 Struggling photographer Leon Kaufman's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany, the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters - ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable. Storyline: The photographer Leon lives with his girlfriend and waitress Maya waiting for a chance to get in the photo business. When Maya contacts their friend Jurgis, he schedules a meeting for Leon with the successful owner of arts gallery Susan Hoff; she analyzes Leon's work and asks him to improve the quality of his photos. During the night, the upset Leon decides to wander on the streets taking pictures with his camera, and he follows three punks down to the subway station; when the gang attacks a young woman, Leon defends her and the guys move on. On the next morning, Leon discovers that the woman is missing. He goes to the police station, but Detective Lynn Hadley does not give much attention to him and discredits his statement. Leon becomes obsessed to find what happened with the stranger and he watches the subway station. When he sees the elegant butcher Mahogany in the train, Leon believes he might be a murderer and stalks him everywhere, in the beginning of his journey to the darkness. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, February 12, 2009 -- Now serve, as we all do, without question. It's seems to be a rarity these days, but The Midnight Meat Train is a good old-fashioned throwback Horror movie that looks and feels as gritty, grimy, dreadful, imposing, depressing, and hopeless as the best of the genre's most hardcore offerings of yore. Penned by Clive Barker (Hellraiser), the story is not short of excessive violence and is punctuated by plenty of grisly images and smart storytelling. Directed by Ryûhei Kitamura (Versus), the film is atmospheric, foreboding, stylish, and tense. The combination makes for both deliciously entertaining and disturbingly graphic and terrifying cinema. The Midnight Meat Train is a basic, no-frills movie that piles on the gore; develops its characters, particularly its villain, through their actions and deeds rather than words (literally, in one case); and features only a minimal amount of superfluous filler material. Struggling photographer Leon (Bradley Cooper, The Rocker) is looking for his big break. It comes when his girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb, Sex and Death 101) arranges an appointment for him with art gallery curator Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields), who sees potential in Leon's work but urges him to photograph bolder, grittier material. On the hunt for the perfect shot, Leon encounters a group of thugs harassing a model in a city subway station. He manages to photograph the attack and the assailants while simultaneously scaring them off. Hoff is impressed with his work and asks of him two additional shoots that capture a similar mood and promises him inclusion in her next show. Leon then photographs a mysterious, well-dressed man (Vinnie Jones, Hell Ride), briefly confronts him, and soon thereafter recognizes his unique ring as an object in one of the shots taken as the model he rescued entered a subway car. When he learns the model has disappeared, Leon begins an obsessive hunt to discover the identity of the well-dressed man and, perhaps, find the missing link in a string of unsolved disappearances that have plagued the city for years. All hail Vinne Jones. The actor delivers a stalwart performance in The Midnight Meat Train, one that, if there is any justice, will be remembered as one of the finer portrayals of a villain in Horror movie lore. Jones's previous work in movies like The Condemned and the made-for-television Mysterious Island (both films featuring the actor as a villain, no less) have been fine, but he demonstrates another level here. He and the character he portrays is in every frame focused, imposing, frightening, stoic, and relentless. He's the perfect representation of a killer, and as his back story is revealed throughout the movie and in the final minutes in particular, the performance takes on another level of excellence as he has clearly embodied the actions of a man in the situation he finds himself in. On the other hand, the remainder of the cast fails to match Jones's Herculean performance. Bradley Cooper turns in something of a routine performance, easily besting Joshua Jackson's effort in another recent photography-centric horror offering (Shutter), but not really distinguishing himself or his character. Perhaps his performance is lost under Jones's gargantuan effort, but whatever the case, it's solid at best, forgettable at worst, but either way, clearly standing aside and allowing Jones to steal the spotlight. Leslie Bibb and Brooke Shields are also solid in their performances. Bibb's character is fairly transparent, and her role in the film seems clear from the get-go. Bibb and Cooper share fairly good on-screen chemistry and enjoy a nicely developed and honest relationship. Perhaps the true co-star of the film is the slaughter wrought by Jones's character. The Midnight Meat Train features scene after scene of incredibly violent and unforgiving gore. The film sports plenty of on-set special effects, including buckets of blood and several bodies, all of which appears convincing, deliciously gruesome, and appropriately disgusting. Unfortunately, several crucial scenes feature easily-identifiable computer-generated effects that don't mesh with the prosthetics and other on-set props. One scene in particular, featuring a victim's eyes shooting from their sockets towards the camera in slow-motion after a smack to the back of the head, comes off as slightly less impressive than would a more practical effect, though the scene does manage to grab audience attention and stand out as remarkably disgusting and novel in its presentation. Thankfully, the computer effects don't hinder the movie all that much, but they don't offer the same visceral impact of the prosthetics. The Midnight Meat Train also features the occasional moment of high-tension and revels in a few nicely done twists and turns. The movie unravels at just the right pace, offering a snippet of information here and a hint of what may be to come there. It doesn't take much to figure out how the movie will end, but what leads up to that ending is shocking, and the journey overshadows the rather predictable ending. The Midnight Meat Train is not for the timid; this is a hardcore Horror extravaganza through and through. Proceed with caution, but please, proceed. It's well worth it! The Midnight Meat Train is a welcome diversion from the plethora of tame and boring horror movies of the past several years. It may be one of the better horror movies of the decade, and it features Vinnie Jones in perhaps his best performance as arguably one of the top Horror villains in some time (and if this performance is any indication, he'd make an excellent Terminator). As the title implies, it's all about blood and guts on a speeding subway; it immediately engenders a sense of barbarity and gore aplenty, and the film doesn't disappoint. Hardcore genre fans will love the film's throwback style and attention to detail and story. The heroes play second fiddle to the villain and gore, though not to the detriment of the film. Lionsgate has done it again, producing a disc with top-notch video and audio presentations. The disc is a bit light in extras from a quantity standpoint, but certainly not in quality; however, the movie and the technical specs are enough to put the disc over the top. The Midnight Meat Train comes enthusiastically recommended to hardcore Horror fans. [CSW] -3.8- One of the best adaptations of Clive Barker's stories. Cast Notes: Bradley Cooper (Leon), Leslie Bibb (Maya), Brooke Shields (Susan Hoff), Vinnie Jones (Mahogany), Roger Bart (Jurgis), Tony Curran (Driver), Barbara Eve Harris (Detective Lynn Hadley), Peter Jacobson (Otto), Stephanie Mace (Leigh Cooper), Ted Raimi (Randle Cooper), Nora (Erika Sakaki), Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (Guardian Angel), Dan Callahan (Troy Taleveski), Don Smith (Station Cop), Earl Carroll (Jack Franks). IMDb Rating (11/04/14): 6.2/10 from 41,707 users IMDb Rating (02/20/09): 6.6/10 from 8,400 users
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