Terror Train

Three years after a fraternity prank on a virginal pre-med student ends badly, with the unfortunate young man apparently carted off to a mental hospital, the same hedonistic classmates responsible for the gag board an excursion train on New Year's Eve dressed in costumes. Before the train even gets rolling, one of the kids is killed and his mask stolen by a psychopath, who stalks the others in cramped corridors, sleeper cars and the office/locker-room. Despite a fine pedigree, with direction by Roger Spottiswoode and cinematography from John Alcott, this extremely muddled, non-scary slasher flick is awfully thin and incredibly dull. Ben Johnson plays the train conductor who finds a costumed corpse in the bathroom, but is then bamboozled by the killer who takes the place of the deceased and pretends to be drunk (but what about the blood on the sink and on the body?). Jamie Lee Curtis, overstretching her stint as the '80s Scream Queen, does nothing here she didn't already do in "Prom Night", released a few months prior in 1980. Magician David Cooperfield supplies the evening's entertainment, but what is the point of staging magic tricks in a movie? They can easily be faked, much like the acting, writing and directing in "Terror Train". *1/2 from ****

Routine and mediocre 80's slasher with an overload of clichés and tedious moments, and only a small amount of neat gimmicks to make up for its flaws. The story already starts with a giant cliché, when a new year fraternity-joke goes unexpectedly wrong, resulting in a traumatizing experience for the victim. Three years later, the now senior students of Sigma Phi fraternity all go aboard an hired steam train for a masquerade party. Among them is a bloodthirsty killer who keeps on changing disguises when he wipes out the teens that were responsible for the "accident" three years earlier. Good aspects naturally are the train-setting (which prevents the lambs-to-the-slaughter from running very far) and some really stylish camera-work, alternating quite nightly darkness with loud images of a typical teenager party. The whole mid-section is very uninteresting, though, and the wretched red herrings completely miss their effect. The screenplay clearly attempts to give the characters more dimension & personality than usually the case in 80's slashers, but there are far too many teenagers hopping around on this train, and you can't possibly make out who's important and who is not. The actual murders are disappointingly tame and unimaginative. No sex, no gore, no sadism... Did they even want to make a teen-slasher? Roger Spottiswoode's elegant directing deserves a better script and maybe even an entirely different genre of film. No wonder he went on making mainstream movies starring big stars. The cast-choices for "Terror Train" were quite peculiar. Jamie Lee Curtis is obviously there to attract the fans of "Prom Night" and "Halloween" but Ben Johnson's part (as the fatherly conductor) is a lot less evident. David Copperfield stars as a – surprise surprise – arrogant magician, hired to show off his card tricks. Not the worst of its kind, but nearly not good enough to recommend to devoted horror fans.

Terror Train (1980) ** (out of 4) A fraternity prank goes wrong when a man gets put into bed with a corpse. Years later the same group are throwing a party on a train and soon they start getting murdered one by one. Here's another Canadian horror film that just doesn't work because of how bland it is. I'm not sure what the director was going for here but one can't help but feel letdown after sitting through nearly 100-minutes of this. Jamie Lee Curtis leads the cast but I can't help but find her rather weak here. I wasn't impressed with her role in Prom Night either so I think her Scream Queen title only works with her Carptenter films. The supporting cast members aren't any better and most of them just come off rather annoying. The murder sequences are also rather weak and the gore isn't where it should have been. I've heard this film wasn't cut by the MPAA so that shows you the makers of this film didn't know they should have added the stuff. The train locations don't work as well as they should have either. All the negative things I'm saying would make it seem this film is horrid but it's not that bad. The things just disappointing considering its reputation. The ending is nice though.

"Terror Train" is one of the better entries in the slasher cycle. **SPOILERS** Three years ago, Alaina Maxwell, (Jaime Lee Curtis) humiliates the class nerd in college during a prep rally by accident. When the class takes a trip on a train as a graduation party, she goes along with the others partying. Unknowingly, the entire class is being watched from the shadows by an unknown person. The class members start dying along the route, and the conductor, Carne, (Ben Johnson) is the one who keeps finding the bodies. He informs the class that a killer is on the train, but when they can't find him after a sweep, they demand to be let back on. Alaina finds that the killer is after her, and tries to fight him off and stay alive. The Good News: As the slasher cycle started getting it'd feet in the late 70s, it was inevitable that the copy-cats would come out at some point. Fortunately, this is a copy-cat but a really good one. The familiar clichés found in the genre make for predictable viewing, but the way they're accomplished are what sets it apart. The film has some wonderful suspense moments that are courtesy of the spectacular camera work. After being locked out of her compartment, a figure approaches down a darkened hallway. This leads to a short chase where it's revealed to be a false alarm, but the idea was still there because of the camera work. The highlight, though, is the clever and downright creepy ending sequence where, after a brief struggle, a character locks them-self in a compartment in the same room with the killer. After several attempts to break in, the killer grabs a long pole and knocks out every light in the room, rendering it totally dark. It sets up a brilliant series of shock jumps that is only due to the camera making sure that the darkened part of the room is the main focus of the sequence. It's a great sequence that really sticks out. The double-twist with the killer's identity is nice, as the first one is pretty easy to guess, but the second one is a great one that does come from out of the blue. The Bad News: There's really nothing in the way of gore here. A couple of after-effects and finding some bodies with knives and other objects found in them, but that's pretty much it. Considering that it has some deaths that needed some blood, as well as a couple off-screen as well, lowers the gore content pretty drastically. Considering the time it came out, this should've been a little more gorier. Plus, the film does fall into the slasher cannon of the time, so it is fairly predictable and really offers nothing new. The Final Verdict: Coming out at the right time in horror history didn't hurt it at all. It's "Halloween" on a train, so that should really be the definitive response giving by this. Slasher fans with find a lot of good things here, but non-slashers will pretty much find this to be another by-the-numbers movie. Rated R: Violence, some Language and Brief Nudity

I first saw this in the 80s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. By now horror fans must have seen umpteenth number of times the story where the killer who is been bullied, comes back for revenge but the only difference here is that the action takes place not in some campus or institution but in a train which has a conductor played by Ben Johnson who doesn't get to shoot with a gun but strike with a shovel. Another good aspect apart from the train setting was the switching of costumes/guises by the killer but the ending ruined everything for me.

Three years after a prank gone wrong, a costumed killer is targeting some snotty college kids on board a train. I happen to like trains and I enjoy a good '80s slasher film as well. This one isn't half bad. Not great but good. Some will be disappointed as there isn't much gore. The cute girl quota is filled by Jamie Lee Curtis, Sandee Currie, Joy Boushel, and Vanity. Who can forget Hart Bochner and Ben Johnson? Well, quite a few people can but they're good here anyway. Of course the big selling point is David Copperfield playing -- wait for it -- a magician! The plot's fairly thin and the killer is hardly a surprise but it's all good fun with some suspense and a decent cast for the genre. All aboard!

Proves that you don't need blood and guts to have a successful horror flick. Good acting and suspense plus an ending that will knock your socks off!

Terror Train starts as a group of medical students from the fraternity Sigma Phi hold a New Years party, the typical a-hole of the group Doc Manley (Hart Bochner) decides to play a cruel practical joke on the dorky Kenny Hampson (Derek McKinnon). Kenny is sent into a room where he is told that the good looking Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis) is waiting to have sex with him, once in the room Kenny gets into bed with who he thinks is Alana but in fact turns out to be an autopsied cadaver of an old woman, everyone laughs at him. It's now 'Three Years Later' & Sigma Phi are once again holding a New Year party, this time a fancy dress party aboard a moving train. At the station as the train is about to depart one of the fraternity Ed (Howard Busgang) is murdered & his mask is stolen. Along with the kids a mysterious magician (David Copperfield) also boards to provide some entertainment. The train sets off & we're away, oh & at this point we know the train has no radio. As the teenagers party on unknown to them a killer stalks the train, at first a guy named Jackson (Anthony Sherwood) is killed & then Alana's best friend Mitchy (Sandee Currie) has her throat slit. The train's conductor Carne (Ben Johnson) discovers the murders but the killers identity remains a mystery as the bodies continue to pile up... Directed by Roger Spottiswoode I thought Terror Train was an OK watch but nothing special. The script by T.Y. Drake is in two minds about how to play things, the opening sequence makes it more than clear who the killer is & in this regard the film doesn't pull any surprises, but during the bulk of Terror Train the killers identity is kept hidden behind various masks that they steal from their victims to try & create an air of mystery. This falls totally flat on it's face as everyone knows who the killer is, this strange plotting decision prevents Terror Train from building any sort of tension or paranoia about who the killer is. The characters are annoying stereotypical teenagers, drinking beer all the time & looking for sex. David Copperfield's character the magician feels tacked on somewhat, every so often director Stoppiswoode throws in a scene of him performing a magic trick which is probably unique in the slasher genre I would imagine. I mean how many Friday the 13th (1980) films feature performing magicians?! All the usual slasher ingredient's & clichés are here, Terror Train doesn't really try to be anything different or original other than set itself on a train & in that aspect does what it sets out to reasonably well. I felt the train setting was a little limited & not used to any sort of potential & I don't believe for a second there wouldn't be a radio or some way to contact help on it. Technically Terror Train is above average, it's well made & has a certain degree of professionalism about it & with an estimated budget of $3,500,000 I would expect so. The cinematography in particular by John Alcott is better than I expected with some nicely lit shots of the train travelling through the snow covered mountains to a visually cool blue hue. However the 80's music these kids party to is absolutely hideous, it's awful someone shoot the band. The kills are disappointing in both quality & quantity, there is barely any blood or gore in Terror Train at all, isn't that what slashers are all about? A decapitated head, an after the fact slit throat & some sword stabbings is all we get. The acting isn't too bad actually & Jamie Lee Curtis more or less reprises her role from Halloween (1978), Terror Train remains David Copperfield's only film appearance & you can make of that what you want. Terror Train is an OK way to pass 90 odd minutes, it drags a little in places but still provided solid entertainment. It's not in anyway outstanding but it doesn't embarrass itself either, definitely worth a watch especially for slasher & horror fans such as myself.

A few years after a prank sends a fraternity pledge to the mental institution, the fraternity has a big party on a train. Why a train? Why not? This idea goes horribly wrong when a costumed killer arrives... how do you escape from a train? Kenneth Nelson says "its claustrophobic setting, impressively violent killer, and top-notch performance by Jamie Lee Curtis help it stand out from the rest of the pack." Now, I'm no fan of Curtis, though it's hard to deny she was pivotal in 1978-1980 for bringing the title of "scream queen" upon herself. And this film is frankly better than "Prom Night". Released in 1980, near the beginning of the slasher trend, the idea had not gone stale yet. In fact, had it been released a film years later, it might have kept the subgenre alive longer. Without a school or a neighborhood as the background, this film really stands out as one of a kind. Thirty years later... how many train films have we seen? (Sure, "Midnight Meat Train"...) A young David Copperfield is the entertainment, with card and coin tricks. He is the real star of the film. Him, the ongoing discussion about what is better: a train or an RV, a conversation which seems surprisingly contemporary. In short, see this film. I'm not a Jamie Lee Curtis fan, and wish anyone but her had played the part... but she does a decent job, the story is good, the kills are nice... and how often do you see someone get murdered by Groucho Marx?

"Terror Train" is the final Jamie Lee Curtis horror movie (not including the "Halloween" sequels) and it certainly is a high note to go out on. The film doesn't have the substance and art that "Halloween" or "The Fog", but one might find that "Terror Train" is an above average slasher film that, like its fellow Curtis movies, relies more on story and thrills than blood and guts. This movie truly puts others like "Prom Night", "My Bloody Valentine", "Madman", "Happy Birthday to Me", and "Graduation Day" to shame, and one could easily argue that its better than the extremely popular "Friday the 13th" films. "Terror Train" is a little more complicated than most slasher fares. It is about a fraternity holding a New Year's Eve costume party on a train but someone has boarded the train with a vendetta against the college kids for an accidental prank that occurred several years beforehand. While on the train, the killer takes on the costumed identity of whoever he kills, so who is the killer and who is just dressed up. Its got a great plot and the movie delivers some as well. Jamie Lee Curtis and Ben Johnson are the stars of this movie, but other big names are included as well. David Copperfield is one of them; he does his job playing himself basically, but the true acting chops go to Hart Bochner, who plays the stuck up, rude, and mostly mean fraternity brother responsible for the accident years ago. Ben Johnson is of course good, but his role is limited to a train conductor. Jamie Lee Curtis is pretty much playing yet another heroine in a horror movie, and her performance is stellar but nothing special. "Terror Train" is a great slasher film recommended for slasher fans. It has its plot holes, but overall its makes up for them with a good story, some decent suspense, and a great twist ending that you won't soon forget. It definitely doesn't fall off the tracks. "Terror Train" is available on DVD only on a simple DVD with just the theatrical trailer included. The impending remake may bring about a special edition.