The Midnight Meat Train

Lionsgate | Release Date: August 1, 2008

6.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 91 Ratings

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greenisgoodSep 4, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. TL;DR- I see what this film was trying to do, and to quite a extent appreciate it for it's originality. There was one scene in particular that should have been edited out, along with the aforementioned 'Scene' and streamlining some story, scenes/characters would have given us a tense and tighter 'Must-Watch' masterpiece. A good one time watch and probably why this movie is relatively obscure even with stellar performances from Cooper and Vinnie Jones. The movie scores high for Originality which is Clive Barker's gift to the existence of the movie, would have been better if it were to focus on it's stronger points rather than trying to make it more palatable for the masses.

The Good
Bradley and Vinnie were the best parts of the film. Their cat and mouse dynamic gave us the more tense and edge of the seat scenes, even them facing off each other towards the climax was extremely satisfying. I seen a lot of comments mentioning the over all ending and plot being a negative point, but with Clive Barker's imagination it was expected to go in this direction and personally it was effective.
Some of the gore effects, and I emphasize 'SOME'; were extremely unsettling and the horrifying coldness of 'The Butcher' added that panache which will give gore-hounds bang for their buck. The originality of the story is one of the stars though the screenplay and how the story flows was almost perfect for what the film was trying to be, just misses it's mark.

The Bad
The one scene I mentioned earlier was the scene of Bradley Cooper being marked by the Demon/Creature, this one scene was really not necessary along with a few other unnecessary things which we will come to. It was probably done as a setup to quell any sort of back lash for the ending, but personally I felt it would kept the mystery intact and allow for a more impactful movie as a whole. Not seeing Bradley Cooper getting marked by an out-worldly figure and only having Cooper see the marking on The Butcher's chest would have been the cherry on top since the Train Driver explains it all anyways.

As for the other unnecessary parts to the film that should have been streamlined was Leslie Bibb's Maya who added nothing other than a waste of time clearly since some of her important scenes were haphazardly written. Other than having the love story wedged in there for no reason Maya serves as just a distraction from the film, since all she does is play a helpless girl.
It would have been more effective to have her be Leon's Sister who may have been a photographer herself, it would have been the emotional tether but effectively cut out the love story altogether giving us more time and individuality for the characters.
Maya exists earlier in the film to signify to the audience Leon's increasing obsession with 'The Butcher' but the time frame is so abrupt that it is actually jarring when she goes from normal to upset/crying about the same.
The whole scene of her breaking into Butcher's room was so dumb and I challenge any one to sit through it without wondering how did she figure out or see the exact door of Vinnie's hotel room when all she saw was a photograph of the Hotel Name. In the scene as well when The Butcher exits his room Maya and Jurgis come from around a corner where it would have been impossible to tell which room he came out of. Also her getting on the train made no sense as well since Cooper was going on to the train any ways as we see from his preemptive gearing up and his shocked look when he sees her on.

Jurgis too was just a distraction as Jurgis and Maya could have just been one character Leon's Sister who was a photographer or a journalist herself fulfilling every story element the aforementioned characters existed for as well as streamlining the plot and budget. Budget mainly since the initial Establishing kills of Vinni Jones awesome portrayal of 'The Butcher' is marred by some very poor and scene ruining blood splatter effects. Thankfully this was absent in the latter half of the movie being replace by good practical effect.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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TheQuietGamerApr 21, 2017

There are certainly some interesting things going on in this Clive Barker short story, turned torture porn style horror flick. It tells a familiar story about a guy who lets his ambition get the better of him and how the real monsters mightThere are certainly some interesting things going on in this Clive Barker short story, turned torture porn style horror flick. It tells a familiar story about a guy who lets his ambition get the better of him and how the real monsters might just be inside of us all along. The themes are compelling and it's all backed up by a great Bradley Cooper performance. The problem is that it just doesn't deliver any frights.

As entertaining as it to watch Cooper's slow descent into madness, it's not hard to see that there just isn't much going on in these scenes. The film juxtaposes in some bloodier moments before it's carnage filled final act, but when it's more interesting to watch the main character snap pictures than it is to watch the film's big baddie chop people up, your horror film might have a problem. The issue with these scenes is that the tone isn't what it should be. I can deal with the overly special effects driven gore, but I can't deal with how oddly tongue-in-cheek these moments feel. It clashes with the more serious tone the rest of the movie has. The problem is that it goes for silly and ridiculous when it should be serious and scary. At the very least the movie treats us to some stomach-churning, at times gross out gore. Yet, even then the over-the-top nature of things takes away some of the effect.

Yet, for what it lacks as a slasher flick it almost makes up for with it's mystery. There's some weird stuff going on that pulls you in the same way it pulls in our protagonist. Just like Cooper's character, you'll find yourself strangely hooked and desperate for answers. There's a bit of a solid payoff in the final act if you stick around. Mostly due to an out-there reveal and solid action. The ending is quite cliché though. You'll see it coming from a mile away.

The results aren't entirely satisfying, but at least they are interesting. Certainly one of the more original horror flicks I've watched in quite some time. Honestly, I can't really think of anything quite like it. It's one of those rare horror flicks where the story and characters are actually more compelling than the actual horror. It's just a shame things can get too absurd for their own good. Even to the point of being comical or outright dumb. Some actual seriousness during the film's murder scenes would have gone a long way towards a better movie. Yet as it stands there's still something here worth a quick look for the horror movie junkie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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PanchogulDec 6, 2020

The midnight meat train ofrece una trama interesante cargada de litros y litros de sangre, las actuaciones son bastante buenas y aunque el ritmo y desarrollo se sientan fríos, mantiene buena cadencia sin caer en la lentitud, lo que enThe midnight meat train ofrece una trama interesante cargada de litros y litros de sangre, las actuaciones son bastante buenas y aunque el ritmo y desarrollo se sientan fríos, mantiene buena cadencia sin caer en la lentitud, lo que en definitiva no puedo pasar por alto son los efectos especiales que parecen querer dar una mala sensación de tres dimensiones mientras que lucen de una calidad cuestionable.

El desenlace deja muchas dudas al aire y no transmite ni soluciona nada, pudo ser mejor.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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ChadS.Aug 6, 2008

Brooke Shields, microfiche, a shout-out to American neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, okay, we get it, "Midnight Meat Train" is neither contemporary, nor self-consciously a period piece of the recent past. We're in the Brooke Shields, microfiche, a shout-out to American neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, okay, we get it, "Midnight Meat Train" is neither contemporary, nor self-consciously a period piece of the recent past. We're in the midnight movie world. The set-up is fine. Butcher by day, serial killer by night, Mahogany(Vinnie Jones) is, if anything, a literary villian. Standing in his way of unchecked slaughtering, a vegetarian shutterbug, Leon Kauffman(Bradley Cooper), a photo artist who sees something in a picture that he shouldn't have, like an ersatz Michaelangelo Antoinini protagonist. The cops think he's crazy; his girlfriend Maya(Leslie Bibb), too. This is when "The Midnight Meat Train" takes a wrong turn and gets a little muddled. Gradual changes in Leon's personality suggests that he's undergoing a transformation; for instance, he orders a steak. But why does the tofu fan order a steak? Was it predestined that this law-abiding man stumble upon this secret world? At one point, Mahogany seems to be grooming Leon to take his place, but later in the film, he's trying to kill him. With its allusions to Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt"(Leon learning about Mahogany's history at the library, Leon throwing Mahogany off the train), Leon becomes the Joseph Cotten character in the Hitchcock film, who learns that "the world is a foul sty", that "the world's a hell". Susan Hoff(Brooke Shields) told Leon to find the city, and boy, did he find more than he bargained for. In the bowels of the city, the vegetarian learns about his true nature. Marred by some bad melodrama between Leon and his weepy girlfriend, and the horror movie cliche of characters putting themselves in harm's way, "The Midnight Meat Train" works as a hyper-real nightmare that doesn't take itself too seriously, and almost overcomes its deficiencies in tone(Leon becomes a maniacal conspiracy theorist mode after one trip to the library) and logic(we only meet one person on the outside who's engaged in the cover-up).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JayH.Feb 11, 2009

Certainly not for the squeamish, it's very graphic and violent. The film certainly has style, interesting direction. The cast does well but it's just not my kind of movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JerryS.Aug 3, 2008

Has a few tense moments and some nice film work, but this is a fairly formula slasher flick. I found the story arc a bit difficult to believe, and they could have done a better job of setting up the 'twist' at the end, but if Has a few tense moments and some nice film work, but this is a fairly formula slasher flick. I found the story arc a bit difficult to believe, and they could have done a better job of setting up the 'twist' at the end, but if you're a Clive Barker fan, you'll likely enjoy it. Matinee worthy for horror fans, and it will likely do fairly well on DVD.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

HenryW.Nov 24, 2008

It's a lot better than Saw and all the other cookie-cutter horror films, and it's not a remake so it gets some kudos for that. The bad? It's like a feature-length episode of the X-Files. Actually, it is a feature-length It's a lot better than Saw and all the other cookie-cutter horror films, and it's not a remake so it gets some kudos for that. The bad? It's like a feature-length episode of the X-Files. Actually, it is a feature-length episode of the X-Files - Tooms to be precise. But it gets extra merit for probably the best death scene I've ever seen, and Vinnie Jones' performance..… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Tss5078Feb 24, 2013

A gory, scary, horror film with an actual storyline! This movie should have been a can't miss and for the first hour it seemed that way. The movie progressed and it got weirder and weirder and then the ending just absolutely killed it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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nascentNov 17, 2015

A brutal and graphic horror, with eerie and intriguing plot, that leaves a lot unexplained, and takes a very strange twist right at the end, leading to more questions than answers, and some character arcs that don't really work in the film.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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