Midnight Meat Train has become something of a holy grail when it comes to Clive Barker?s short stories over the years. Originally published as part of his Books of Blood series, MMT was about 30 pages of unassuming terror and has always been a Clive fan favorite. Short and moderately paced, it?s also scary as hell and a prime example of Barker?s true talent as a storyteller. Also proof positive that Stephen King knew exactly what he was talking about when he called Clive ?The future of horror.?

There are many challenges in transforming a short story to feature length for the big screen and enthusiasm can quickly turn to skepticism from a rabid fan base. While I?m not going to go into explicit detail here and now, I did want to give a quick teaser of what our exclusive MMT set visit entailed. We spent about 7 hours around a cramped subway car on a soundstage in Burbank ? very cool. We stood one car down (actually on the train) while Mahogany (Vinnie Jones) swung his meat packing hammer, and seeing this character being brought to life was nothing short of an exhilarating experience. We have tons of great coverage planned and soon we?ll have more from our Midnight Meat Train set visit, but in the mean time, we?ve got this exlusive on set pic to whet your appetite, exclusively on FEARnet.

About MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN

Next stop, death.

When his latest body of work ? provocative, nighttime studies of the city and its inhabitants -- earns struggling photographer Leon Kaufman (Bradley Cooper) interest from a prominent art gallerist (Brooke Shields), she propels him to get grittier and show the darker side of humanity for his upcoming debut at her downtown art space.

Believing he?s finally on track for success, Leon?s obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters -- ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.

With his concerned girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb) fearing for his life, Leon?s relentless fascination with Mahogany lures him further and further into the bowels of the subways and ultimately into an abyss of pure evil ? inadvertently pulling Maya right along with him.

The horror thriller, ?Midnight Meat Train? stars Bradley Cooper (?The Wedding Crashers,? TV?s ?Alias,?), Vinnie Jones (?X-Men: The Last Stand,? ?Snatch?), Brooke Shields (?Nip/Tuck?), and Leslie Bibb (the upcoming ?Trick ?r Treat,? ?Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby?).

Also starring are Roger Bart (?Hostel: Part II,? TV?s ?Desperate Housewives?), Peter Jacobson (?Good Night, and Good Luck?), Barbara Eve Harris (TV?s ?Prison Break?), and UFC mixed martial arts fighter Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson.
?Midnight Meat Train? is directed by critically acclaimed Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (?Versus,? ?Azumi,? ?Sky High?) in his American debut, and based on legendary horror writer Clive Barker?s popular, eponymous short story from his classic Books of Blood collection. The screenplay was adapted by Jeff Buhler.

Lakeshore Entertainment's Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright and Eric Reid are producing the film with David Rubin serving as executive producer, and Beth DePatie co-producing. The director of photography is Jonathan Sela (2006?s ?The Omen?). Production designer is Clark Hunter (?The Astronaut Farmer,? ?All the Pretty Horses?). Costume designer is Christopher Lawrence (?Crank,? ?S.W.A.T.?). Special makeup effects are being created by Oscar® winner Matthew Mungle (?Dracula,? ?Schindler?s List?).