Director:
Roger Spottiswoode
Writer:
T.Y. Drake
Stars:
Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner
At the start of the 1980s, filmmakers eager to cash in on the newly created slasher brand started releasing a flood of titles. Two of these flicks were fortunate enough to snag 'Halloween' star Jamie Lee Curtis, who in 1980 completed two popular Canadian slashers back to back, cementing her status as the 'Scream Queen' star of the golden age of slice and dice.
When a college fraternity prank goes horribly wrong, the unfortunate and troubled student Marti ends up in a mental ward. Four years later, it's graduation time, and the members of the fraternity decide to have a costume party aboard a moving train. Unbeknownst to them a killer has slipped aboard, one who deviously disguises himself in his various victims costumes. Could it be Marti back for revenge? Or does someone else have it in for the train's occupants?
Although I will forever have a soft, squishy place in my heart for the soft glow, disco bothering 'Prom Night', I have to admit that 'Terror Train' is far and away the more accomplished film, both visually and creatively. Its unique twist of having its stalk and slash events play out on a moving train, is quite a novel play on the burgeoning slasher rules. This idea originated from a dream producer Daniel Grodnik had, after seeing the original 'Halloween'. After Grodnik woke from the dream, he immediately said to his wife, "What do you think about putting Halloween on a train?". To which his half conscious wife answered, "That sounds terrible". He quickly jotted down "Terrible Train" on a piece of paper next to his nightstand. In the morning he changed the title to the more commercial sounding, 'Terror Train,' wrote up a 22 page outline, and then brokered a deal with Sandy Howard's production company. The rest as they say, is slasher history.
There is a lot to like about this flick, but one major contention I have with the movie is the unfortunate lack of gore throughout. This is understandable as it was early in the slasher cycle, it was only later that the real blood and guts violence fully came into the genre. Overall, this is a fun, cheesy romp, that thanks to the committed cast and setting, stands enough apart from the other forgettable movies released at the beginning of the slasher cycle.
Rating:
Rating:
Far from a classic of the genre, 'Terror Train' is still a fun little slasher, that will keep you entertained until the final unexpected twist. Just beware of the dodgy David Copperfield magic scenes, you have been warned!