imccullo

I'm old enough to remember when Clive Barker was touted by Stephen King as the 'future of horror' circa the former's 'Hellraiser' 1987 Directorial debut so it comes as no surprise that so many of his written works have been adapted for the big screen. The Midnight Meat Train started life as part of a short story collection 'Books of Blood Volume One' from 1984. Although set in New York, this movie betrays some of it's author's English aesthetic and sensibilities e.g. Our baddie 'Mahogany' is Welsh ex footballer Vinnie Jones who has a grand total of one written line of dialogue to deliver. Despite this, the 'bad boy's bad boy' exudes menace and malevolence as if it were mere muscle memory starting at his own stiff upper lip. Bradley Cooper is not an actor I much care for but as a pint sized Springsteen lookalike he is at the very least, a convincing aspirant photographer in the Big Apple. Lesley Bibb is likeable as the significant other but she just doesn't make a credible NYC diner waitress. The plot is preposterous, ridiculous, silly and plain vanilla unhinged in equal measure and this is maybe one of the reasons the film is destined to endure only as a cult classic. It's also a gory splatter action painting as if directed by a murderous Jackson Pollock and this could also alienate certain film-going demographics. All that said, it's still great fun, hugely entertaining, doesn't take itself too seriously and makes most British viewers yearn for a time when Vinnie might have been unleashed on football hooligans who terrorised commuters on British Rail services during the 80's.

You would be forgiven for thinking this a rather threadbare tread on 'stalker thriller' orthodoxy given the plot setup e.g. Widowed single mum (Violet) nervous about reentering the dating market after a fatally abusive relationship with ex hubby (now dead under his own hand) goes on her sophomore dinner date leaving sister Jen to babysit infant son Toby. Thereafter, thinks perk up significantly with our heroine meeting Henry (a photographer for a city mayor who appears to be embroiled in an embezzlement scandal) for a meal in swish upmarket restaurant 'Palate' but all the while receiving an accelerating number of 'Digi Drops' to her cell phone which become increasingly menacing as the evening progresses. Violet's date Henry advises that there is a transmission distance limit of around 50 feet for these types of messages so anyone in the restaurant could be the source. Director Christopher Landon takes great delight in teasing his audience with all manner of possible suspects which include, the louche cocktail pianist, a bar tender, a fellow diner on a blind date, a wannabe standup waiter and the inscrutable restaurant hostess. The performances of Meghann Fahy (Violet) and Brandon Sklenar (Henry) are both genuinely affecting with the only slight qualifier being their unwitting resemblances to chilly right wing feminist Megyn Kelly and brain dead Australian footballer Harry Kewell respectively. This movie is genuinely innovative, creepy, scary and testimony to Marshall McLuhan's prescient wisdom that 'the medium is the message' Yes, there are a couple of yawning plot holes in our midst but these don't spoil the twists and turns of the unraveling story or entertainment quotient for a second. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this once it became clear another Zombie ketchup lake cruise was off the radar. Similar to 'Forbidden Planet' the 'it' being referred to in the title is really the subconscious 'human ID' of each of the protagonists forced to deal with a post apocalyptic reality where most of mankind has been wiped out by an unknown disease/plague. Yes, it's hardly a stunningly original story-line but it's handled and paced beautifully throughout by Director Trey Edward Shults who never betrays the movie's modest budget and makes you sympathetic to each member of his likeable cast. The two families forced together by circumstances beyond their control, despite their purported best intentions, can never come to trust or rely on each other completely at any moment and this lends the proceedings a menacing, claustrophobic and paranoid atmosphere that is genuinely spooky and beautifully captured by Cinematographer Drew Daniels. Special mention for Paul and Sarah's son Travis played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. Who depicts the rites of passage of a mixed race teenager with an economy and maturity belying his own tender years. There are some similar themes explored in '10 Cloverfield Lane' from 2016 but neither movie is derivative of the other. Well worth catching (but leave your mask on for the time being....)