GORE IN THE STORE
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5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

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Directed by Tiwa Moeithaisong. Starring Mai Charoenpura, Anuway Niwartwong. Thailand. Horror. 90 minutes

Released 23 August 2010, £17.99 (DVD & Blu Ray)

Buss (Mai Charoenpura) is a scorned woman down on her luck, who decides to open a noodle shop in her front room to make ends meet. As her customer base grows, the question everyone is asking: What is the secret ingredient that makes her noodles taste so good? Meat Grinder doesn’t make you wait long to find out, and suffice to say, there is a high degree of correlation between Buss’ success and the growing number of missing people in the local area.

The distributors of this film claim it is Thailand's donation to the torture porn genre and that it could be considered a cross between Saw and Bunman: The Untold Story. Meat Grinder is certainly gory enough to contend with either, although I would say it is closer to Hostel than Saw - even borrowing some snipping of the ankles and dank, grimy settings. The link to Bunman is potentially an unwise comparison, as this film is far less mean spirited and nowhere near as shocking – but then few films are. From the very opening scenes it does set itself up as a particularly visually gruesome film – limbs are flying from the opening five minutes onwards, but Meat Grinder has a far more romantic and artful soul than most torture flicks.

There are distinct overtones of Thailand's more prolific film making oriental cousins in the doomed from the start romance budding between the two leads, not to mention the ghostly twists that accompany it. Whilst being an undeniable psychopath, the real achievement here is ensuring Buss remains a sympathetic character. Given the appalling hand she has been dealt in life (and trust me, she certainly gets the shitty end of the stick from day one) she comes across as someone finally exacting a cold revenge on a world that has screwed her over, just like her mother before her. Buss must also win the award for least lines actually spoken by a leading lady in a genre film since Thriller – En Grym Film, and it is testament to her acting skill that she pulls it off.

Unfortunately though, just like many J and K Horror films, there are plot holes big enough to drive a noodle cart through. If I ever get arrested in connection with a dead body found in my garden, I sincerely hope the police are as incompetent as the lot in this film – failing to check the basement grindhouse seems faintly ridiculous. This, amongst many other “are you having a laugh?” moments, is a relatively minor issue if you’re used to the idiosyncrasies of eastern film plots, but it certainly detracted from my viewing experience. As long as you can overlook these inconsistencies, it's a haunting although exceptionally gruesome film to enjoy. Not many films offer you the opportunity to see someone having their own leg thrown at their head in the opening scene. Worth a watch, but this requires a huge degree of willing suspension of disbelief.

Wifey though rather more highly of it though…

Although there is more blood and guts in this film than you can shake a limb at, it has a wistful, romantic heart. The relationship between the two principals is gentle and tender and despite the plot, the film has a distinctly innocent feel to it. This is aided by the surprisingly beautiful cinematography and a simple, melodic soundtrack. As my first taste of a Thai horror, I can't wait to go back for seconds.

Bonus material: Not many bonuses on this disc, only the original Thai trailer which gives away pretty much everything in the plot!

Alex: 2 stars
Sarah-Jane: 3 stars.

Alex & Sarah Chambers

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