Would it have killed Pony Canyon to devote any actual resources to this loose series of six films? When manga artist Hino Hideshi agreed to have his works adapted thusly, did he not care at all how the end product would turn out? The estate of J. R. R. Tolkien wouldn't have allowed The Asylum to produce the 'Lord of the rings' trilogy; what did Hino get out of the deal with Pony Canyon? There is no thread of substance connecting each flick in turn, but they are unified nonetheless by bottom-dollar production values and such an urgent lack of time or money that they struggled to be even halfway decent. 'Death train' is no different. Filmmaker Sakamoto Kazuyuki, his cast, and those operating behind the scenes try to make do with what they had at their disposal, but they had little, and from start to finish the execution is just unconvincing.
Some examples of acting may be better than others; some effects may be better than others. The ambient music is a nice touch. Yet the characters are aggravating in writing that is tiresomely flimsy in general. The pacing is languid, and a mere sixty minutes feel longer than they should be. As if all this weren't bad enough, within only the first few minutes we we're all but specifically told exactly what is happening in the plot, and there is not enough strength in the details to summon the would-be entertainment, nor in the dully presented blood, gore, or violence. Despite the participants' efforts the direction and acting are weak, and the tone desperately soft and flat, so there's no shock value to be had here, either. And please understand: I've watched some amateur horror that was genuinely great; limited resources or experience are no obstacle so long as there is earnest care and effort. Wherever the fault lies with this feature, however, the sum total plainly fails to pass muster.
I trust in generosity that Hino's original work is more inspired, and the problems in 'Death train' are a matter of adaptation. One way or another, however, I find too much of the writing itself to be a boring, dire mess, and almost outright incohesive and lacking cogency despite being so upfront. With the remainder of the production mostly being just as sorrily tepid - even those moments intended to be the most thrilling and invigorating are just strained and exhausting - there is sadly little reason to ever bother with this in the first place. It's not completely rotten, but even that might be too kind, and with so many other titles we could be watching instead, where does that leave us? My recommendation is just to pass on by 'Death train' and look elsewhere to get your fill of horror.
