Terreur dans le Shanghaï-Express

When you get two grandmasters of horror, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together in a film, you know you're in for a good ride, and that on the Trans-Siberian Express with a monster on the loose.

In 1906, Professor Sir Alexander Saxton( Christopher Lee, a renowned British anthropologist, is returning to Europe by the Trans-Siberian Express from Shanghai to Moscow. With him is a crate containing the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature that he discovered in a cave in Manchuria. Along for the ride is Doctor Wells, who doesn't get along with Saxton, but when the creature escapes from the box, and with the bodies piling up with their eyes turned white they have to act fast to stop it - but already the creature has found a new host ...

Not your typical monster on the spree romp, Horror express is sprinkled with some intelligence. The monster is curious about the earth. A brisk direction and elevated tension keeps this film simmering, but it's Cushing and Lee that add high credentials to this chiller. Telly Savalas has a small cameo. Silvia Tortosa and Helga Line provide eye candy.

Picture a frozen ape man discovered by a British archeologist and scientist at the turn of the century, and being placed aboard a Trans-Siberian railway from China to Russia..and you have the beginning of Horror Express. Christopher Lee plays the man who finds this fossil, as he calls it, which turns out to be so much more. The film itself is beautiful as we see this elegant train traveling across snow-covered terrain(actually filmed in Spain). The cast of characters aboard are of equal interest. Peter Cushing plays a scientist named Dr. Wells. For Cushing, this is a fine performance of a scientist less hypnotized by the ethic of science and more worldly. He bribes officials to get train tickets, has a baggage man drill holes in Professor Saxton's(Lee's) discovery, flirts with both his manly lady assistant and a beautiful stow-a-way, and in general seems less serious than many of his former roles. Nice to see him occasionally smile. Lee's professor is quite typical of Lee, burly, officious, obnoxious, and willful. Both Cushing and Lee are extraordinary and sights to behold as they waltz through the script of finding the creature which is wiping the minds of various peoples. The rest of the cast is also very good with a Rasputin-like monk stealing scene after scene. Horror Express is fast-paced action, inventive science fiction, gory thrills, and chilling horror. Indeed it is worth a look!

The first halve of this movie is pretty standard seventies horror stuff like featured in most of the old Hammer movies. The second halve however really surprised and impressed me. I loved it!

I really love old-horror movies with both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in it. In this movie they are better than ever together. Their acting is superb and so is the rest of the cast even though it is a bit strange that almost all of the Russians are played by Spanish people. Telly Savalas also shows up in a fun role. Savalas is probably best known for portraying Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but he also played in classics like: "Cape Fear" (1962), "Kelly's Heroes", "Capricorn One" and "The Dirty Dozen". It's wonderful to see such fine acting in one movie because normally mainly it are just only Cushing and Lee who are the only good actors in a movie like this.

Also this movie is actually scary and gory and it has a really good atmosphere. It starts like some kind of monster movie like "Creature From the Black Lagoon" but the second halve of the movie is more like a Zombie movie like "Lifeforce" (which is an underrated horror classic in my opinion with a great soundtrack). A combination that worked really well for me.

The story stays simple and of course ridicules but it still is better than 90% of the other movies from the same genre and it actually goes deeper in trying to explain some of the things.

In my opinion a real horror classic!

8/10

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Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. The two go together like strawberries and cream, like white wine and fish. One is a glove, the other is a hand that fits perfectly inside. The Lee/Cushing partnership made many movies together during the '50s, '60s and '70s, including some of the finest Hammer horror movies. Of their three decades as screen partners, their work from the 1970s is probably their weakest - Nothing But The Night, Dracula AD 1972, and The Satanic Rites Of Dracula are inferior examples of their films together. However, even in he '70s "low period" they still served up the occasional gem. The Creeping Flesh was a nicely done horror flick with a wickedly unexpected twist ending, and this - known in America and Britain as "Horror Express" - is a powerful and inventive bloodcurdler with a sprinkling of science fiction.

In Siberia, 1906, anthropologist Alexander Saxton (Lee) finds a frozen creature which he believes to be the Missing Link. He transports the being back to western Europe by trans-Siberian train. Aboard the train are the usual assorted types:- a Polish countess (Silvia Tortosa); her husband (Jorge Rigaud); a mad monk seemingly modelled on Rasputin (Alberto De Mendoza); and a fellow scientist and long-time rival of Saxton's, the charismatic Dr Wells (Cushing). Midway through the journey, as the train passes through a desolate snowscape many miles from civilisation, the creature thaws out and begins killing the passengers. Wells carries out an autopsy on the corpses and realises that they are not up against the Missing Link, but a weird alien organism which inhabits the bodies of its victims and steals their memories. As the finger of suspicion falls upon each character, the scientists try to figure out which passenger is "carrying" the shape-shifting monster, while trying to keep everyone safe and alive.

Horror Express has its share of dumb moments (what horror film doesn't?) but in the main it is quite an intelligent and original piece. Some of the supporting actors are quite amateurish, too, giving performances that distract one's attention for the wrong reasons. However, Cushing and Lee are believable as always, and it's their straight-faced conviction which makes the story as spine-tingling as it is. There is also a well-developed subtext in the film condemning religious fanaticism, with Mendoza's character shown to be so unreasonable and misguided that his "Christian" rantings are every bit as disturbing as the teachings of a heretic. The atmosphere is spookily maintained, with lots of eerie scenes (which probably got many a heart fluttering back in 1973, in the pre-Exorcist days of the horror genre). In particular, the climactic sequence in which Cossack soldiers, led by Telly Savalas, board the train only to be zombified by the deadly alien, is a chilling episode. You may need to be a fan of old-school horror flicks to enjoy Horror Express, but if you are it's definitely one worth seeking out.

Pardon my enthusiasm but Horror Express really is a must see for all fans of classic horror. It simply is one of the best horror movies made in the seventies and I can't think of many aspects about it that are negative. First of all it stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. There.that should already be enough as a recommendation. These gentlemen are one THE greatest duo in horror ever and they didn't do their finest work just for Hammer Studio's exclusively. And the fun doesn't stop with these two icons.Horror Express also stars Telly `Kojak' Savalas in a delightful role. It's actually a shame that his screentime is rather limited because he manages to impress as much as Lee and Cushing. He clearly enjoyed playing Captain Kazan and he makes the most of his performance.

But Horror Express has a lot more to offer than just good acting. It's a powerful and fascinating story that delivers a good old fashioned amount of scares and atmosphere. The entire story takes place on a old train which is the ideal setting for a film like this. The old and noisy carriages create a unique atmosphere of claustrophobia and the `nowhere to run'-element is used to the max. The plotline itself surprisingly good and it keeps you alert during the entire movie. This is also thanks to the several other, interesting topics that are included in the movie like anthropology, religion and the evolution-theory. Sure, the entire screenplay is illogical and the plot contains as many holes as a small Swiss cheese but - seriously - who cares. I prefer this kind of silly inspiration and creativity a million times over the horror crap they make nowadays !! Horror Express is - simply put - a must see ! I'd even say it's essential viewing if you're looking for the highlights in the genre. It's original, creepy ( even pretty bloody and violent ), it contains enough humor to moderate things and most of all.it's very entertaining. Climb on board and find yourself a seat.Horror Express is one movie you won't regret watching !!