may be no classic of the genre, but it's certainly a better and more interesting film than most of what passes for horror movies these days.
Japanese cult director Ryuhei Kitamura maintains impressive control of the story, ratcheting up tension toward well-prepared and startling bursts of terror.
This is the best Clive Barker-inspired movie in a long, long time -- probably since "Hellraiser III" in 1992.
An efficient slasher with a surprisingly slow build-up and a decent amount of originality. Plus the best use of Vinnie Jones in any movie
The Midnight Meat Train is a real horror film-one filled with dark imagery, disturbing violence, and an ever-present sense of dread.
Before flying off the rails in the final curve, The Midnight Meat Train rolls quite smoothly as a mid-'80s-style psycho-killer thriller a la The Hitcher.
Manages to maintain that sly sense of dread that permeates the best of Barker's horror tales. Certainly one of the most effective horror films of the year.
... remarkably effective and, when it finally arrives at the end of the line, admirably simple.
This sharp and brutal little yarn about a photographer who stumbles across a serial killer is a fan film if every there was one -- and only fans will be able to stomach it.
Latest News for The Midnight Meat Train
February 16, 2009:
RT on DVD: High School Musical 3 or Midnight Meat Train?
It's a good week for mediocre films (Body of Lies, Changeling, Quarantine and Flash of Genius, which all walk a fine line between Fresh and Rotten) and an even better one if... More...
August 28, 2008:
this devilishly ambiguous thriller leaves viewers to decide whether to take the conventional or the less-traveled tunnel through its narrative network ![]()
More...
August 01, 2008:
Lionsgate Dumping Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train? Updated Theater Listings Here ![]()
Clive Barker's The Midnight Meat Train was set up to fail, being dumped in $1 discount theaters, with no theater listing provided, with no explanation on how to even buy tickets. More...
July 10, 2008:
11 new photos, the film's graphic trailer, and a poll that let's you sound off on the trailer. ![]()
More...
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