Night Train

In the cast & crew interviews on the DVD, the name "Hitchcock" is mentioned by multiple people multiple times. Whether or not "Night Train" will strike you as a Hitchcockian thriller, one thing can be said without a doubt: it was highly, brazenly, unapologetically influenced by the master of suspense, old Alfie.

That means it contains all of the following: suspense, action, comedy, innuendo, morality, heaps of character psychology, psychosis, an amusingly pompous Victorian old lady or two (recall that Hitchcock was schooled by nuns) and another Hitchcock trademark: a little dog. Those are the superficial similarities, and yes, you can watch this film simply for its entertainment value and have a great time. But to me, the beauty of Hitchcock and similarly "Night Train" is that you can dig below the surface and have a great time experiencing what the story is really about.

For the sake of this review, I'll assume that describes you if you read further. If not, the other reviews here on IMDb have covered the bases as far as entertainment value. On that point I'll just summarize by saying that this is a very fast-paced, interesting, sometimes-gory-sometimes-humorous, dreamlike film that will keep your attention from start to finish, even though the story is linear. It packs enough twists to keep things at a boil until the end.

Now about the deeper themes, the real substance that made films like Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train", "Blackmail" and "Rope" such classics. This movie has a simple story that revolves around a bunch of people fighting over a "MacGuffin". A "Macguffin" is a term Hitchcock used to describe the central object that makes everyone act the way they do, and yet, it doesn't matter what it is. What matters is how characters react to it. In spy movies, the Macguffin was often the microfilm or the secret files. In crime capers, the Macguffin is usually money or jewels. In "Night Train" the Macguffin is simply a wooden box. Thus, the director is making a sort of joke, telling us "it don't get any more 'Macguffin' than this, folks!" Once we accept the premise that everyone is fighting over this box, we understand what the real film is about. It's about how people change when consumed by desire for something. Note that it's not just about greed, lust or material possession. Instead, it's a bit more complex: the box represents HOPE.

And that, my friends, is what makes this a great film. Pay attention to the different characters and how they react to the promise of their own greatest hope. Not everyone turns into ruthless killers (although, as you can guess, at least one person does!). A few characters become remarkably more human when infused with hope. I won't say who they are for fear of ruining it, but let's just say the acting was fantastic.

If you're starting to nod off, don't worry. There are a few murders, a bunch of blood, maybe a decapitation or two, Leelee Sobieski showing some skin (though no outright nudity), some very tense action and some genuinely funny moments (the satirical humor, as if sometimes poking fun at all the thriller clichés, is a lot of fun).

Filmed entirely in East Europe--almost completely on board a train which was built specifically for this film--the movie carries a timeless, location-less, surreal vibe as if in a dream. Certain props are antique looking while other elements are distinctly modern. That is to say, "Night Train" is completely cut off from reality, and that's the way it should be approached. It's really like a fable more than a traditional thriller story.

If you're a fan of the old Hitchcock flicks as well as John Huston ("The Maltese Falcon") and others of that genre, you should check out "Night Train" for a fun, modern spin on that classic way of storytelling.

'Night Train' is sort of a chamber movie that takes place in the compartments of a train. Made at a low budget (which actually works to its benefits), the film uses glowing lights. This adds to the tense atmosphere and mystery element and the bright colours used within the train compartments bring a feeling of illusion. The story starts off interesting but is downright predictable not to forget the typical Hollywood ending which brings the film down by a huge notch. Acting is okay. Danny Glover is restrained (which is quite unexpected of such films). Steve Zahn's Pete is a caricature but the actor infuses some humour and provides comic relief. Leelee Sobieski is good in the beginning but her performance heads towards 'cliched psychopath' as the film proceeds. Overall, in terms of story it doesn't offer anything new and there are plenty of plot holes but what I liked about it was the atmosphere within the train compartments. It sort of looks like a noire film in colour. The use of bright colours, the strange passengers, the characters: salesman, med student and ticket conductor and music create contribute to this bizarre atmosphere. I also liked how the wooden box was symbolically used. Pandora's box is the first thing that comes to mind and the writer could have done so much with it, but alas!

On a snowing Christmas Eve, a stranger embarks in the night train Nightingale at Fall Brook Station and has a heart attack after an overdose on pills and vodka. The medical student Chloe (Leelee Sobieski) and the drunken salesman Peter Dobbs (Steve Zahn) see a mysterious box with the stranger with valuable stones inside and convince the stiff conductor Miles (Danny Glover) to not report the death of the passenger and keep the box for them. Chloe chops the corpse with a cleaver; put the severed parts in a trunk and Peter and Miles dump it from a bridge into the Sturgeon River; however they do not succeed in opening the box. Therefore Chloe does not get off the train in Maple Creek, but the passenger Mr. Gutman (Constantine Gregory) embarks seeking out the stranger. He subdues the greedy trio and discloses that everyone that sees inside the box dies until the end of the day; but Peter accidentally kills him. When they have an unscheduled stop by the police that had found the body parts in the river, the number of corpses increases in a travel without return.

"Night Train" has an intriguing plot with a mysterious Pandora box that corrupts the soul of bizarre characters. The weird story has a promising beginning with black humor and an excellent character – Chloe – that is wasted to a collection of clichés in the end. Unfortunately the director and writer Brian King loses control and derails with his "Night Train" to a very deceptive conclusion without any explanation about the content of the mystical box. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Viagem Sem Volta" ("Travel Without Return")

I'm a fan of low budget film-making and I am convinced that from the truly talented filmmakers monetary limitations bring out the best in terms of creativity.

Night Train is basically a chamber piece. The whole story takes place within the compartments of a long train riding relentlessly through the darkness on Christmas eve. All the exterior shots are rather cheap looking CGI of the passenger train going ahead in the snow blizzard which in itself is not distracting, on the contrary - the darkness outside increases the gloomy, disturbing atmosphere inside the train. The set design is problematic though. The interior of the train makes it look like we're in the past, early in the last century. I was under the impression that that was the case - even the way people dress in the movie fueled this conviction - but then around 40 minutes into the film one of the characters uses a cell phone.

Although the tech credits are okay, by the look of the inside of the train I could see the film was shot somewhere in Eastern Europe and firing up IMDb I saw I was right. So it's not the dodgy CGI but the unnecessarily confusing set design what gives away the low budget of the film.

Plotwise it's all seen it all before. Many people refer to Shallow Grave in the threads here - yes, the setup recalls that movie, but then halfway through the story it takes a turn into a far more mysterious direction. Problem is, up until that time the plot is very predictable and goes through the usual motions (albeit in fast forward, given the time constraints) as characters debate what to do with the dead body and the loot, begin to act suspiciously to each other and to outsiders then ultimately turn on each other. This mechanical plot takes over from characterization, so after the twist in the midpoint when events become less predictable it's hard to really care because the characters remain thin and uninteresting.

Acting is okay, Danny Glover gives a low-key performance that suits the purposes of the film, while Zahn apparently tries to bring out the best of his clichéd role. Leelee Sobielski is quite convincing at first with her deadpan reactions and attitude but later gives a kind of performance which is borderline comic - I am not sure if this was intentional.

The unfortunate set design and some grave credibility issues (I am no expert of US police procedure but the way a detective handles the situation later on in the film seems quite ridiculous, plus even on Christmas it is hard to imagine only a handful of people would take a train that has a dozen carriages, a working bar and kitchen but no other staff than two attendants) make this a slightly worse than average movie.

" Night Train" is a quirky and hard to define movie, but nevertheless an enjoyable experience. Its seems to be a dedication to the golden oldies of the 1940's, the era of Peter Lorre , Sidney Greenstreet and other amazing character actors that all but disappeared these days. The plot is a strange mix of thriller, comedy ,slasher and even religious metaphor about greed. And, unfortunately it is where some of its troubles begun. The talented director seems to hop from one genre to another like a confused fly. It adds to a certain level of frustration in this little irritated albeit good natured viewer. To sum it up: I'll rather have a bit troubled effort than stale and predictable rubbish.