Review of The Midnight Meat Train (2008) by Chris O — 13 Nov 2017

What started as a pretty cool premise eventually turned into a ridiculous, B-grade mess.

Struggling photographer Leon Kauffman'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.

So, continuing my streak (and poorly kept one) of watching all the films on my Netflix queue, the next one up was "Midnight Meat Train". Honestly, the tile alone sounded like a porno so that was already pretty skeptical. But it's Bradley Cooper's first film and he did great! But in the end, this film was definitely a B-Grade horror film with some cheesy effects, a ridiculous premise, and just kinda wasteful.

One thing that was a mix for me was the premise of this film. I thought this film had a ton of potential to be something cool. In fact, the first third of the film was really neat. It was interesting, mysterious, and creepy. There was a sense of realism and disturbing vibes that got me interested in the film. However, the last two acts or so came and the movie became ridiculous. The characters were rash, the plot became too big for its own good, it became sadly predictable, and it tried to become something that it was not. It was a story with a lot of potential but I think it went too far and tried to be too much.

In terms of acting, this film was decent. Bradley Cooper is obviously a plus, as I think this guy really does have a lot of talent and skill. I think the surrounding cast was forgettable at best. I don't think anyone else here really put on a memorable performance, at least none that stand out. I don't think anyone was particularly bad, but it just wasn't special. It's the kind of thing you'd see in most cheesy horrors, which in the end just allows these performances to get lost in the sea of cinema.

The special effects were more than questionable. I can understand that this film was working on a low budget, but filmmakers need to be aware of what they can and cannot do. Just because you can make it in effects doesn't mean you should add it in. Sometimes regardless of budget, bad effects can completely take you out of the film. There were some cartoon moments in this film that made me chuckle. It wasn't supposed to funny because the ideas were quite disturbing, but it just felt so cheesy. Filmmakers nowadays need to know how to utilize their budgets. I get if they were trying to go for cheesy, but it really didn't seem like they were.

In the end, this film is definitely forgettable. I guess it's fine, simple content that has some enjoyable ideas, but it's mostly an over exaggerated mess.