MovieChat Forums > Terror Train (1980) Discussion > HIGHLY UNDERRATED

HIGHLY UNDERRATED

posted 10 years ago by PeterBradford
1 reply | jump to latest

TERROR TRAIN holds up much better today than when it was released. In October of 1980, there was great anticipation for the next great slasher film. HALLOWEEN had been released regionally in a few markets two years earlier, but didn't go national until 1979. TERROR TRAIN was the first major slasher film released after FRIDAY THE 13th (PROM NIGHT, released over the summer by Avco Embassy, wasn't exactly major). Unfortunately, audiences and critics compare TERROR TRAIN to the previous slasher films. While TERROR TRAIN followed the formula, it wasn't as gory or as violent. Audiences left disappointed. Today, there's no comparison. The film stands alone as a unique, well-made horror film. The photography (by John Alcott of all people) is brilliant. The director did a great job a a very short shooting schedule (twenty five days is not much at all, even by low-budget standards). TERROR TRAIN is well worth a look today, and makes a great addition to anyone's horror film collection.

[–] Nightflyre9 10 years ago

Terror Train is a personal favorite of mine. It's one of the best slashers of the 80's, and it still holds up well almost thirty-five years later. The acting is a notch above (Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, and Derek MacKinnon are spot-on), the setting is as cool as hell, there's a good amount of well-orchestrated suspense, and JLC's chase scenes are pitch-perfect. There are no on-screen kills and very little blood, but Terror Train somehow feels like a more violent film than it actually is. I love this movie. It's a classic of its kind. It never gets old for me.