I have had "Meat Grinder" (aka "Cheuuat gaawn chim") on the DVD shelves for quite a while, about two years, give or take, and never gotten around to watching it before now. Which is odd, given the fact that I enjoy Asian horror movies quite a lot. And now having seen "Meat Grinder" I can say with all honesty that it is more than just your average gorefest.
The text advertised on the DVD cover, "SAW was just an appetizer... Welcome to the main course", is somewhat of a grotesque exaggeration, because "Saw" and "Meat Grinder" are two very different movies and two very different sub-genres of horror. The only similarity is that they are both visually graphic in terms of gore and mayhem.
The story told in "Meat Grinder" is about a street vendor in Thailand named Buss (played by Mai Charoenpura) who opens up a noodle store, where she serves dishes prepared with meat from the people she kills and stores in her basement.
Initially, the storyline is fairly simple, but it adds additional layers to the story, as this is more than just a gore movie. It also deals with the personal issues and traumas of Buss. And director Tiwa Moeithaisong managed to construct a story where the audience is gradually given more and more information and insight into the story, into what is actually going on, and into the history and trauma of the main character.
"Meat Grinder" is a very explicit graphical movie in terms of showing mutilations, gore and being shocking. As such, it is not suitable for all people. And you should take into consideration that the visuals in the movie is very realistic and very effective (in my opinion). Just a friendly reminder.
The combination of a good, albeit simple, storyline and a great character gallery and character development, alongside with some good acting performance really helped flesh out, no pun intended, "Meat Grinder" to the screen. And the overall result is an enjoyable movie about the breakdown of a woman's psyche, the fall into insanity and the brutality that she was able to dish out.
This 2009 Thai horror movie is well-worth a watch if you enjoy horror movies that has an abundance of gore and presents this in a very in-your-face graphic manner.
I am rating "Meat Grinder" six out of ten stars.
