[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Devil's Express

  • 1976
  • R
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
4.8/10
608
YOUR RATING
Devil's Express (1976)
ActionAdventureCrimeHorror

A tough black martial artist cop takes on warring street gangs and an evil demon that haunts the New York City subways.A tough black martial artist cop takes on warring street gangs and an evil demon that haunts the New York City subways.A tough black martial artist cop takes on warring street gangs and an evil demon that haunts the New York City subways.

  • Director
    • Barry Rosen
  • Writers
    • Barry Rosen
    • Niki Patton
    • Pascual Vaquer
  • Stars
    • Warhawk Tanzania
    • Larry Fleischman
    • Wilfredo Roldan
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.8/10
    608
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Barry Rosen
    • Writers
      • Barry Rosen
      • Niki Patton
      • Pascual Vaquer
    • Stars
      • Warhawk Tanzania
      • Larry Fleischman
      • Wilfredo Roldan
    • 18User reviews
    • 32Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos70

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 66
    View Poster

    Top cast49

    Edit
    Warhawk Tanzania
    Warhawk Tanzania
    • Luke Curtis
    • (as War Hawk Tanzania)
    Larry Fleischman
    Larry Fleischman
    • Cris
    • (as Larry Fleishman)
    Wilfredo Roldan
    • Rodan
    Stephen DeFazio
    • Sam
    Elsie Roman
    Moses Lyllia
      Tsikagi Tanzania
        Theodore Gottlieb
        Theodore Gottlieb
          Yoshiteru Otani
          • Warrior
          Guy King
          • Priest…
          Nobu Iwasawa
          • Priest
          Clint Chin
          • Priest
          Masaki Oishi
          • Priest
          Thomas Lee
          • Priest
          Thomas D. Anglin
          • Tom
          • (as Tom Anglin)
          Charles Pong
          • Gang Member #1…
          John Chin
          • Gang Member #2…
          Cedric McClester
          • Shag
          • Director
            • Barry Rosen
          • Writers
            • Barry Rosen
            • Niki Patton
            • Pascual Vaquer
          • All cast & crew
          • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

          User reviews18

          4.8608
          1
          2
          3
          4
          5
          6
          7
          8
          9
          10

          Featured reviews

          7HumanoidOfFlesh

          Warhawk Tanzania vs subway demon.

          The working title of "Gang Wars" was "The Phantom of the Subway" but it was first released as "The Devil's Express".The film mixes blaxploitation genre,American martial arts and horror flick and does this with huge enthusiasm.The acting is mostly wooden and Warhawk Tanzania is not as awesome as his name.The fights are well-shot and there is a decent amount of blood and gore.The film's running time is padded out by random inserts of not exactly important scenes for example the fight between two sleazeballs and karate waitress.The gang war and subway murders committed by amulet seeking demon are fun to watch.A trash classic.7 out of 10.
          6rbellach

          Brilliant, Bizarre Genre Mash-Up

          One reviewer described this as like "Black Belt Jones vs. The Galaxy Invader," but that only scratches the surface. Exhumed Films calls it "a Blaxploitation/Horror/Kung-Fu absurdist masterpiece," which they very correctly note "could only exist in the exploitation heyday of the 1970s." This gets a bit closer. You're really getting 3 or 4 different movies in one here. Possibly my favorite plot of all-time: a soul-brother karate instructor travels to Hong Kong to learn and master his art, where his buddy and protégé steals an ancient amulet which (unbeknownst to him) has the power to control a demon. The demon follows them home to NYC where it hides in the subway and begins killing innocent (and not-so-innocent) bystanders. Oh, and by the way? The amulet-stealing buddy is also a drug dealer with an ongoing vendetta against the local Chinese crime gang. That's at least 2 movies right there. The film now shifts gears to another buddy of the karate instructor, who is a cop investigating the subway killings. This portion of the film now plays like a supernatural/creature hunter/police procedural/X-Files kinda thing. Again, this could be a movie in its own right. Everything comes to a head when the black kung-fu-ers and the Chinese gang realize it might not just be their street fights that's killing off their members, and that maybe the cops are on to something when they say something is lurking in the subway, waiting to mutilate its next victim. This all ends with what is the trippiest final fight sequence since Zardoz. I would not have believed such a movie could exist had I not seen it. I *have* seen it. You should too.
          Dethcharm

          "Can An Elephant Skate?!"...

          DEVIL'S EXPRESS starts off in China (200 BC), where a coffin and a mysterious jewel are lowered into the ground, resulting in death and doom.

          Fast-forward to modern day NYC, and we're introduced to Luke (Warhawk Tanzania), karate master and all-around bada$$. Accompanied by his friend, Rodan (Wilfredo Roldan), Luke hops on a jet to Hong Kong in hopes of becoming an ultra-bada$$.

          Mission accomplished.

          Unfortunately, Rodan's toying with eeevil forces winds up creating a zombie situation back in the NYC subway system. Police are baffled as several mutilation deaths occur. Can Luke and Rodan help "the man" sort things out? Let the astounding, downtown, underground showdown begin!

          This movie is what 1970's entertainment is all about! Mr. Tanzania is exquisite in his incredible, two-tone, blue denim, bellbottom outfit! If that's not enough, just wait until you see him encased in his gold velour jumpsuit!

          EXTRA POINTS FOR: The karate gang fight sequence, complete with screams, wails, and punches and kicks that sound like liver-filled mattresses being swung into brick walls!...
          EyeAskance

          Kinetic blaxploitation/kung-fu/monster romp.

          An afrocentric martial arts master attends a Karate tournament in China, accompanied by a young student who steals an ancient amulet from a cave, unwittingly freeing a long captive demon. He brings the cursed artifact back to New York City, unaware that the demon has followed him in order to reclaim it. The evil entity possesses and kills people as it hides in the underground subway system, leaving homicide investigators baffled with each brutal murder. Only the aforementioned Karate master has the testicular fortitude needed for a hand-to-hand combat with the ancient evil.

          DEVIL'S EXPRESS is emblematic of movies typically screened in "The Deuce" of NYC during the 70s...those little theaters so unendurably squalid that you'd need to bring a plastic garbage bag to cover your seat with. Cast of nobodies is headed by the inimitable WARHAWK TANZANIA, a karate-chopping soul brother forever iconified by this, and just one other Z-grade blaxploitation feature(FORCE FOUR, 1975).

          7/10...Eighty-three minutes of sleazy, kickass action. You never had it so good.
          8DavyDissonance

          In My Head Your Story Is Fantastic

          Some demon travels from China to New York City to get an ancient Chinese amulet from some white guy who thinks he is a black guy and a kung fu soul brutha must stop it. Now I haven't seen too many blaxploitation movies but this has to be the most incompetently made blaxploitation movie ever. The dialogue is just idiotic to a tee. The editing is sloppier than a cesspool particularly the last scene when this guy was making a joke and the credits just suddenly cut him off as if to say "I just don't care anymore". The fight choreography was just the worst as you can clearly see that these guys were not making contact at all and missing each other by two feet. And I don't get why a Chinese guy would fight a soul brutha with a samurai sword bare handed. Ugh! The acting was horrendous..... I can go all day. This is the best ####ing movie ever I don't care what you think. Aargh! Yes, despite the trashy wacky incomprehensible crap and the aforementioned flaws, Devil's Express entertainment value is enormous.

          Related interests

          Bruce Willis in Piège de cristal (1988)
          Action
          Still frame
          Adventure
          James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in Les Soprano (1999)
          Crime
          Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
          Horror

          Storyline

          Edit

          Did you know

          Edit
          • Trivia
            Shot in about two and a half weeks.
          • Goofs
            Chinese gang member spits out an impossible amount of blood when Rodan stomps on his neck.
          • Quotes

            Luke Curtis: The gangland fighting isn't right. That's not what martial arts is all about. I'd lay low for a while.

            Rodan: What lay low? You shoulda seen those cats spinning like a bunch of faggots.

            Tom: They are, man! They took one look at our faces and split far and wide!

            Rodan: They'd rather fight a gorilla in a phone booth than to mess with us.

          • Connections
            Featured in 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Don't Go in the Subway (2018)
          • Soundtracks
            Rumble, Rumble
            © 1975 Rising Sun

            By Patrick Adams

          Top picks

          Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
          Sign in

          FAQ14

          • How long is Devil's Express?Powered by Alexa

          Details

          Edit
          • Release date
            • August 18, 1976 (United States)
          • Country of origin
            • United States
          • Official site
            • Watch on Pave TV
          • Language
            • English
          • Also known as
            • L'express du diable
          • Filming locations
            • 42nd street, 200 West block, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(opening credits)
          • Production company
            • Mahler Films
          • See more company credits at IMDbPro

          Box office

          Edit
          • Budget
            • $100,000 (estimated)
          See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

          Tech specs

          Edit
          • Runtime
            • 1h 23m(83 min)
          • Sound mix
            • Mono
          • Aspect ratio
            • 1.85 : 1

          Contribute to this page

          Suggest an edit or add missing content
          • Learn more about contributing
          Edit page

          More to explore

          Recently viewed

          Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
          Get the IMDb App
          Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
          Follow IMDb on social
          Get the IMDb App
          For Android and iOS
          Get the IMDb App
          • Help
          • Site Index
          • IMDbPro
          • Box Office Mojo
          • License IMDb Data
          • Press Room
          • Advertising
          • Jobs
          • Conditions of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Your Ads Privacy Choices
          IMDb, an Amazon company

          © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.