Sam Panico Jamie Lee Curtis. A train. A murderous slasher. And David Copperfield. Yes, Terror Train is unlike any other slasher that ever came before or since.Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, who was also in the chair for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, this movie was totally conceived as Halloween on a train. Jamie Lee had just finished filming Prom Night, so she jumped back on the slasher, err, train one more time.Much like Slaughter High, a prank puts all of this in motion, as Alana (Jamie Lee) is coerced into pulling a joke on frat pledge Kenny Hampson that uses a female corpse, because you know, humor. Kenny doesn't get the joke, goes nuts, gets put in a mental asylum and then, of course, breaks out and kills nearly everyone.But what about David Copperfield, you may ask. Well, he's all over this movie, both doing illusions and being a red herring. His scenes with Jamie Lee make the screen smolder with pure sex. I'm totally lying to see if you're paying attention.Ben Johnson, Captain Morales from the original The Town That Dreaded Sundown shows up as a train conduction. And hey! There's Vanity (credited as D.D. Winters) years before she'd meet up with Prince, star in Action Jackson and Tanya's Island, then get heavy into drugs and dating Rick James, Adam Ant (who wrote the song "Vanity" about her on the Strip album), Nikki Sixx and Billy Idol. After that, she went into renal failure, found God and later died because her body had endured a lifetime of drug abuse.I really like the killer's gimmick of continually switching masks. It's pretty effective and leads you to wonder who really is behind things, even if the opening totally gives the identity away.

sol- College students are stalked by a killer during a costume party aboard a train in this iconic 80s horror movie. The setting is a tad far-fetched, but it leads to some great thrills and chills as nobody is able to leave the nonstop locomotive and as the killer keeps changing masks and costumes with everyone simply assuming that he is the person who they first saw in that outfit. A couple of minor plot holes aside, the biggest thing that weighs against 'Terror Train' is a precredits scene that gives away the killer's identity; as such, the film lacks the mystery element of something like 'Friday the 13th', but it is a surprisingly gripping ride even with the murderer and his motivations very obvious from the get-go. David Copperfield offers a lot of extra sparks as a mysterious hired magician who performs several of his own tricks, the train interior sets are deliciously over-the-top with neon lighting and party decorations, and the whole production is well photographed by the legendary John Alcott (of 'Barry Lyndon' fame). The film additionally offers some food for thoughts in terms of pranks taken too far, with the killer motivated by one such prank and most of the other characters believing that the deaths are merely pranks. The film also gets some points for making Groucho Marx look absolutely terrifying simply by the way the killer wears a mask of his face.

Woodyanders A vengeful mysterious killer (an effectively creepy portrayal by Derek McKinnon) bumps off various medical college students who are celebrating New Year's Eve on board a train.Director Roger Spootiswoode, working from a compact script by T.Y. Drake, keeps the absorbing story moving along at a snappy pace, builds a good deal of tension and spooky atmosphere, makes excellent use of the novel and claustrophobic train setting, and stages the rousing climactic chase set piece with skill and flair. Moreover, the sound acting by capable cast keeps this movie on track: Jamie Lee Curtis once again registers strongly as a personable final girl as the spunky Alana, Ben Johnson adds a touch of class as amiable and easygoing conductor Carnegie, Hart Bochner smarms it up nicely as obnoxious frat boy ringleader Doc, David Copperfield handles his red herring role as a slightly sinister magician quite well, and Sandee Currie contributes an appealing turn as Alana's perky best gal pal Mitchy. John Alcott's stunning cinematography works wonders with the cramped confines of the train and offers several striking shots of the bleak wintry Canadian landscape. John Mill-Cockel's spirited shivery score hits the shuddery spot. A worthwhile slice'n'dice item.

happyendingrocks This humble slasher entry may seem a bit predictable and tame by modern standards, but it's important to note that Terror Train arrived pretty early in the cycle, so the elements that seasoned audiences will deem predictable were still relatively novel when the film was released. Even if the clever surprises this thriller has in store don't resonate quite as strongly today as they did during its original theatrical run, these reels have held up remarkably well, and while it's debatable whether or not we have a bonafide classic on our hands here, Terror Train most assuredly succeeds as an entertaining offering that deserves its legacy.The presence of Jamie Lee Curtis at the height of her genre dominance adds immeasurably to the enduring impact of this affair, and as always she proves to be an engaging and resourceful heroine. She is pitted here against a vengeful masked killer stalking her and a group of college friends responsible for a grisly prank gone awry, who set out on the rails three years later for the rousing costume party that encompasses the bulk of the action. Though most of the characters are readily recognizable archetypes, Terror Train spends a bit of time establishing their relationships and nuances, which ultimately greatly assists the whodunnit aspect of the caper since we are provided with a handful of shifty suspects, and heightens the horror of the murders since we actually come to know and like some of the victimized teens.The narrow corridors and confined nature of the transport greatly bolster the suspense, and as the body count rises the film wisely addresses the obvious question, "Why don't they just stop the train and get off?" The locomotive's course pins the group in the middle of a snow-covered mountain range during the dead of winter, which makes immediate escape from the killer's clutches an impossibility and provides a plausible explanation for the forced inaction of the prey. Once the scenario is established, we aren't inclined to ask too many nagging questions, and this liberation allows the movie to spin its web unencumbered by our skepticism, which it does with admirable efficiency.Granted, the slasher movie formula doesn't explicitly require much, or any, adherence to logic, but Terror Train handles its material in a decidedly intelligent manner which forges a sense of believability that ends up being one of the film's strongest traits. Our masked madman (or woman?) shows some great cunning and ingenuity in concealing their crimes, donning the costumes of the slain to perpetuate the illusion that everyone is still alive and well, and therefore eluding suspicion for as long as possible. As the mounting unexplained absences become too much to obscure and the enormity of the killer's deadly plot takes shape, the preemptive reactions of the train's conductor and his crew are wholly realistic and sensible, and this refreshing lack of distracting stupidity deeply strengthens our immersion into the mystery.Despite the evident savvy of the presentation, a few of the death scenes suffer from some clumsy staging that dilutes their effectiveness (the murder of one amorous lass requires us to accept that the killer anticipated the victim-to-be would ask them to remove their glove, so our homicidal antagonist presciently kept the severed hand of the fratboy they're impersonating hidden beneath the shed segment of the costume to perpetuate their ruse). The enactment of the murders reveals a predisposition to suggesting more than showing, but this actually serves the film well since the overall paucity of gore makes the few images of overt splatter far more impressive and memorable as a result.Vintage Jamie Lee isn't the only time capsule gem here, and older viewers will appreciate the heavy use of throbbing disco tunes and saccharine prom funk during the party sequences. On that same note, the magic displays of a young David Copperfield also figure prominently, and his bag of tricks provides one of the best and bloodiest set-pieces in the film.The climax, where Curtis finds herself facing the malicious murderer one on one, is excellently orchestrated and their extended and violent battle provides a big pay-off that is a fitting culmination of the tension steadily building throughout the film. The twist ending probably won't catch you off guard if you're a connoisseur of the genre, but it's still a nifty finish which relies on enough clues scattered along the way to warrant a re-viewing to investigate how the film-makers pulled their trick off.Terror Train may veer off track from time to time, but any fan of '80s-era horror will find a lot to like here, and overall this is a trip well worth taking.