TERROR TRAIN (1980)

The summer of slashers continues at Cinema of the Fantastic. I've decided to review exclusively slasher films this summer and will review a few inbetween my Friday the 13th capsules.

Throughout horror's history, the term "SCREAM QUEEN" or "SCREAM SIREN" has often been used to describe an actress who has appeared in several important horror films. Jamie Lee Curtis was one such actress, and inbetween the classic HALLOWEEN and the not-so-classic PROM NIGHT, she lent her talent to a fairly well-known, though not as mainstream horror flick called TERROR TRAIN. She made herself the queen of slasher flicks in my opinion. While TERROR TRAIN is not quite HALLOWEEN, it is a notable slasher flick and is essential viewing for the horror hound. Even if it's not too great. It's one that has yet to be remade, but one wonders how long it will be before that changes.

The film begins with a bunch of college kids playing a gruesome practical joke on a total misfit, who goes insane and is locked away in a mental institute. Fast forward three years to a group of college graduates celebrating the begining of a costume party train trip. One has a Groucho Marx mask of all things. He is the first to be dispatched. And slowly, others follow. The main target being those kids who played that horrible prank a few years back. Much of the film is just kids dancing and personal drama and I lost interest several times throughout. However, I gained some of that interest back, over and over again even though the film moved very slowly. Finally, comes the ending. The payoff. TERROR TRAIN is ultimately saved by it's finale. It's fast, intense, nail-biting slasher action, just what I was begging for the whole movie. It's hard to say much without giving away the ending, but it's easy to call the killer once you're watching. I reccomend it for even the occasional horror fan, it's certainly better than the garbage being churned out these days. THREE STARS OUT OF FIVE.