Review of The Midnight Meat Train (2008) by Thequietgamer — 20 Apr 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 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.