When a Midnight Meat Train doesn't go local

By Steven Zeitchik

Hell hath no fury like a horror fan scorned. The grassroots movement opposing Lionsgate's dump of "Midnight Meat Train" has gone from general carping (like this Bloody-Disgusting entry here) to full-on activism (like these guys). Basically, fans are objecting to the contract-nod of a release (a hundred theaters, most of them bargain screens in outlying areas) and hoping that if enough tickets are bought up it will not only send a message to Lionsgate but possibly even force some mainstream openings.

Shocktillyoudrop.com has one of the most incisive takes on what's happening at Lionsgate with the Clive Barker creation -- it says that the studio picked up the Lakeshore production in a pre-Drake regime that was a lot more interested in creating new horror franchises -- and says that because of provisions in the deal, LG actually has many incentives for the movie to flop as to fly.

There's a certain decibel level to the outrage. But like fans at Comic-Con, it's hard to know just how large or influential this group is (a topic that we explore in a feature in Friday's THR).

Besides, Lionsgate may not be completely off base by deciding to make it a homevideo play here and save its P&A shekels. The fact is that for all the credibility Barker brings to the genre -- the lineage of modern Lionsgate properties like "Saw" and "Hostel" can, ironically, be traced back to his '80's creations like "Hellraiser" -- a movie based on one of his books/ characters hasn't come out theatrically in ten years. And even those releases were extensions of franchises that he had nothing to do with and has actually disavowed.

Yes, Barker's "Book of Blood" is currently being made by U.K. producers Matador, and a "Hellraiser" remake" is a project that, for a little while at least, had some momentum at Dimension. (Lakeshore also smartly chose up-and-coming Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura to direct "Meat.") But as torture-porn gets long in the tooth and gives way to the revivals of Sam Raimi camp-horror like "Drag Me To Hell" or straight reboots like "Friday the 13th," the genre may be looking for something new, and a ride on vehicles like the "Meat" train may take us to stations we've stopped at before.

Comments

[saddened]

two points I think you missed the boat on Steve:

1) MMT is not torture porn. It's good old fashioned Clive Barker horror which mixes this world with "another" and introduces wholly original creatures to inspire fear.

2) LGF could have "saved their P&A shekels" and STILL released the film in decent theaters located in urban areas. They would have spent the same amount of cash and easily recouped a half a million bucks in the process. This was a deliberate SNUB to Peter Block, Clive Barker and horror fans in general. Not to mention their shareholders who are footing the bill...

[Armando]

Regardless of the quality of the film (might be good, might be so-so, or bad), I think what's the most disconcerting here is where this movie puts LionsGate. They were the studio that horror build, and now with the changing of the guard, what happens to the horror projects left in their slate. The further extension is more troubling--where do talented horror filmmakers, indie or otherwise, now go to get a chance at their movies being released theatrically? If Kitamura and Barker can't get a movie in theaters, who can?

[Sandman]

hell ive written several horror comics that'll easily do better than anything clive barker has done.