SPOOKTOBER chapter 4:
An 80's Slasher
Been wantin' to see Jamie Lee Curtis's one of 'other' slashers made in the craze after "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", so it seemed like a nice addition to this year's Spooktober, but little did I know it's set during New Year's Eve... Anyways, here we have an overall basic, unsurprising slasher, except it takes place on a train and features David Copperfield performing tricks every once in a while.
It sets out in a way much heard of before, a college student holiday party prank goes wrong, and three years later, when the same students set out on their last college party, with a bang - on a moving train in the dead of winter night, a mysterious killer starts killing the horny, drunk young ones one by one.
The good elements include a killer that changes appearance, the setting of a train, David Copperfield in his only fictional role, and Jamie Lee Curtis, of course. However, these powers combined can't muster enough strength to truly elevate what is throughout a paper thin concept stretched over mediocre characters and killings that, honestly, could've been more bonkers. Acting's not half bad all around, and the pacing/atmosphere is far enough from the worst standards of a slasher, but as a single unit, "Terror Train" simply falls short of exciting one much or stand out with anything special. I mean, the idea came to be from a dream writer Daniel Grodnik had - a "Halloween" on a train. He wrote the draft and pitched it in one day.
This train ride never goes off the rails, but it doesn't do anything other than completing its routine route in a steady speed either. I wonder how does the remake compare story-wise, but I won't find out any time soon. Recommended to fans of 80's era slashers and Jamie Lee Curtis. My rating: 5/10.
Been wantin' to see Jamie Lee Curtis's one of 'other' slashers made in the craze after "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", so it seemed like a nice addition to this year's Spooktober, but little did I know it's set during New Year's Eve... Anyways, here we have an overall basic, unsurprising slasher, except it takes place on a train and features David Copperfield performing tricks every once in a while.
It sets out in a way much heard of before, a college student holiday party prank goes wrong, and three years later, when the same students set out on their last college party, with a bang - on a moving train in the dead of winter night, a mysterious killer starts killing the horny, drunk young ones one by one.
The good elements include a killer that changes appearance, the setting of a train, David Copperfield in his only fictional role, and Jamie Lee Curtis, of course. However, these powers combined can't muster enough strength to truly elevate what is throughout a paper thin concept stretched over mediocre characters and killings that, honestly, could've been more bonkers. Acting's not half bad all around, and the pacing/atmosphere is far enough from the worst standards of a slasher, but as a single unit, "Terror Train" simply falls short of exciting one much or stand out with anything special. I mean, the idea came to be from a dream writer Daniel Grodnik had - a "Halloween" on a train. He wrote the draft and pitched it in one day.
This train ride never goes off the rails, but it doesn't do anything other than completing its routine route in a steady speed either. I wonder how does the remake compare story-wise, but I won't find out any time soon. Recommended to fans of 80's era slashers and Jamie Lee Curtis. My rating: 5/10.