Terror Train [Region 2] |  | Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Actors: Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, David Copperfield, Derek McKinnon
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $7.33
as of 3/20/2010 03:33 EDT details
Used (3) Collectible (1) from $7.33
Seller: mychaelh
Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 295053
Format: PAL
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Discs: 1
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5060020621468
ASIN: B000089ATA
Theatrical Release Date: October 3, 1980
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
| |
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 76
 Masquerade.. Bloodied Faces on Parade! November 20, 2009
E. Valero (Woodbridge, Ontario Canada)
Formulaic story about revenge and mass murder. The story is quite simple, several college students, who years earlier, played a cruel prank on the resident nerd, are being killed one by one by a masked killer inside a chartered train during their New Years Eve's Masquerade party. Although the story itself follows the typical slasher movie formula and the killers identity is pretty much known within the first few minutes, this chilling little nail-biter offers little to no gore but like Carpenter's epic "Halloween" it substitutes it with loads of suspense, great atmosphere and some clever twists to keep the audience guessing. You have a hard time trying to figure out where the killer is as he keeps changing from one creepy looking costume to another. The cast is also great, Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, David Copperfield, Vanity (as DD Winters) and several other unknown actors turn in some decent to good performances. Curtis is especially pleasing in a role she was all too familiar with but few would argue her status as one of horror's greatest "Scream Queens".
The pacing however, is where this film falls short. There is a lot of talk mixed in with a David Copperfield (sporting a wickedly bad period hairdo) magic show and more talk and talk and talk. Those who are yearning for a blood-soaked gore extravaganza will be the most disappointed with this since other genre films that had terrible pacing would make up for it with a tremendous amount of slaughter and gore ("The Prowler", "The Burning", any "Friday the 13th" film), "Terror Train" is incredibly tame by comparison. With that said, a lot of young imbeciles do get slaughtered here and although it may not be as visually visceral as the films stated above, there is a tremendous amount of suspense, something a lot of these films lack. The killer goes incognito wearing several bone-chilling costumes and like "Halloween", this film saves the best scenes for last. When Jamie Lee Curtis and the masked maniac come face to face, a nicely staged cat and mouse chase begins. Those scenes are the film's major highlights and Curtis gives it her all. I do wish they would have gotten a little more creative with the death scenes since this film was very creative in some of its ideas and it would have benefitted greatly in having a Carpenter-esque score.
I've always had a soft spot for this film. It is not in the same category as the other splatter films and that is a good thing as this one is slightly better than most. The suspense is here, as is the creepiness factor and although the pacing is weak at times and the film too dark to see all of the action clearly, the climax is satisfying. Lets not forget that any horror film that has "Scream Queen" Jamie Lee Curtis is never half bad. It is nowhere near as good as "Halloween" or "Black Christmas" (it is definitely better than "Prom Night") but if you have the patience to sit through a slasher film with a lot less gore, a lot more talk, action, suspense, good performances and Jamie Lee Curtis, then "Terror Train" is worth the ride. 3.5 out of 5.
 Scream Queen November 11, 2009
Grace Walton
This is also an old school movie, from way back. Another good one for Halloween.
 Oh my God, they killed Kenny! August 21, 2009
Michael J. Tresca (Fairfield, CT USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have no idea why I rented Terror Train. I suspect it was because it's considered a horror classic. And in that regard viewing the film has been quite educational.
Having already established Jamie Lee Curtis' reputation as a Scream Queen in Halloween, Curtis took the cinema by storm in no less than three horror movies in 1980: The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train.
Terror Train's premise is interesting: college frat boys and sorority girls foist a cruel prank on a freshman (Kenny), snapping his fragile mind. Kenny, you see, actually killed someone else once before attending college, although "they couldn't prove he did it." How do you know someone killed someone if you can't prove he did it? Shh! Suffice it to say that Kenny is an unbalanced killer who has it out for the students who pulled that cruel prank. Fortunately, the students help Kenny in his revenge by all throwing a costume party on an old train three years after the incident.
So there we have it. We know who the killer is and where the killing is going to take place. Like all good horror films, Terror Train already has its villains' motivation and the audience's sympathy. There's no need to show each student being a jerk; they are all guilty simply by participating in the original prank. The train hasn't been modernized, so it has no radio, isolating the victims. And of course, the costume party allows Kenny to walk amongst his prey with ease.
Thing is, Terror Train isn't interested in playing by the rules it creates. There's a possible foil in the guise of Ken, the stage magician (David Copperfield failing to act...God help us all). Surely the master of stage acts is the killer, right? Right?!
Poor Kenny. He has so many challenges to overcome: physical barriers, train doors, blood stains, dead bodies, logic, and the laws of physics, to name a few. Fortunately, Kenny has some help from the director, who allows him to teleport from car to car, quick-change into any costume at will, silently murder people with his bare hands, and clean up a bloody bathroom in record time. Move over Dexter, Kenny can change into his crime fighting costume AND clean up his mess - give that man his own show!
But alas, it is not to be. Kenny has to contend with dark scenes of people running on a train, boring scenes of Copperfield's magic tricks, more boring scenes of students getting drunk or high, a random piercing whistle of a train, and a nosy conductor who likes to perform magic tricks of his own.
The surprise twist at the end is notable only in that Terror Train probably did it first. But by that point you won't care. And oh yeah...
SPOILER ALERT
Kenny dies at the end.
Between you and me, I think he jumped.
ITS OK..NOT ALL THAT July 6, 2009
Sheree D. Waites (DALLAS TX.)
ONLY THING GRAND IS THAT JAMIE LEE PLAYED IN IT,OUTSIDE OF THAT SOME MORON HAD NOTHING BETTER TO DO BUT GO ON A TRAIN AND TRY TO KKILL FOLKS..INNOCENT FOLKS..WASNT MUCH OF A GOOD PLOT OR ANYTHING TO ME,NOT WORTH THE BUCK IF YOU ASK ME!!
Jamie Lee has no where to run!!! April 12, 2009
P. Duffy
Jamie lee is on a train, and she can't escape from a killer who is after her and other college students who are all celebrating new years!!!
A classic slasher! This is in my top fifteen, mainly because jamie lee curtis stars in it. A fun thrill ride!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 76
|
|
|
