Saturday, October 31, 2020

cinema history class: terror train

Session: And Then There Were None, Week 2
Movie: Terror Train (1980)
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode


As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
College students are trying to have a party on a train, but a killer lurks among them. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
For the most part I was judging Terror Train, by comparing it to The Prowler, which we watched a week earlier. Terror Train did a much better job of keeping me guessing, and I enjoyed the heightened suspense. And the ending was much clearer, and more satisfying. The fact that the script threw in a major red herring helped it along.

In some ways this seemed to me less of a typical slasher film, though Keith argues against that. I also wondered out loud whether the fact of it being set on a moving train -- executive producer Daniel Grodnik was trying to make Halloween on a train. Keith and Christina both argued that the train helped make the film work in that it created more of a feeling that the partying potential victims were trapped. I suppose they're right; without the train, there would have been less to make Terror Train stand out from the other revenge slasher movies.

Terror Train was enjoyable and satisfying, but ultimately it was light fare. 

Ratings:
Me: 7.25
Christina: 8.5
Ethan: 8


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