El tren del terror

I had to rent this movie so badly, so one night I did and it was cool! The killings are cool and so is the suspense. The scene where that guy was looking through the room trying to find the killer kept me on the edge of my seat! **** out of **** stars.

The 1980 horror film TERROR TRAIN might best be described as HALLOWEEN on the rails. In it, a fraternity has a party taking place on a train speeding through the Canadian night. And then, one by one, without anyone knowing it (a situation made even more complicated by the fact that everyone's dressed up in disguises), they all get bumped off in shocking and violent fashion by a maniac. And as with HALLOWEEN and THE FOG, the heroine at the center of this is none other than Jamie Lee Curtis.

But unlike most HALLOWEEN-inspired bloodfests, TERROR TRAIN does boast a lot of good things to lift it above the worst of an always-bad bunch. The director here is Roger Spottiswoode, who served as a film editor for some of Sam Peckinpah's films, including his 1971 horror film STRAW DOGS. The train's conductor is portrayed by veteran character actor Ben Johnson, a stalwart of both John Ford and Peckinpah who won a Supporting Actor Oscar in 1971 for THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Even more, the atmospheric cinematography of TERROR TRAIN is provided by the legendary British camerman John Alcott, whose groundbreaking work for Stanley Kubrick, including 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and THE SHINING, is legendary. Furthermore, the violence and bloodshed are surprisingly kept relatively down; and while the revelation of who the killer is may not in and of itself be so surprising, it does give the opportunity for both Johnson and Curtis to be heroes.

TERROR TRAIN may not be everyone's cup of tea (and it doesn't really compare to HALLOWEEN); but for those willing to take a spooky ride, it is well worth it.

Jamie Lee Curtis was once again cementing her status as the Scream Queen, after the successes of "Halloween", "The Fog" and "Prom Night", but this one unfortunately wasn't as successful as the previous ones and remains the least remembered. But that doesn't mean that this movie is bad. A Slasher movie set on a train is something different I suppose, which makes Terror Train a stylish and inventive and really makes the most of it's settings. And I also loved the fact that the killer uses different costumes for each murder, pure genius.

The only draw back on this movie is that most of the murders happen off-screen, but more than makes up for it in the performances like Derek MacKinnion who plays Kenny a very well rounded performance, Ben Johnston does well in his role as the train conducter and even real life magician David Copperfield plays his part well. Hart Bochner plays the coward Doc annoyed me and glad he got his just desserts and once again Jamie Lee Curtis is brilliant as the lead heroine and gives the best chase scene in this movie which is the main highlight of this movie in my books.

All in all "Terror Train" is an underrated gem and a highlight on Jamie Lee Curtis's glowing CV.

Well, I have to say Terror Train was an excellent film. Like Prom Night, the suspense takes alittle while to get going, but it's worth it. The real scary parts are the first mask the killer wears, and the big chase at the end. Even though Prom Night is thought of as a classic, I think it's nothing compared to Terror Train. Of course it's no Halloween, but then again nothing is. And for those who say this was just to cash in on Jamie and HAlloween, your wrong. There is no relavance to Halloween except Jamie and the killer wears a mask. This is an out of print movie, so if you get a chance to rent it or see it on tv, go for it you won't be sorry!!! If for nothing eles, get it for jamie. This is a mystery too, and the killer is never who you think. It's obvious when he is revealed and you'll kill yerself if you get it wrong. I sure did. Jamie once again prove she is, was, and always will be, The Scream Queen!!

This movie is really good. It is a very creative idea isolating people on a train. I really just love this movie. Good acting, some suspense, and I loved how the killer was there the entire time. This movie really surprised me. I've seen comments these other users have made, complaining about how it was a Halloween rip-off. Don't base the fact of whether or not you're going to view this movie on these opinions. This movie is nothing like Halloween and it isn't so much trying to be Halloween. If you say this movie is a Halloween rip-off you may as well say that about every other slasher movies. It is silly to not watch this movie because some other person who had way too HIGH expectations about this movie says it was bad. It is a great movie, but if you watch it with high expectations of another Halloween you'll be disappointed.