roger bart Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Easily the best Clive Barker adaptation since the first Hellraiser film, Ryuhei Kitamura's The Midnight Meat Train is so absolutely a "horror fans only" experience that I'm not surprised that Lionsgate wants to give it only a cursory theatrical release before dumping it into DVD. I do not mean that as a knock on the film. As a matter of fact, this is certainly one of the most effective horror films of the year -- but man, oh man... it would be a really tough sell on 1,200 screens. It's kind of an unfair catch-22 where certain horror movies are concerned: if you "go dark," dabble in grimness, and don't cater to the under-18 crowd, then there's a good chance your "hardcore" horror movie will debut on DVD (at best) or, like The Mist and The Ruins, arrive in theaters very quietly.

But let's hear it for the filmmakers who still insist on pushing the envelope, giving the horror fans something dark and challenging, and focusing more on mood, atmosphere, and scares more than in catering to the widest audience possible. Frankly, if The Midnight Meat Train hits only 100 screens (which is Lionsgate's current plan), I'd take that as a compliment paid to the movie: This is not a mainstream horror flick. If all you know of horror films is stuff like Prom Night, consider yourself warned.

We knew it was coming, we knew where they were going, but we didn't know who would be joining them for another round of marijuana-induced adventures. And now we do. Eleven folks have joined Kal Penn (Kumar) and John Cho (Harold) in the long-awaited sequel to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Harold and Kumar 2 (previously known as Harold and Kumar Go to Amsterdam ... except they don't really go to Amsterdam) has added -- deep breath -- David Krumholtz, Rob Corddry, Christopher Meloni, Ed Helms, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Paula Garcés, Jack Conley, Roger Bart, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter and -- drum roll please -- Neil Patrick Harris!

For die hard fans of the original film, the only name that really matters to you is Neil Patrick Harris, as his cameo in the first flick stole the show. Daily Show vets Corddry and Helms should also provide plenty of laughs along the way. Story picks up right where we left our two heroes: at White Castle, putting an end to their vicious case of the munchies. When Harold's crush Maria heads off to Amsterdam, the boys attempt to follow her ... only to be yanked off the plane when a fellow passenger suspects Kumar is a terrorist. From there, the duo travel a lot farther than the state of New Jersey -- from Guantanamo Bay, through the deep south and eventually ending up in "Bush country ..." all the while being chased by Homeland Security.

Production began last week in Louisiana, with original Harold and Kumar scribes John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg writing and directing the follow-up. Currently, there's no word from New Line on a release date.