‘Capitalize’ is the word of the day – and boy was it well conceived. Meaning both ‘to take a chance to gain advantage’ as well as ‘to provide with money’, both definitions speak to today’s motion picture. . . for Terror Train (1980) arrived in theatres just two short years after the seminal slasher movie Halloween (right in the heart of the horror boom), taking a somewhat similar premise to the aforementioned movie while also bringing that film’s star, Jamie Lee Curtis, along for the bumpy ride (talk about trying to ‘capitalize’ on the present cinematic situation. . . and, in the end, they basically doubled its limited 4.2 million dollar budget).
A Canadian production (in many ways, Canadians were experts at developing these slasher flicks – think of arguably the first of the sub-genre – Black Christmas, as well as Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, Happy Birthday to Me. . .), recently I reviewed the big budget 1998 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, directed by Roger Spottiswoode. . . what was he doing eighteen years prior? Directing this low budget horror film (his first ever directorial effort).
Three years after a prank gone wrong. . . something Alana (Curtis – once again playing the pure but fierce scream queen) was somewhat unwittingly a part of, the same fraternity gang (now in their final year of pre-med) have booked an entire train for an overnight shindig on New Year’s Eve. All of the other so-called pranksters are there: the sick mind behind all of these terrorizing acts, Doc (Hart Bochner), is the leader of the pack – and dressed as a monk, party animal Jackson (Anthony Sherwood) is wearing a 50s inspired alien lizard outfit, while his gal, Mitchy (Sandee Currie), who is also Alana’s best friend, is dressed as a wicked witch, class clown Ed (Howard Busbang) is porting a Groucho Marx mask, and rounding out the group, Alana’s beau, Mo (Timothy Webber), the most timid of the frat, is a prehistoric bird. Along with them are a slew of fellow members from freshman to junior, as well as their significant others.
Yet this is no simple kegger, it is a big budget production, with a hopping rock band, a professional magician (brought to realistic life by the one and only David Copperfield) and his assistant, and a full crew to run the train, including its Conductor, Carne (Ben Johnson). And being a full sized train, it has all of the amenities – luscious cabins, hidden nooks and crannies, numerous bathrooms, a bar cart, party rooms, and all kinds of other cool features.
Partying through the night, unbeknownst to the rowdy college crowd, there is a very sneaky killer onboard. Utilizing the masks of his victims, he can basically transform at will, someone who can gain the trust of anyone in the guise of a known-to-his-friends costume – always to that person’s own detriment. In many ways an ode to the masked Michael Myers killer from Halloween, writer T.Y. Drake ups the ante by making the murderer a multi-masked one. Also, he removes that comfortable neighbourhood setting found in the John Carpenter classic, the moving train a tight, claustrophobic setting and also a perfect playground for this psychopath to kill (as his would-be victims have no place to go). . . plus, there are a plethora of hidy holes to stash the numerous dead bodies.
Done with quite a bit of restraint, Spottiswoode never goes over the top with the blood and gore, instead allowing for the rhythmic rumble of the Terror Train, in all of its inescapable horror, to bring the thrills (in fact, this was filmed within actual historic train cars). Thankfully, Drake’s script never spoon-feeds us the answers, keeping us in the dark (often both figuratively and literally) until the final reveal. . . and it is something quite unique – a nice little touch of an ending. Further complimenting the screenwriter, he doesn’t make all of the characters complete dummies, with Conductor Carne (who in many ways is the co-lead to the Alana character) being a capable and competent foil for the killer (if he, like us, could actually find the elusive figure). He uses logic, reason, and critical thinking to warn the partygoers, search the carts with his crew, and lock away the suggested killer. . . but are things ever that easy? If there would be one complaint about him, it might be that he’s a bit too laid back for the situation, but we’ll just say that that’s his personality.
A movie that uses its setting and visuals to elevate this typical shlocky premise to entertaining B movie levels, Terror Train is an exciting twist on the slasher film that was exploding in North America in the late 70s and into the 80s. Plus, it is really cool seeing David Copperfield in his only acting film role where he doesn’t play himself (bringing the magic, the menace – as a possible suspect, and the romance in wooing Alana). So, don’t look to me as you cross paths with the always differently dressed killer, I simply won’t give you any assistance.