Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: "Hellraiser"

This movie adaptation of Clive Barker's original 27-page short story, practically screams for some title rewording, as I am guessing you are wondering why the word 'meat' is involved. However, you'll soon turn to realise that it does make perfect sense!

This gruesome horror flick centres itself on an aspiring photographer, Leon (Bradley Cooper) who successfully gains the interest of a prominent art gallerist, Susan (Brooke Shields) who pushes him out of his comfort zone to capture the darker side of humanity. In the midst of Leon's obsession, he stumbles across the path of a suspicious and well-poised serial killer, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), who stalks late-night commuters. His concerned girlfriend, Maya (Leslie Bibb) fears for him as his pursuit to unravel the killer's secret turns compulsive.

Fully equipped with bloody, gory and explicit scenes, the movie does not fail to make those weak at heart squirm during brutal killing scenes, although they were obviously coming. Anything can happen in a train during the early hours of the morning when you are in the company of a serial killer with bad intentions. With only a steel hammer and a meat hook, you will find that the killing methods don't really tally up with the tools used. Moreover, there were some scenes that make you question them and sadly, they just weren't explained properly, especially since you need it to understand the situation.

However, despite the serial killer's lack of spoken words, Vinnie Jones played his part quite well and portrayed the literal "silent killer" aura perfectly.

The ending had a surprisingly odd twist to it that didn't really make much sense due to the lack of further explanation. Nonetheless, there was a bit of creativity involved - queer, but still creative. I guess this might be something that manages to make us suspend our questions.

Overall, this flick is filled with all the usual ingredients needed in a horror film. As the tagline goes - it definitely is one of the most terrifying ride you'll ever take, whether it makes sense or not.

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008