Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Sam Panico Jamie Lee Curtis. A train. A murderous slasher. And David Copperfield. Yes, Terror Train is unlike any other slasher that ever came before or since.Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, who was also in the chair for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, this movie was totally conceived as Halloween on a train. Jamie Lee had just finished filming Prom Night, so she jumped back on the slasher, err, train one more time.Much like Slaughter High, a prank puts all of this in motion, as Alana (Jamie Lee) is coerced into pulling a joke on frat pledge Kenny Hampson that uses a female corpse, because you know, humor. Kenny doesn't get the joke, goes nuts, gets put in a mental asylum and then, of course, breaks out and kills nearly everyone.But what about David Copperfield, you may ask. Well, he's all over this movie, both doing illusions and being a red herring. His scenes with Jamie Lee make the screen smolder with pure sex. I'm totally lying to see if you're paying attention.Ben Johnson, Captain Morales from the original The Town That Dreaded Sundown shows up as a train conduction. And hey! There's Vanity (credited as D.D. Winters) years before she'd meet up with Prince, star in Action Jackson and Tanya's Island, then get heavy into drugs and dating Rick James, Adam Ant (who wrote the song "Vanity" about her on the Strip album), Nikki Sixx and Billy Idol. After that, she went into renal failure, found God and later died because her body had endured a lifetime of drug abuse.I really like the killer's gimmick of continually switching masks. It's pretty effective and leads you to wonder who really is behind things, even if the opening totally gives the identity away.

FFBOikaze This movie has everything that a slasher should have: A lesson about reckless living, sex appeal aplenty, a diabolically clever yet anti-heroic and semi-sympathetic killer, more twists and turns than a maze and finally, an ultra-creepy ending that surprised even me, as well as I know the slasher "formula". Plus, it's hard to go wrong in horror when you have the "Scream Empress", Jamie Lee Curtis, showing fear as only she can. Indeed, I would make the case that the final chase scene is, mainly due to Curtis's performance, the second best in horror history (after Halloween, which also had Curtis).This is an underrated gem, as the casual horror fan has never heard of it, but they should have, and I write as someone who has watched hundreds of horror/suspense films.

AaronCapenBanner Jamie Lee Curtis stars as one of many graduating college students who board a train to celebrate, but a killer with a grudge(for a cruel prank used against him four years earlier) disrupts the festivities, as he begins murdering the passengers, and donning their costumes(part of the party) in order to fool them. Magician David Copperfield plays a magician(naturally!) and veteran actor Ben Johnson plays the no-nonsense train conductor, determined to get the killer.Film builds some atmosphere in the snowy wastes outside the train(it is wintertime) and Ben Johnson is appealing,(most of the characters are not) but is otherwise dreary and predictable, and sometimes defies logic(killer seems to be a real magician!) Good ending cannot save it.

sunznc Terror Train starts off with young people around a campfire checking each other out. The scene is awkward and strange with kid's furtive glances over the big fire outdoors. We see a group of young guys teasing each other about sex which leads to a sick joke played on someone in the group. A scene that doesn't wrap up well. Later, the same group is on a train for a Halloween party to end all. The interior car sets are excellent and the cars even rock back and forth while the characters party. A nice touch. The lighting, the colors, the costumes are all great. Oddly enough, even though the cars are small and cramped at times, the film doesn't seem claustrophobic, just tight. The problem here isn't with the familiar 10 Little Indians story. The problem is with the characters. There isn't anyone likable here. Is that intentional so we don't mind if one by one they are all bumped off? At times it does seem like they focused on most of the unpleasant characters. Even the so-called hero of the film isn't really that likable. With that in mind there is sort of a lack of punch here. Even when it is confirmed who the killer is it isn't suspenseful. It is just creepy because of the way the actor portrayed his part. He/she isn't likable either. So if a horror film is to be successful we are all told that there must be someone to root for and that isn't here. Other than that though, the film has a unique atmosphere and isn't bad. I doubt anyone will want to sit through it over & over though like Halloween.