VideoXploiter With both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee starring, we're already off to a great start. Next we have the creature, which is very compelling conceptually - it would have felt right at home in a classic Star Trek episode. As you can guess by the title, the setting is a train, which serves to heighten the tension. Musically, one could mistake this for a spy-thriller, which the film did borrow elements off. In addition you even get zombie elements thrown in. Horror fans, and even the casual, will find something to like with this one.

classicsoncall Well, some writer's imagination was working overtime on this one. The story posits an elaborate theory of an organism or energy form entering a host body two million years ago, which now transfers from host to host when the prior one dies. Once situated, it claims further victims by sucking out their brains through their eyes. Yikes! This must all have been very confusing to Father Pujardov (Alberto de Mendoza) because he thought this was a vampire flick, exclaiming at one point - "Beware the Law of Satan". You really can't blame him though, there was plenty of confusing stuff going on.One of those confusing things was Captain Kojak showing up about an hour into the flick. I know, I know, it was really Captain Kazan, but Telly Savalas was just about ready to begin his run as the lollipop sucking detective of the popular TV series in a short while. He really did look fine decked out in that bright red Cossack costume, no wonder he was such a hit with the ladies.Considering this wasn't a Hammer film, it was a treat seeing Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing team up to solve a problem here instead of being adversaries. For a horror movie, I thought it was a bit surprising that the monster creature was done away with after about forty five minutes, but as I mentioned earlier, the life force kept hopping around to take advantage of whoever came it's way. Which led to a puzzling question - since the monster wanted Professor Saxton (Lee) to set him free inside the body of Pujardov, why wouldn't it have simply taken off earlier when it was atop the train's baggage car after taking it's first victim? Seems like a little plot hole there.What I got the biggest kick out of though was when the professor addressed the assembled passengers aboard the train, warning them all that they should remain situated in groups or pairs so as not to be left alone. So what does he do in the very next scene? - He's wandering around alone investigating things by himself - that just cracked me up. Almost as much as when he explained to Dr. Wells (Cushing) and the Countess (Silvia Tortosa) that his autopsy of the first victim revealed that the man's memory was removed! What!?!? How could he figure that one out? Well, I like to pan these flicks for their pseudo-intellectual babble, but all in all, this wasn't such a bad little horror film. It had an interesting cast and as I say, a lot of pains were taken to fabricate the wild story line. I tell you what though, by the end of the film, it'll make you think twice about booking your next red eye flight.

Fella_shibby I saw this first on a rented VHS in mid 80s. My dad used to watch a lot of Hammer films, especially of Lee n Cushing. Now he prefers TV series. Revisited this on a DVD. It hasn't aged well but its a must for all horror fans. A pretty good horror/science fiction movie for its time. Considering its low budget n the time it was made, Horror Express is quite atmospheric and impressive from a production standpoint. It has an amazing cast, Christopher Lee n Peter Cushing n amusing cameo of Telly Savalas. The setting of a high-speed train is a good one to bring out the claustrophobia of horror. Due to the lack of budget n the era, the trans siberian railway networks weren't explored properly. Woody Harrelson's Transsiberian film captured some very good scenes. This movie has a brief autopsy scene which may put off some viewers. The director did a good job of not revealing the creature too much due to its bad moster suit n cheap glowing eyes. The monk looked like a poor mans Robert de niro. There is a scene in which the luggage man sees the monster trying to open up the box n the monstrous hand cud b easily seen. Now rather trying to run or raise an alarm, the luggage guy tries to lock it. The two females, the countess n the spy were gorgeous for that time. In short, a fun monster movie with strong cast n strong script. It shud hav been titled the Thing on a train.

Wizard-8 I think this movie has a big cult to it because it seems to offer something for anyone's taste. It has cult stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It has a kind of slasher movie theme for those who like slasher movies. It has a bad guy that is an alien for those who like sci fi movies. It almost entirely takes place on a train headed for disaster for those who like disaster movies. There is also blood, zombies, action, humor... I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea this movie has it all.If the movie has anything disappointing about it, it's the fact that the creature doesn't really have a chance to explain its motives and what its ultimate plan is. It would have been really interesting to show its intelligence and make it more than a creature that seems more interested in increasing its body count. But that's a minor quibble; the movie is still very enjoyable. Just be sure to look for a high quality print, since the movie somehow entered the public domain, resulting in many shoddy-looking editions that currently flood the market.