HTF DVD Review: The Midnight Meat Train - Unrated Director's Cut (1 Viewer)

[sigmund100]

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN: UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT




Studio: LIONSGATE
Year: 2008
Rated: Unrated
Film Length: 100 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital EX, English 2.0 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, Spanish




The Movie – 3 1/2 out of 5

“Step away from the meat.”

Lionsgate what were you thinking? Last year when I went to see Rambo in the theaters there was a trailer for a cool looking horror film called The Midnight Meat Train. It was scheduled to be released theatrically in May 2008 as counter-programming to studio tent poles like Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to kick off the summer movie season. And then… something happened. Peter Block, who deserves much credit for putting the studio on the map with huge hits like the Saw films, for some inexplicable reason was shown the door and replaced with Joe Drake. It appears that Joe decided to throw most of the films from Block’s slate under the bus in order to welcome in a “new era” (my quotes) of “more important” (my quotes again) films (except maybe for the Saw series, which, as long as they make money, Lionsgate will still be cranking them out). The Midnight Meat Train was moved to August 1, 2008 and was basically dumped in 81 of the most obscure movie theaters in the country (does anyone know where this movie played?) in order to fulfill a contractual obligation for a “theatrical release” (yes, my quotes again). After grossing a whopping $83,000 (yes, that’s sarcasm) and pulled after two weeks, things get even weirder. One would assume it would go straight to DVD and Blu-Ray so horror fan can own and dissect this cool, original little film, but it didn’t. Instead it showed up on FEARnet free VOD (in standard and high definition) for a couple of months before finally making its way to DVD this past February.

Huh?

This is arguably the strangest release pattern for a film from a studio that I have ever seen. And with hindsight being 20/20, a terrible decision by the folks at Lionsgate. The Midnight Meat Train is from the mind of Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed), who somehow knew Lionsgate was going to dump the picture when he wrote on his website, “There have been signs for a long while that Lionsgate, the company releasing the movie, was going to screw around with it”. So why was it a mistake? How about the film’s now A-List star, Bradley Cooper? For years this guy was regulated to “second banana” status on television shows like “Alias” and playing the “other boyfriend” roles in films like Failure to Launch and Wedding Crashers, since then, this guy has become a leading man and will soon be a huge star. After co-starring roles in back to back hits Yes Man and He Just Not That Into You, he’s now set to star in this summer’s most buzzed about comedy, The Hangover, and is rumored to be the lead in the big screen adaptation of The Green Lantern in addition to the rumor (yes, lots of rumors going around) he just landed the leading role as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck (the Dirk Benedict role) in the big screen adaptation of The A-Team. From second banana role in a TV show to the star of the next blockbuster comic book movie and more and Lionsgate missed the boat. Had they held on to The Midnight Meat Train just a little longer and gave it a proper theatrical release, this film could have easily been a $20,000,000 - $30,000,000 hit. But I digress… Lionsgate you screwed this one up. I almost forgot... this is a DVD review and I have gone off on another rant yet again. I guess I should talk about the movie!

Bradley Cooper stars as Leon, a struggling photographer whose stalling career would get a much need lift if hip New York art dealer, Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields, “Suddenly Susan”) would show his work in her art gallery. Along with his agent, Jurgis Tompkins (Roger Bart, American Gangster) they believe that Leon’s photos need to be more “dangerous” (of course they do). With camera in tow, he ventures out into the dangerous New York City streets at night searching for inspiration. He stumbles across a model and photographs her being accosted by street toughs (but does nothing to help her, just snapping photos of the crime) only to lean the next day she was murdered. Upon closer examinations of his photos in his darkroom (Does anyone actually develop pictures with chemicals anymore?), he discovers an ominous figure in the background who looks like a butcher dressed in an outdated early century suit who turns out to be “Mahogany” (Vinnie Jones, Snatch), a serial killer who lurks in the NYC subways and carries an exceptionally large metal meat tenderizer. Leon attempts to go to the police but they don’t seem interested in helping so he ventures out into the subways again and again as Mahogany becomes his obsession, and now… his muse. Leon not only feels compelled to help solve the crimes, but also becomes fixated with capturing a Kodak moment of Mahogany in the act of murder. As Leon gets closer and closer to his subject, he uncovers a gruesome conspiracy going on under the streets of Manhattan bigger than he ever imagined. You’ll never ride in the subways alone again.

Based on a short story by Clive Barker from his 1984 collection “Books of Blood”, The Midnight Meat Train is a welcome, fresh entry into the horror genre. It’s not perfect by any stretch, however, after the Japanese remake thriller craze finally died down (or has it… The Grudge 3 just came out on DVD) and, of course now I have to sit through countless remakes of my favorite slasher films (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th, My Bloody Valentine, etc…), The Midnight Meat Train is arguably one of the most original horror films I’ve seen in a long time. Cooper and Jones give the best performances in the film, While Leslie Bibb (Iron Man) is basically wasted playing the part of the worried girlfriend who is concerned for Leon during his descent into madness. Gorehounds and fans of the genre will be happy to know that the movie delivers plenty of blood and guts, with cool, original “kills”, however I felt that the CGI blood and gore was all too obvious at times and should have been dialed back a notch or two. Director Ryûhei Kitamura (Godzilla: Final Wars) none the less, delivers the goods and should have his agent put him up for one of the Saw films. He has a keen eye for detail and pacing (and creative deaths) and clearly has a career directing horror films in his future. Genre fans should look for Sam Raimi’s brother Ted Raimi in a small role as “Randle Cooper”. It's a fun cameo.


The Video – 2 1/2 out of 5

Using my Sony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray / DVD player and my Sanyo PLV-1080 HD projector (HDMI v. 1.3b, 1080p, full 1920 x 1080 resolution, 10,000:1 contrast), I watched the DVD of The Midnight Meat Train on my 120" Da-Lite Home Theater Screen. I have to say, for a Lionsgate DVD I expected better. In the past, I have found their DVD transfers above average, especially their newer films, however, this transfer kinda let me down. With much of the action taking place in the dark subway, the blacks just weren’t black enough and shadow detail was lacking. While flesh tones were fairly accurate, the color palette was muted, albeit deliberately I’m guessing, with lots of blues, grays and silvers (especially in the subway scenes), however I found this to be especially effective because when the blood starts flowing, the reds really pop off the screen (along with several body parts). The problem was the amount of grain in the image (all to evident in more dimly lit scenes). The DNR and edge enhancement was obvious, with noise reduction artifacts and halos far too apparent. After having seen this in HD a few moths back on HDnet, I have to say that I was disappointed.


The Audio / Sound – 4 out of 5

I played the audio through my Yamaha RX-V663 amp (665 Watts w/ up to 7.1 Surround, Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital + and DTS HD Master Audio) attained by an HDMI connection and like the accompanying image, the 5.1 Dolby Digital EX soundtrack was very good. Encoded at 48 khz/ 448 kbps, the soundstage was exceptionally lively and atmospheric, especially in the scenes on the subway train, completely immersing you in the experience. All speakers had something separate to say and I was listening attentively. Great use of LFE’s… my subwoofer perked up at just the right moments. Dialogue was free and clear of distortion.


The Extra's – 2 1/2 out of 5

Commentary with Clive Barker and Director Ryûhei Kitamura

Clive Barker: The Man Behind The Myth (1.78:1, 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 14:53) – It’s about Clive Barker, his work as a writer and his inspiration for The Midnight Meat Train.

Mahogany’s Tale – (1.78:1, 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 5:11) Featurette about creating a new “horror icon” and the character that would be the killer.

Anatomy of a Murder Scene (1.78:1, 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 9:16) – Featurette about the special effects and creating the “gore” of The Midnight Meat Train.

Original Theatrical Trailer (1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 2:02)

Also From Lionsgate Trailers for My Bloody Valentine 3-D (1.78:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen, 1:40), The Haunting in Connecticut (2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 2:27), My Bloody Valentine: Special Edition (1981) Red Band Trailer (1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 1:40), Saw V (1.78:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen, :32), Frontier(s) (2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 1:25), Beneath Still Waters (1.33:1 Full Frame, 1:48) NOTE: These trailers are also on the front end of the disc (which play automatically when you pop the disc in the DVD player.


Final Thoughts

This movie will likely become a cult classic. It’ll be fun to watch people discovering this film over time. Fans of the genre will (and should) want to own this on DVD. Despite the overuse of CGI, this film delivers the goods and it’s a lot of fun. It’s great to see Bradley Cooper (I’m a big fan of JJ Abrams’ “Alias”) become a big star. Too bad Lionsgate didn’t see it coming. They could have had a big hit on its hands.


Overall Score – 3 1/2 out of 5

Release Date: February 17, 2009

Eric Douglas

My DVD Collection: DVD Profiler, by Invelos Software, Inc.