Terror Train (1980)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

The Age of Commercialism

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

College students are stalked by a killer during a costume party aboard a train in this iconic 80s horror movie. The setting is a tad far-fetched, but it leads to some great thrills and chills as nobody is able to leave the nonstop locomotive and as the killer keeps changing masks and costumes with everyone simply assuming that he is the person who they first saw in that outfit. A couple of minor plot holes aside, the biggest thing that weighs against 'Terror Train' is a precredits scene that gives away the killer's identity; as such, the film lacks the mystery element of something like 'Friday the 13th', but it is a surprisingly gripping ride even with the murderer and his motivations very obvious from the get-go. David Copperfield offers a lot of extra sparks as a mysterious hired magician who performs several of his own tricks, the train interior sets are deliciously over-the-top with neon lighting and party decorations, and the whole production is well photographed by the legendary John Alcott (of 'Barry Lyndon' fame). The film additionally offers some food for thoughts in terms of pranks taken too far, with the killer motivated by one such prank and most of the other characters believing that the deaths are merely pranks. The film also gets some points for making Groucho Marx look absolutely terrifying simply by the way the killer wears a mask of his face.

Looking at the plot for 1980's "Terror Train", one could easily dismiss it off hand as a copy of "Halloween"(1978), with the exception of it taking place on train. However, for all the similarities between the two films, there is something to be said for "Terror Train" and its ability to tell a fun, engaging story. The film opens with a fraternity party prank gone wrong involving nerdy Kenny Hampson, the too smart for their own good frat boys, and an unwitting Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis). Fast-forward a few years later and we find the same fraternity getting ready for a New Year's Eve costume party on board-that's right, you guessed it-a train. Little do they know, however, that one of their companions has been murdered, his costume stolen, and now a killer stalks the drunk college kids, taking their costumes after each murder so in order to confuse his victims! Will Alana and her friends figure out who the killer is before it's too late? A big part of the fun of "Terror Train" comes from the mystery and simple tactics used by the filmmakers. By giving the killer different masks and identities, the producers here are able to incorporate a sense of mystery into the story. Who is the killer? What's his motive? Does this have something to do with what happened to Kenny Hampson? Another factor that adds suspense is where the film is set. Unlike in, say "Halloween", you can't just run out of the house or building because on a moving train rolling through the dead of winter, there's simply no where to run except to the next car and then the next, until you run out of cars to run to. First time director Roger Spottiswoode does well in creating a claustrophobic atmosphere and it's obvious he watched and learned when he was an editor for the legendary Sam Pekinpah. As far as acting is concerned, everyone here does an admirable job. Jamie Lee Curtis, despite the fact she must of been tired of the slasher genre by now, gives everything she has to the part and in typical fashion for her characters, does an excellent job of playing scared but still turning out to be the heroine we all know she is. In addition to her, we have character acting great Ben Johnson in the role of down to earth train conductor Carne, who finds out he has a lot more to worry about than just drunken college kids! With his friendly demeanor and good old country accent, Johnson is able to provide a beacon of hope and stability on the train ride from hell. And in what has to be one of the most random casting decisions ever, David Copperfield (Yes, THE David Copperfield) has a spot here as the mysterious magician hired to put on a show and does an excellent job, both as an actor and of course in magic. He couldn't have been much older than twenty here, but even then you'll wonder how he is able to do what he does without being endowed with supernatural powers. In short, "Terror Train" is a film that was made during the time when slasher pictures still had some quality to them and for that reason, no horror fan should pass up the chance to see it. So climb aboard, enjoy the ride, and watch your costumed friend very closely, because you just never know who might be under there!

From the late 1970's to the early 1980's Jamie Lee Curtis was the most popular horror genre heroine to ever hit theaters. With her unique yell and brave actions, audiences couldn't get enough of the legendary "Scream Queen". Apparently, Terror Train (1980) is the product of a producer named Daniel Grodnik after having a dream of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) taking place on a train and the result is quite obvious too. And although it is a unique idea, the end result is less entertaining than one would think. The flaw, like many other films is located in the writing department.The character arcs are the same like many slasher films. Some time in the past, a less popular kid among others is humiliated or neglected in some fashion and ends up losing his mind and starts to kill people. And it just so happens Jamie Lee Curtis is right in the middle of it. But here's where things are different if one wants to compare it to Halloween (1978). First, the villain here has a clichéd back-story. John Carpenter didn't want Michael Myers to have a back-story - making him unrelateable to the audience. Here, the audience can relate, but the explanation used for his spontaneous killing spree is way overused.Plus it doesn't help that it seems like there were too many characters to name in this movie. Of course, they are just fodder for the killer, but half of them aren't given any depth to begin with. For example, before the train gets underway, the conductor has a conversation with a lady who seems to be the stationmaster. They seem to have some kind of relationship but it's never looked at again. What's the point of bringing it up then? I did like the finale to the film because it did have a surprising climax but then right after that, it cuts directly to the ending credits. None of the loose ends are tied up, almost like everyone was hunky dory and the writer T.Y. Drake decided he didn't need to write anymore. It was just too abrupt.For direction, I can't say Roger Spottiswoode did a bad job since this was his first debut at a theatrical film, but I also can't say he did a great job. It was just fair - nothing out of the ordinary. The actors who were on screen the most did a fair job as well. The best was obviously Jamie Lee Curtis and second best was David Copperfield (a magician) playing a magician. And if it wasn't Curtis kicking and screaming, it would be Copperfield showing off all his neat tricks. As for the villain played by Derek McKinnon, he wasn't bad either and he definitely didn't look straight in the head, which helped make his character look just as weird.Weird is actually the way I will describe the killer. Michael Myers is creepy but this guy is just weird. Here's why: he is injured so many ways in this picture just like Michael Myers would be in Halloween (1978), yet they are too different characters. Myers is a hulking 6-foot giant. The killer in this movie looks about 5 foot 5 inches and isn't bulky. He's a thin guy. So tell me how several injuries can keep this guy going? Plus it's also more acceptable for Myers because no one knows if he was human or not. But the killer here is, so why is he practically unkillable? The writing Mr. Drake, the writing!The music provided John Mills-cockell wasn't great either. I mean, it had all the elements to sound like it belonged to a horror film but it never felt scary. There were no tunes that gave me goosebumps or made me cringe. So how can I say it was effective if it didn't affect me? Sorry, no credit here either. Good thing he hasn't scored many other films. It's not to say this movie wasn't watchable though. If you like slasher films, take a look see because you may end up liking it, but if you want a villain that'll make you quiver even after the film has ended, I can't guarantee that this picture will do that.Jamie Lee Curtis and real life magician David Copperfield are the best characters and the plot is an obvious mix of ideas but it's still unique. But what makes it average is the weird villain and mediocre writing.

This humble slasher entry may seem a bit predictable and tame by modern standards, but it's important to note that Terror Train arrived pretty early in the cycle, so the elements that seasoned audiences will deem predictable were still relatively novel when the film was released. Even if the clever surprises this thriller has in store don't resonate quite as strongly today as they did during its original theatrical run, these reels have held up remarkably well, and while it's debatable whether or not we have a bonafide classic on our hands here, Terror Train most assuredly succeeds as an entertaining offering that deserves its legacy.The presence of Jamie Lee Curtis at the height of her genre dominance adds immeasurably to the enduring impact of this affair, and as always she proves to be an engaging and resourceful heroine. She is pitted here against a vengeful masked killer stalking her and a group of college friends responsible for a grisly prank gone awry, who set out on the rails three years later for the rousing costume party that encompasses the bulk of the action. Though most of the characters are readily recognizable archetypes, Terror Train spends a bit of time establishing their relationships and nuances, which ultimately greatly assists the whodunnit aspect of the caper since we are provided with a handful of shifty suspects, and heightens the horror of the murders since we actually come to know and like some of the victimized teens.The narrow corridors and confined nature of the transport greatly bolster the suspense, and as the body count rises the film wisely addresses the obvious question, "Why don't they just stop the train and get off?" The locomotive's course pins the group in the middle of a snow-covered mountain range during the dead of winter, which makes immediate escape from the killer's clutches an impossibility and provides a plausible explanation for the forced inaction of the prey. Once the scenario is established, we aren't inclined to ask too many nagging questions, and this liberation allows the movie to spin its web unencumbered by our skepticism, which it does with admirable efficiency.Granted, the slasher movie formula doesn't explicitly require much, or any, adherence to logic, but Terror Train handles its material in a decidedly intelligent manner which forges a sense of believability that ends up being one of the film's strongest traits. Our masked madman (or woman?) shows some great cunning and ingenuity in concealing their crimes, donning the costumes of the slain to perpetuate the illusion that everyone is still alive and well, and therefore eluding suspicion for as long as possible. As the mounting unexplained absences become too much to obscure and the enormity of the killer's deadly plot takes shape, the preemptive reactions of the train's conductor and his crew are wholly realistic and sensible, and this refreshing lack of distracting stupidity deeply strengthens our immersion into the mystery.Despite the evident savvy of the presentation, a few of the death scenes suffer from some clumsy staging that dilutes their effectiveness (the murder of one amorous lass requires us to accept that the killer anticipated the victim-to-be would ask them to remove their glove, so our homicidal antagonist presciently kept the severed hand of the fratboy they're impersonating hidden beneath the shed segment of the costume to perpetuate their ruse). The enactment of the murders reveals a predisposition to suggesting more than showing, but this actually serves the film well since the overall paucity of gore makes the few images of overt splatter far more impressive and memorable as a result.Vintage Jamie Lee isn't the only time capsule gem here, and older viewers will appreciate the heavy use of throbbing disco tunes and saccharine prom funk during the party sequences. On that same note, the magic displays of a young David Copperfield also figure prominently, and his bag of tricks provides one of the best and bloodiest set-pieces in the film.The climax, where Curtis finds herself facing the malicious murderer one on one, is excellently orchestrated and their extended and violent battle provides a big pay-off that is a fitting culmination of the tension steadily building throughout the film. The twist ending probably won't catch you off guard if you're a connoisseur of the genre, but it's still a nifty finish which relies on enough clues scattered along the way to warrant a re-viewing to investigate how the film-makers pulled their trick off.Terror Train may veer off track from time to time, but any fan of '80s-era horror will find a lot to like here, and overall this is a trip well worth taking.