Set in a grimy New York subway system plagued by a meat-tenderizer-wielding serial killer, "The Midnight Meat Train" goes full speed on ultra-gory rails before slamming to an abrupt stop.
A nonsensical ending, rivaling the lunacy of any of the "Saw" sequels, spoils any goodwill the otherwise gripping movie builds up. The aftertaste is enough to make you hurl your popcorn at the screen.
Directed by Japanese horror maven Ryûhei Kitamura, the film is relentlessly violent, with graphic gross-outs that would make even the "Saw" and "Hostel" crowds squeamish.
For Kitamura, it's not enough to make an eyeball pop out of a skull. He goes the extra blood-slicked mile by making a starlet step on the eyeball, slip on it and slam to the ground. And that's one of the more tasteful scenes.
The best part of the film is an engaging descent into obsession by Leon (Bradley Cooper), a vegan photographer bent on making a name for himself by capturing the seediest examples of lowlife he can find. Brooke Shields plays an unscrupulous arts powerbroker who coaxes Leon in his depravity.
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His career-mindedness irritates his waitress girlfriend, Maya (Leslie Bibb), who worries that the spark has faded from their relationship.
Camera in hand, Leon's first instinct when he sees a young woman being assaulted is to perch at a high angle and snap photos. Only when the heavies notice him does he save the victim, with his "heroism" — notifying the thugs of a security camera — only a byproduct of saving himself.
In his quest for the grotesque, he finds a golden goose in Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), who stalks the subways, pounds people to death then hangs them on meat hooks, hoofing it afterward to his day job at a meat-processing plant.
Disregarding personal safety, as well as pleas from Maya, Leon takes to hunting the killer with his lens. Even though his character behaves without a wink of sense, the affable Cooper ("Wedding Crashers") manages to sell Leon's motivation.
Jones, taking cues from Jason Voorhees, strikes a particularly intimidating figure. Mahogany moves slowly, never speaking while showing unnatural, effortless strength. And he has a preternatural ability to always pop up right behind you.
Kitamura builds the suspense well, and even paints an interesting portrait of Leon and Maya's fading love life. Tantalizing character bits also abound, including Leon's sudden yearning for meat and Mahogany's odd habit of cutting warts off his chest and storing them in bottles. Such embellishments make the movie's world seem all the more frightening for its mystery.
But that ending — yeesh.
My advice to horror fans — leave after Mahogany and Leon's final showdown. Then do what Leon should have done if he had a lick of sense: Run fast and don't look back.
Review
The Midnight Meat Train
**1/2
• Rated: R for sequences of strong bloody gruesome violence, grisly images involving nudity, sexual content and language.
• Cast: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones, Brooke Shields.
• Director: Ryûhei Kitamura.
• Family call: Not for kids.
• Running time: 100 minutes.
