Billed as South East Asia’s answer to Sweeney Todd, the film centres around a mentally unhinged noodle chef who finds that succulent human flesh is exactly what her customers have been craving…
However, those expecting a mindless display of incessant violence will be partially disappointed.
Once you make it past the bloody opening scenes, there is a level of beauty and sensitivity to be found beneath the mutilation in Director Tiwa Moeithaisong’s gore-fest.
The protagonist, Buss (Mai Charoenpura), embarks on a psychopathic journey to churn up humans into noodle meat.
The story could just be left at that, culminating in nothing more than blood, guts and gore.
But Meat Grinder, unlike many horror films of its kind, has a reasonably well-developed back story.
The shocks are both visual and psychological. The gruesome images have a marked impact on the viewer, but it is the reasons which lie behind this violence that stay with you long after this experience has passed.
Throughout the film, Buss remains a slave to the endlessly chilling voices in her head. A ghostly, childish whisper portrays the main character’s chronically disturbed mind with terrifying effect.
As can be typical of East Asian horror, Meat Grinder’s timeline is nothing short of erratic. Buss’ tortured childhood is shown in a series of flashbacks, shot in stark black and white, whilst much of the film is shot in faded colour or through obscuring fisheye lenses, giving the action a distinctly nostalgic feel.
Lashings of bright red dripping from the victims contrast harshly with a colourless, hopeless background. It is difficult to tell where fantasy ends and reality begins, although both are similarly engaging.
The choice to set the film against the backdrop of 1970s Thailand – and the brutal military repression which the state endured – mirrors the film’s chaotic events and creates a powerful sense of unease throughout.
Serial killing to a somewhat inappropriate level is becoming something of a genre-specific trend. Just as Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me features a number of upbeat country hits to accompany the brutality, Meat Grinder uses crooning, romantic Thai ballads to great effect as a backing score.
It is this kind of dissonance which also underpins the film’s general aesthetic pleasure – beautiful cinematography combined with total revulsion.
As we reach the gruesome climax, much of the film’s deeper elements are lost in favour of more pointlessly indulgent gore, but it manages to retain its strange charm.
The final scenes are both powerful and tragic, with a truly frightening performance from Charoenpura as the true extent of her derangement is revealed. The viewer is left feeling both repulsed and sympathetic, a highly uncomfortable combination and a reflection of the film’s surprising complexity.
Despite initial low expectations, Meat Grinder is a notable achievement – being visually very accomplished and genuinely unsettling. A harrowing experience, but one which to recommend for all who find themselves intrigued.
4 out of 5 stars