 MEAT GRINDER (2009) Dir. Tiwa Moeithaisong, 90 mins Unless I'm much mistaken, Meat Grinder has the honour of being the first Thai film I've covered in this series – certainly not a conscious decision, as I'm always researching and looking for movies to add to the list before even trying to find out where I can actually watch it. But let me say this – if they're all up to this level, it certainly won't be my last. However, this one comes with a public health warning, because this movie is absolutely as dark as f**k. And you should all know by now that's not a claim I make lightly. Meat Grinder follows the story of Buss, a young woman under much financial duress, with a child at home and what appears to be a pretty unsuccessful noodle cart business that keeps her out of the house most of the day. It also goes into her absolutely nightmarish childhood – and some of these scenes were so uncomfortable to watch, not necessarily on the visual gore/torture level, but on the psychological level some of this stuff will not soon be forgotten. Unfortunately she hands down flashes of this treatment to her daughter, and Buss tends to ultimately calm herself by immersing herself in a water barrel to almost the point of drowning. But the nightmarishness doesn't stop there, oh no. Because after a crazy riot breaks out around her in town, she finds a body in the bottom section of her cart – and she's not one to waster perfectly good meat... From there, her business flourishes, to a point where she converts her house into a bustling noodle bar, but sadly those she owes money to are not willing to let things lie. And that's without mentioning suspicion falling on her over the missing young man that made up her first batch of 'special noodles'... It's honestly a pure coincidence that this one is a second cannibal movie of the month, but this one is very different to The Last Supper. That one was a tale of debauchery from a man in a position of privilege, while Meat Grinder is a traumatic story of abuse and pressure leading one woman to a single, horrifying decision. There are times you almost sympathise with Buss, despite her heinous crimes, because of everything that has gone on in her past – and that's good storytelling however you slice it. As much as there was that I liked, I don't want to go totally overboard, because there were limitations – it did rather jump all over the place time-wise, leaving me confused here and there, and some of the side performances don't quite back up a great central turn by Mai Charoenpura as Buss. She's quiet and taciturn much of the time, but with this simmering sense of rage and injustice ready to explode at any time. The music was pretty jarring in many places, and sort of knocked the mood the film was presenting at times. There were a good number of surprises en route though, and if you like your cinema deeply grim and unpleasant – both emotionally and visually – this could be worth you digging out for a watch. RATING: 8.5/10. I can't help but think that if this movie had been a bit more linear, and put a bit more time into just hanging together better, this could have been well towards top marks. As it is, this is a fine movie that offers a distinctly bleak look into a life all-but ruined by cruelty from both parents and spouse, with that darkness spiralling into the modern-day of its protagonist. Some of the performances from characters on the fringes do hold things back a bit, but I don't want to mark down too badly because the majority do a good to great job. Brace yourself though – while it is compelling, it is literally no fun at all and might even be one of those that actively puts a dent in your mood. I know next to nothing about Thai cinema, but based on this I might just have to explore its horror movies a little more deeply... TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE WALES: MY COUNTRY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MY WRITING BY CATHERINE MCCARTHY THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR WEBSITES |
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