“The Midnight Meat Train,” adapted from a novel short story by Clive Barker, is a gorefest about a photographer (Bradley Cooper) who follows the advice of his agent (Brooke Shields) to look into the dark underbelly of New York City and comes up with madman named The Butcher (Vinnie Jones) who turns nearly-deserted subway cars into impromptu slaughterhouses. You’d think that what sounds like the least flattering portrait of the Big Apple (filmed in L.A.) since Abel Ferrara’s “Fun City” (an ironic name from the Linsday administration) would be opening here today, but no, not even on the easily procured screens at the Empire 25 or the Village East. According to Moviefone, the nearest location showing “The Midnight Meat Train” is a discount theater in Palmyra, Pa., some 141 miles away. Lionsgate is reportedly giving this a contractual shove-off on around 100 screens in cinematic hotspots like Rochester and Norwalk, Calif. prior to its DVD debut in October. Scott Weinberg at Cinematical calls it the best Barker adaptation since “Hellbound.” Happy to take your word for it, Scott.
Dump Job of the Week: ‘The Midnight Meat Train’
