In 2008, Japanese director and screenwriter Ryûhei Kitamura (Down to Hell, Versus, No One Lives) directs Next stop: hell (aka The Midnight Meat Train), a horror film based on the short story of the same name "Midnight Mobile Butcher Shop" by Clive Barker, who also appears in the film as a producer.
Next stop: hell is a film transposition that is striking for the many splatter sequences it shows off but also for the dark, asphyxiating locations (the subway and the slaughterhouse) and for the unforgettable, unscrupulous villain (here played extraordinarily by Vinnie Jones) who steals the show. His icy face, as are his heinous actions toward the victims to be dismembered, blend well into the scenes of carnage made, these, even more macabre and terrifying by a cold and cyanotic photography.
It all contributes to a sense of claustrophobia and menace that accompanies the entire viewing of the film and is most noticeable in the sequences shot in small, atmospheric environments such as precisely that of the subway.
The ferocity and ease with which the butcher Mahogany lashes out at his victims remains imprinted, as does the wave of splatter that flows from each of his brutal interventions. The violence is unheard of, but the imperfect use of CGI somewhat dampens the tension and pleasure of viewing a bloody spectacle consisting of otherwise spectacular murder/slaughter.
In this ruthless Next stop: hell, Ryûhei Kitamura recreates an impeccable hell dimension in which the heavy, pounding shadow of death and pain is almost palpable. Characterized by an increasing pace and a rich mix consisting of suspense, violence and lots of blood, The Midnight Meat Train is a horror film that stands out and is surprising for the coldness with which death is approached and the rawness of the images associated with it.
Leon (Bradley Cooper) is a young New York photographer who needs to do an impactful photo shoot to get noticed by the owner of an art gallery. So he decides to photograph the dark side of humanity, but his work will lead him to get on the trail of Mohagany (Vinnie Jones), a bloodthirsty serial killer who preys on human bodies on the subway. From that moment, a long and tortured descent into hell begins for Leon.
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields, Roger Bart, Tony Curran, Barbara Eve Harris, Peter Jacobson, Ted Raimi, Stephanie Mace, Nori Satô, and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.
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Distributed by CG Entertainment, Next stop: hell is available on DVD from Universal/CG. The proposed edition enjoys a good audio/video compartment. The section devoted to special contents is rich.
DVD technical data:
VIDEO: 16/9 1.85:1
LENGTH: 100′
AUDIO: Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
SUBTITLES: Italian, Spanish, English for the Deaf.
EXTRA: Anatomy of a murder scene; Clive Barker: the man behind the myth; The Mahogany story; Clive Barker's commentary
Horrifying and horrifying splatter film