Customer Reviews

Horror Express [Slim Case]

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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Horror legends Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are booked on the Trans-Siberian Express? There's a beautiful Countess onboard, too? And Telly Savalas shows up and absolutely steals the show? You'd better believe I bought my ticket for this wild ride. Despite a really, really hokey premise, a rather dark movie print, and a lack of major special effects, Horror Express somehow comes off quite well as a traditional sort of horror film with a quality all its own. The setting is the winter of 1906; Sir Alexander Saxon (Christopher Lee) has discovered a two-million-year-old "man" in the frozen wastes of China that may very well be the crucial "missing link." Before his men can even get the precious cargo loaded on the Trans-Siberian Express, a nosy little thief ends up dead, his eyeballs completely white. It just so happens that a Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing), a scientist not unknown to Saxon, is also a passenger on the train, and his curiosity about the strange crate leads to the baggage man's death. When the remarkably living creature escapes and begins a real killing spree aboard the train, rivals Saxon and West team up to try and stop the rampage of the monster. After they saw the heads off of several white-eyed victims, they are amazed to find brains that are wholly smooth. You know what this means, of course - the creature is somehow sucking the very thoughts out of his victim's brains through their eyes. This helps explain the bleeding from the eyes that also seems to accompany death. Just for kicks, the two scientists take a look at a sample of eye fluid from a victim - and what should appear on the slide but the spitting image of the last thing the victim saw. Then they look at a sample from the monster's eye (the monster has transferred his consciousness to another human being by this point, having had his initial host body pumped full of several holes); visions of ancient creatures and a vision of earth from space leads to the obvious conclusion that what we are dealing with here is a living intelligence who came to earth eons ago. In the movie's defense, the idea that the last image a person sees before he dies would be imprinted upon his eyeball was actually entertained by some thinkers as late as the early twentieth century.

From here on out, it's basically a struggle for all the panicked train riders to avoid meeting up with a pair of glowing red eyes until such time as our heroes, Saxon and West, can identify and kill the creature in whatever form he now possesses. A gorgeous Countess and her annoying Rasputin-like associate add to the fun, but it is the appearance of Telly Savalas in the role of Captain Kazan that breathes new life into the final half hour of the film. Savalas gives an unforgettable performance, obviously enjoying the role of the campy Cossack to the hilt. He doesn't appear for very long, but he packs loads of entertainment into that short time period, doing everything but bringing out a lollipop and asking someone "Who loves you, baby?"

In a sense, this is not one of Cushing's or Lee's better performances, in my opinion. Together as allies for once, though, their dual presence carries this film on its shoulders. Other than a filthy creature sporting the worst case of pinkeye you've ever seen, many shots of "ping-pong ball for eyes" victims, and a couple of cranial autopsy procedures, there's not much gore to be found here. The story sounds rather weak but holds itself together quite well, thanks largely to the inestimably grand performances by the great Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Horror Express, aka Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express, is definitely a ride worth taking.

This movie is super hard to beat for sheer creepiness in any format.
I first saw Horror Express on a 12 inch BW tv on creature features and it gave me nightmares for a week. This full frame dvd (slim case)while watchable, is very muddy and looks like my original vhs tape. It's also available in one of the 50 horror movie packsChilling Classics 50 Movie Pack

Like its closest horror rivals "The thing from another world" and "Alien" the Horror Express journeys through a harsh environment. The true origin of the protagonist is never definitively determined and the religious superstition vs science controversy over what "it" really is creates an ambiguous uncertainty in the viewer well after the movie is over. Fortunately Cushing and Lee are there for the 89 minute trip helping you to keep your composure, and Mr Savalas gives a brief glimmer of hope when things are getting grim. The Horror Express however keeps chugging along, and its eerie whistle continues long after the original whistler has gone.

I love this movie. Telly Savalas stole the show in his very brief appearance, but the priest was the whole show! Man, he was a trip! This movie is just good old fashioned extra terrestrial fun! The flick cost only a buck brand new, so just grab up some popcorn and beer and enjoy! My baby niece calls it "Monster in a Box." The story line and everything about it is unique and interesting, but it would have been better if the alien was a bit more intelligent. He made himself too easy to kill. That for me was a bit of a turn off because the alien is supposed to be smarter than people and this one wasn't. Get it!

THIS IS A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! I LOVE IT, I RECOMMEND IT!! LOOK OUT FOR THE FOSSIL THAT COMES ALIVE AFTER BEING FOUND IN AN ICE COLD CAVE!!!!!!

HORROR EXPRESS (1973), also known as PANIC IN THE TRANS-SIBERIAN TRAIN, is an unbelievably hokey film with plot points that are unclear, character motivations that defy sense, and science that would make your sixth-grade biology teacher weep. Yet I really enjoyed the film, because it's genuinely creepy and contains a carefully constructed sense of menace. Yes, a lot of it doesn't make sense upon reflection, but it's fast paced enough that any story issues don't jar the audience out of the film's mood.

Apart from the establishing moments of the film's beginning, the action takes place entirely onboard a trans-Siberian locomotive. Anthropologist Christopher Lee is a passenger with a mysterious crate -- the contents of which have already raised the ire of the film's mad monk who warns that the deadly hand of Satan is nearby. Helping Lee ignore the predictions of doom is Peter Cushing, an English doctor with a morbid and overwhelming curiosity of Lee's business.

The contents of the crate, as revealed in the film's beginning, are the frozen remains of the "missing link" -- a two million-year-old half-man, half-ape creature who would represent a fundamental change in the scientific community (if the term "paradigm shift" has been invented at the time, they would have used it). But if you think that this specimen will simply remain a scientific curiosity or won't, for instance, wake up and begin a killing spree, then you simply don't know horror movies.

As the DVD box tells us, the passengers are now under attack from the awakened and angry ape-thing. I'd never seen a horror movie that used a train as its sole location, but I have seen a number of straightforward thrillers that have pulled off the same trick. And what made those films successful also works well here. The claustrophobic atmosphere is genuinely oppressive. There is no escape from this train (they're traveling through the wastelands of Siberia) and they are completely at the mercy of this horrific monster. The characters are also always important in such closed-set movies like this, and the fellow passengers are very entertaining here too.

Yes, on paper the plot of this movie is goofy as all get out. A two million-year-old ape-monster jumping about on a train (and did I mention that he can remove his victim's memories and thoughts?) and terrorizing a bunch of rich folks sounds wacky. I'm not going to assert that this is a film where you can take everything seriously.

But it is, in fact, seriously creepy. The manner in which the monster kills his victims is rather disturbing. And I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I was fascinated by the -- let's say -- relationship between the monster and its victims. I've seen this before in other genre fiction, yet it seems very fresh here, and it's a very spooky take on the concept.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned Telly Savalas and his big red coat yet. They don't show up until the last twenty minutes or so, but in that time Savalas manages to gobble up all the scenery that he would have chewed had he been in the rest of the picture. He throws his arms around dramatically. He makes grand, loud speeches. He stops just short of twirling in circles and bursting into song and dance. He's supposed to be a Russian military Captain, but he makes no attempt at hiding his New York accent. He is marvelously, marvelously entertaining.

This is a solid, unnerving horror film whose small budget works to its advantage. We aren't overloaded with gory special effects, and the inexpensive tricks used work effectively. There were only a few scenes that I had to turn away from (I absolutely cannot stand to see any foreign object going into an eye, no matter how fake the effect). What the film can't provide in spectacle, it can more than make up for in sheer pizzazz.

And if you're familiar at all with horror films, you'll certainly recognize the names of the two stars: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They were more famous for appearing together in Hammer horror movies, but they don't miss a beat in this independent European film. Naturally, they have a lot of on-screen chemistry, which is perfectly understandable given that they had made about ten million pictures together before this one.

I'm reviewing the Digiview Production DVD edition. It's presented in full-screen, and while the picture isn't the greatest, it's a decent enough copy. This isn't really a film for close and careful study, so I didn't find any defects in the presentation to be overly distracting.

As I said, don't pay too much attention to the mechanics of the story (a major plot point from the beginning of the film is made inexplicable by the conclusion). Just enjoy this for some good healthy chills. This is a great movie for late at night when you want to freak yourself out.

Sometimes a movie with weak acting, marginal special effects, and uninspired dialogue can still be worth watching. Such is the case with "Horror Express," also known as "Panic in the Trans-Siberian Train." As you will note, occasionally the title that survives is the better title.

Professor Sir Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee, who has more movie credits than I could ever hope to list) has discovered a bizarre fossil in Manchuria. Sir Saxton is taking his find across Siberia on the, yes, you guessed it, Trans-Siberian Express. There are sundry and assorted characters, including Dr. Wells, played by Christopher Lee's long-time friend and veteran actor Peter Cushing. Any movie containing Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing is worth watching because these two always had excellent screen chemistry, which shows in this film.

We know early on in this movie that something strange is happening because a petty thief wandering near the box containing the fossil exchanges normal eyeballs for boiled egg eyeballs. While the eyes look cool, they can put you off from hardboiled eggs.

Once on the train, there are a couple of side plots that are sufficiently brief to avoid being annoying. After the focus turns to the creature, it mostly remains on the creature, until Telly Savalas appears.

I will attempt to avoid spoiling the plot too much, but there is some risk that I will reveal more than I should.

The creature turns out to be more difficult to kill than you might imagine. Mere bullets slow the creature down, but stopping the creature takes more than a bit of lead. Even a bunch of heavily armed soldiers only provides a workout for the creature. It is obvious to the casual watcher that something more drastic is required to stop this critter, and our heroes eventually step up to provide a solution.

We also learn that the creature has some unique capabilities, one of which call to mind the 1951 movie "The Thing from Another World." Another ability the creature has is to have eerie red-glowing eyes in the dark. Those red light bulb eyes are scary by themselves.

Things ramble along nicely until Captain Kazan (Telly Savalas) boards the train to get things under "control," said with more than a little tongue-in-cheek. Captain Kazan has an outrageous red coat that recalls another era, such as the 1960s and the 1970s. Telly Savalas manages to steal scenes for as long as he remains talking, helping to liven the movie up considerably.

Of course, all good things must end, and so does this movie. The final special effects are even cheaper than the special effects for the rest of the movie, but the special effects are in character for the style of the movie.

This movie is hardly one to make any "best of" lists. As I noted earlier, this movie has a number of issues. I neglected to mention some other issues, including Natasha saying that she had to get out of Shanghai, even though Shanghai is a long way away from Peking (where everyone was boarding), the misspelling of Christopher Lee's name in the credits, and the improper red star on a soldier's hat, recalling that this movie takes place before the Russian revolution.

In spite of the problems, this movie is fun to watch. Lee and Cushing are marvelous, though I thought Lee was a bit wooden in his performance. Lee and Cushing were on the same side in few movies, which may be the best reason to watch this movie. The film gets a lot of mileage from its creature, which is surprisingly effective despite being low budget (eerie red eyes are always winners). Telly Savalas is great, though he seems deliberately hammy.

With big budgets and CGI effects being the focus of current films, movies such as this one are no longer in vogue. Yet, movies like this are fun and enjoyable. If you are a fan of "classic" horror, which includes the Hammer films, then you may find this movie to be enjoyable. It is certainly entertaining.

Enjoy!

I remember my mom taking me to the movies almost every weekend to watch the latest horror flix, and this was one of them. If you watch this thinking of the modern movies of today, you will blind yourself on how fake it looks instead of the great actors in it like Peter Cushing,Christopher Lee, Vincent Price. These were the masters of the old horror films. The theme the music, the eery sounds of darkness. It brought back great memories of those old large movie places with large balconies and smell of old carpet and popcorn.

This movie is pretty good for it's time. i really liked it. and i hope you will to I Recommend it for everyone

I'm a student of Horror/Science Fiction and somehow missed this movie over my 48 years on this planet. However, I viewed this movie and must say not bad! In the beginning it looks to be another crummy movie. But things get interesting around the three quarter mark. In fact,it was at that exact point that it hit me like a snowball from the Abominable Snowman that this plot was that of The Thing. (WHO GOES THERE) by John Campbell.
Only this takes place on a train. You will need to pay close attention to every detail in order to understand how the creature gains his Earthly intelligence. I had to watch it twice to appreciate all those little things I missed the first time. I'm glad this is now part of my collection. Shine On!!!

Count Wolfenstein