Meat Grinder [DVD]

Thai horror has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years, which probably explains why we seem to be watching so many of them these days. With that in mind, lets see what's on the menu for tonight. Directed by Tiwa Moeithaisong, 2009 Thai horror hit Meat Grinder serves up a sumptuous feast of murder, mayhem, dismemberment and cannibalism, taking the "torture porn" sub-genre to the giddiest of heights. This gory yet beautiful tale stars Mai Charouenpura (Suriyothai) as a deranged woman in 1970s Thailand running a noodle stall and hearing voices in her head - colour her crazy indeed. When she finds a dying man in her stall one night, she comes up with the idea of chopping him up and grinding the body parts for her noodle soup. I know - that's the first thing I thought of as well. It turns out to be one of her most popular dishes, and as the stall generates more business, she realises that she needs more bodies to cater for increased customer demand. A banquet of horror to tantalise your taste buds then, the table is booked and your seat at the table is reserved, Meat Grinder is coming to UK shores uncut and incredibly uncomfortable.

Fans of Dumplings and Sweeney Todd will know what to expect, it seems that food equates to horror more often than not these days, kind of puts you off eating out if you ask me. Bus (Mai Charouenpura) takes to killing people in the most gruesome of fashion, and Tiwa Moeithaisong's camera lingers on every open wound. It's a hard watch at times - legs are torn off, fingernails are hammered hard, bodies are hung out to dry on meat hooks, you know the drill. There isn't a drill from what I remember but you get the point. Despite the regular bouts of violence, Meat Grinder remains captivating throughout courtesy of a compelling performance from Mai. No matter how many times she slices and dices, the nature of the plot ensures that you side with her all the way. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way, not just at the hands of our favourite chef, but the tragic back-story provides plenty of meat to pick at too. There's a love interest as well, adding romance, desire and hidden truths to an enticing recipe that surprises with its effectiveness.

Tiwa Moeithaisong gives his film a vibrant feel, incorporating several filmmaking techniques along the way. Colour filters, scratches and old film stock are incorporated to give the film its unique taste. Edgy is probably a good word to describe it, and that's without taking into account the copious torture and violence. If you have a hard time watching somebody nail a human hand to the floor, this latest assault on the senses isn't for you. Meat Grinder comes on like a horror film when Bus lets loose on the crazy, but there's a lot more to it than that. We're safe in the arms of human drama for the most part, a film in which violence and tragedy breeds yet more violence and tragedy. Performances are solid throughout, the score is striking and Meat Grinder impresses with every mouthful. Gore hounds will adore the lashings of violence, and fans of Asian drama will find plenty of spice to keep them hooked. So if you grew up on a diet of Freezer and Art of the Devil you should all ready be licking your lips at the prospect of yet another mouth-watering delight. 24framespersecond

awesome. a truely horrific, graphic, gore-porn film, with literally bucket loads of blood and dismemberment.

but it is also so much more than that. the story is one of a screwed-up thai woman (buss) with schizophrenia, who chops up those who cross her and serves them up in noodle dishes. but the film successfully explores the way in which her illness effects her interpretation of the world around her, and looks into her broken childhood/upbringing and therefore the reasons behind her behaviour and illness. other reviewers have commented that it is disjointed and confusing, and the film does often jump between memories, reality and buss's delusional interpretation of the world - to my mind this brilliantly portrays/represents how screwed-up buss's mind/life is.

it really is very clever indeed, and has so much more depth than the sterile hollywood slasher films.

add to that the extra element of being filmed in Thailand, with sets and a cinema style never seen in western films, this has to be highly recommended if you like horror and a bit of depth to films.

Much like the title of this review states, I cannot seem to make up my mind. For all intents and purposes, this movie is marketed as a horror movie - or rather, one of the many additions to the "torture-porn" subgenre. As it is also an Asian one at that, certain expectations arise that place this movie alongside movies such as Tokyo Gore Police. If that's what you're looking for, stop reading this review right now and continue looking for something that might suit you better.
After having read the description given, I bought this movie expecting some kind of gore fest. As far as that's concerned, I was slightly disappointed. The 'gory' scenes were too... Well, calm for lack of a better word. No copious amounts of blood. No endless screaming. Just a woman calmly chopping away. Because of this calm, these scenes did not seem overly fake or even uncalled for. However, the strength of this movie lies in its flashbacks (easily discernible as they're in black and white, making it relatively easy to follow (especially if you like dramas or arthouse movies)). They slowly explain why Buss (the main character) has gone insane and what happened in her past, thus giving the movie a plot and coherent storyline. I'd also like to point out an error in the product description (or rather, on the back cover of the DVD): Buss doesn't just decide to chop corpses up and incorporate them into her noodle soup: it goes back a little further than that. There's a bit more meaning to the story than they're claiming there is.

What it comes down to is this: if you like drama and can stomach the concept of cannibalism, you might like this. If you're looking for a gorefest, this movie probably isn't for you.