Late Night Trains (1975)

Nice effects though.

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

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"The Night Train Murders," also known as "Last Stop on the Night Train," follows two teenage girls riding an overnight train on Christmas Eve from Munich to be home with their families for the holiday. Unfortunately, two thugs are also onboard, who happen to find an unlikely accomplice when they decide to brutalize the two girls in an empty car. Things, however, get increasingly complicated when they find themselves in the company of one of the girls' parents after de-boarding.The Italian equivalent to Wes Craven's "The Last House on the Left" (or Bergman's "The Virgin Spring"), "The Night Train Murders" follows a familiar plot, so it needs to excel in other areas in order to set itself aside from its source material; and it more or less manages to do this, with some caveats. Where "Last House" took place in bucolic New England, "Night Train" sets itself within the confines of a train (a tradition dating back to Hitchcock's "Lady on the Train") running through rural Germany, and the film is extremely atmospheric for this. The Christmas Eve setting, though ultimately inconsequential to the narrative, does give the film another sinister layer.The film is really well shot and there are some fantastic overhead views and other shots of the narrow train corridors that make for claustrophobic chase sequences. There is some contrived social commentary peppered in from the doctor father in the film, who waxes poetic about contemporary violence, but what's more interesting is the involvement of an austere woman on the train who finds herself a voyeur, and ultimately, a participant, in the brutalization of the girls. The psychology behind this is truly fascinating, and Macha Méril plays the part perfectly. The violence inflicted on the girls is difficult to watch, and the anonymous woman's participation in it is riveting. The conclusion, per the source material, is expected, but is also handled with stylish flair.Overall, "The Night Train Murders" is a grim and stylish retread of a familiar story, but the material is handled well and the film boasts several disturbing scenes and a general atmosphere of foreboding and dread. Some people have tended to classify the film as an example of genre sleaze, though I didn't necessarily get that vibe from it. The violence here is more implicit than it is gratuitous, and the thematic overtones keep the film from edging into outright exploitation; it's more of a character study in the terrible things people are capable of in the most arbitrary of circumstances. 8/10.

Finally, a pleasant surprise! From several points of view. First, an original script signed Roberto Infascelli, Renato Izzo, Aldo Lado, Ettore Sanzo. Then, well directed and starred. All the actors are natural, especially the great Enrico Maria Salerno. Then Macha Méril, perfect in a role of perverse, depraved, nymphomaniac, bigoted woman. Very good Irene Miracle and Laura D'Angelo, as two beautiful young women who will die on the train. Last but not least, Flavio Bucci and Gianfranco De Grassi, very good as the two villains criminals. Franco Fabrizi, another great Italian actor, is OK in a minor role of a voyeur. In an even more minor role of a nurse, Dalila Di Lazzaro, who had to do some special roles in other Italian future films. The music of the giant Ennio Morricone is unfortunately almost nonexistent. Instead, the cinematography signed by Gábor Pogány is absolutely excellent. Congratulations to Aldo Lado, the director, who has indeed as a trademark: Dry, unemotional tones. There is also a nice song by Demis Roussos at the beginning and at the end of the movie.

Old Italian movies have always been interesting to watch as they have much more substance in them than the movies of today. Today everything is so commercial that this kind of films that also have some form of criticism towards our society might just find their funding cut completely. More importantly violence that is not enjoyable enough is also not tolerated in today's movies. Isn't that just sick? Why should it ever be enjoyable? The movie itself isn't entirely intact as it falls apart in the very beginning. Its theme song is absolutely horrible and out of place but actually after watching the film it becomes clear why it was chosen. After about 40 minutes things start to happen. I have to admit that the film was a lot better than i had thought if you think of the criticism it holds. The criticism is portrayed in a very clever way and it's not subtle at all and it becomes very clear to the viewer what the movie is trying to say.All in all after watching the film i thought it's actually very well made but the first segments kind of makes the experience less interesting that i almost quit watching it. That's why the film just makes it a little above the average.It's sort of notable in some other Lado's films that he didn't quite have all the strings in his hands but the message is always there. It's not a surprise that this kind of film gets whole lot of bashing from the film critics. Well it's only obvious and sane that the content is not liked but what about the actual meaning of the film. Maybe life itself is too cruel to be portrayed in films.

Director Aldo Lado is doubtlessly best known for his beautiful and eerie Gialli "La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro" ("Short Night of the Glass Dolls" / "Malastrana", 1971) and "Chi L'ha Vista Morire?" ("Who Saw Her Die?" / "The Child", 1972). And rightly so, as "L'Ultimo Treno Della Notte" ("The Night Train Murders", 1975) isn't nearly as good nor as elegant as the man's Gialli. A blatant rip-off of Wes Craven's Exploitation classic "The Last House on the Left" of 1972 (which itself is a remake of Ingmar Bergmann's 1960 film "The Virgin Spring"), "The Night Train Murders" bears no surprises, and only few elements that make it worthwhile, other than a score by Ennio Morricone. "The Last House on the Left" spawned a variety of (mostly Italian) rip-offs in the following years, including Ruggero Deodato's ultra-nasty "House on the Edge of the Park" (1980), and one must sadly say that this is one of the less interesting ones. Personally, I have never been the biggest fan of Craven's film, but it is doubtlessly a milestone that was disturbing, genuinely shocking and unforgettable once one has seen it. This film has no originality, and while it has the potential to shock and disturb, it only does so in a depressing manner.***Warning! BIG SPOILERS!!!*** Lado simply takes the story of Craven's film and transfers it into a train. Laura (Martina Berti) and Margaret (Irene Miracle) are going by train from Munich to Verona in order to spend the Christmas holiday with Laura's family. Two lowlife scumbags and a perverted bitch (played by Macha Méril, who is best known for her role in Argento's "Profondo Rosso" from the same year) begin to harass the two girls, later rape them. Later they accidentally kill one of the girls in a sadistic game, the other girl throws herself out of the window of the running train and dies. As it happens, fate then leads the three scumbags to the house of Laura's parents, and her dad is eager to take bloody revenge for his little girl...No surprises here, just an exact copy of the plot of "The Last House on the Left", only that it isn't as effective and the ending is very lame. At least in Craven's film we saw all the scumbags wiped out by the parents, whereas in this film, the crazed female culprit, probably the worst of the pack, is still breathing by the film's end. Now that's what I call depressing: Having to see the poor girls tormented and killed first, and then not even having the opportunity to see all those responsible die agonizing deaths - this kinda makes you feel cheated as a viewer."The Night Train Murders" is very sadistic, but actually pretty tame in its actual depiction of gore and sleaze compared to other films of the kind. Even though i obviously didn't like this film, I have to say that it does have some good aspects. The performances are above average for a low-budget exploitation feature, particularly the beautiful Macha Méril, whose face every Italo-Horror fan will recognize from Argento's "Profondo Rosso", is wonderfully diabolical in the role of the perverted bitch she plays. The score by Ennio Morricone is good, of course, and there is one sequence that, even though depressing, goes beyond the plot of "Last House on the Left" and therefore can be applauded for its uncompromising character: The sequence in which a spectator, instead of helping the girls or calling for help happily joins their rapists once invited. Though unpleasant to watch, this scene uncompromisingly visualizes the rotten character of so many 'square' people who are always happy to do evil things, as long as they are not likely to get caught.Still, "The Night Train Murders" is a disappointment in my eyes. The film's utterly depressing character isn't necessarily a flaw, in my opinion. I tend to love depressing, shocking and disturbing Exploitation films. This one just has no originality, and in the end it just leaves a feeling of emptiness, since the revenge part is not properly completed. Not recommended.