 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. So this is for the 1980 film terror train And this is one that's been on my list to get to for quite some time I've heard a lot of people talk about it not like a ton. It doesn't get a lot of time on the social media Horror groups and a lot of you know so bad They're good kind of films do but this one's definitely come up a few times So I've been meaning to get to it also Jamie Lee Curtis is in it So that's interesting also David Copperfield is in it So that's odd slash interesting and actually this was the only acting role that David Copperfield has ever done and I think that this kind of soured him on that I think he kind of felt like he was done with it after that didn't have the best time with it And I think partially was the film didn't do that well and it obviously didn't do that great as far as reviews go Roger Ebert famously put it on his most hated list So yeah kind of bombed critically Which you know if you watch it you can tell why it's pretty easy to see but David Copperfield has been in other films as himself. It's just terror train is the only film He's been in as a role as an actual character. So yeah And I'll talk a little bit about my thoughts on him in this film in a little bit So this was directed by Roger Spottis would who also did some films such as shoot to kill Turner and Hooch watch that one as a kid loved it Stop or my mom will shoot tomorrow never dies Yes, the James Bond film the sixth day and a street cat named Bob was one of the more recent ones So that's not everything he's done But a good amount of some of the things he's done this one was written by Judith Rasko who wrote scripts for road movie Lifespan endless love and Havana just to name a few as well as TY Drake who did Scripts for the for a film called the keeper and then also a bunch of random TV episodes of random shows It literally would be like one episode here one episode here one episode here nothing consistent So one of those type of writers obviously Jamie Lee Curtis is in this as Alana and She this came out the very same year that prom night and the fog came out So Jamie Lee Curtis had prom night the fog and terror train in the same year I think that's pretty cool that that makes that a really great year in my opinion for Jamie Lee Curtis because they're all at least interesting films obviously, I love the fog I think the fog is wonderful It's my second favorite John Carpenter film obviously his remake of the thing is in my number one But followed by the fog and obviously prom night is a good time I would put that as my number two of these movies and then terror train is at the bottom of the three But it's still worth seeing in my opinion I could see a situation where I would rewatch this one, but I'm not like huge on it just saying The train actually in this film wasn't actually moving while they were filming because I know there's that motion when they're filming it It was actually in a warehouse and they kind of rigged up some sort of contraption so that would it would rock the the The cars the train cars while they were recording So or while they were shooting so yeah Sometimes I feel like it works in the scene sometimes I feel like it made me a tad bit nauseous Watching it although I wasn't on a new medication. So maybe that was part of the problem when I was watching it Disclaimer on that one But to me it made me a tad bit nauseous from time to time that constant kind of like rocking But it's also interesting because they're in certain segments It's not moving at all really and in other ones like you really see it moving So it's it's kind of interesting that it wasn't very consistent To do cinematographer John Alcott reportedly ended up rewiring all the lights in the train And he put them all on dimmer switches So that that way he could kind of like really quickly like change the lighting for a scene because obviously that's pretty much where they were Shooting so if he could rig all the lights in there keep them stationary and put them on that dimmer Super easy to light scenes I think that was really smart and that I thought that was a very interesting tidbit Which is why I put this that in this Apparently there ended up being a dispute over $25,000 that one of the producers had put in apparently filming got behind kind of early and the producer didn't feel too great about the project So they were gonna pull $25,000 which would have led to deleting Five pages worth of script from the actual shooting So after a bunch of squabbling about it another one of the producers stepped in and said look you take your $25,000 out. I'll put an extra $25,000 in that way we can shoot the script as is no problems So we almost got less in this film than we have which I would I would argue That you could definitely cut this film down quite a bit in my opinion It does go kind of slow It does have some stuff in there mainly the magic portions That feel like they're in there as a bit of filler to kind of stretch for time because it's coming in it I think with credits. It's like an hour and 38 minutes something like that. So Just saying so Derek McKinnon who plays Kenny apparently did not audition what ended up happening is McKinnon actually took a friend to audition for the film and while he was there They were they saw him and liked his look and we're like, hey Do you feel like auditioning for this part and he was like, I guess I mean I'm here I might as well do it and they loved him for it So he got the role and I'll be honest. I think he did a good job I think he did quite a good job as Kenny in the film especially at the that end scene that kind of intense exchange between he and Jamie Lee Curtis where all the masks come off and It's that face-to-face the line Delivery in that and the motion that Kenny had with McKinnon did as Kenny really good in my opinion really enjoyed that Like I said, this is on Roger Ebert's most hated list. So that is interesting So getting into the events of the film the strobing lights in the frat house I thought made a really cool visual to open the film up obviously they start with the party where the prank is concocted and Executed and I just love how they had those all those strobing lights all over the place inside the frat house I think in general with the lights and and Interesting set pieces and lighting throughout the film creates a lot of aesthetic interest in it Very visually interesting and I love the setting also of the train itself because how many films? Have you seen specifically horror films that are done on a train? I really can't think of Any at the moment a train to Busan I guess is the only one that comes to mind at the moment, which is a group excellent film But I like that this one's still relatively different because even though this was done in 1980 many decades ago There still aren't that many horror films done on a train So it's it's unique and like I said, they did a good job setting up shots to make it look interesting Especially when they do a lot of those kind of like long shots from the end of one of the train cars I think those particularly look cool, especially the one in where they're kind of like the side room So it's like a very slender hallway and there's just light down at the one end that looks really good and creepy What an insanely awful prank that gets pulled in this one And I will also point out that I believe it is a crime to steal a dead body So doc, I don't think would just be reprimanded on campus I think doc would probably be criminally charged with stealing a dead body Maybe it was different back in 1980, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't I think that was still theft and all sorts of other stuff. So not not good Plus that is a really over-the-top messed up prank So you could see why it would like fracture Kenny basically and make him want to kill Why does Kenny start spinning though? That's one of the things I didn't really get when everything goes wrong Kenny stands up on the bed and just starts spinning around in that I forget what that specifically call like that netting thing. I don't get it And I know that maybe they did that to set it up to mirror what they were gonna do in the end with him, but It's weird. It makes no sense. It's just odd I guess it's just this moment of like, oh, he's just lost it He immediately snapped. So he's just doing something random and off the cuff, but it was no Great premise to have a party on a train That made me think I would love to do that at some point have like a full-blown party on a train That would be really cool. I don't even know if that's a thing Maybe that's a thing somewhere where you can rent a train like that and do a party I don't know, but I'm sure for the right price. You could kind of do that for any train. I guess I'm sure whoever owns them would be willing to accept that cash When Maggie and the conductor are talking about Hopping nobody gets hurt Maggie was the woman in the wheelchair who was working at the train station When she and the conductor are talking about They hope nobody gets hurt during this party that I felt like was really a wink at the audience because as an audience member We all know what's coming. We know what we signed up for it's death on a train And obviously all these frat kids are getting on the train the setups already happened with the prank gone wrong So we know what's coming so literally it's dialogue to be a wink at the audience being like hope nobody gets hurt But you audience members, you know exactly what's gonna happen So I like those little moments where they're winking at you The first kill of Ed came a lot sooner than I actually thought it would Decent enough kill with the sword, especially how everyone just thought he was joking around I actually thought that was solid him dressed up as Groucho Marcia the sword threw him and they did a good job of laying the Groundwork first of showing him consistently joking around so that once people saw him bleeding with the sword through his His stomach they were all like, oh, you know typical Ed, you know, this is what he does. He just plays jokes and they didn't take it seriously. Obviously, so It felt kind of realistic in a sense They sure do lament about the death of trains quite a bit in this the conductor and the other crew members when he's talking to him consistently in this film they keep talking about like the eventual death of trains. They're very very Stuck on this and I get it from from like the character standpoint, but from a film standpoint Do we really need all that conversation? Do we I would argue we don't I Like the callback to the finger in the joint box joke when they kind of had a initially offered a joint to the guy who had Driven the bus to get them all there with their stuff They're like hey won a joint and he had like his finger stuck through the little the little joint box Then they have the callback where the killer actually had severed a finger put it in there and offered it up and people thought Oh, it's that joke again. So I thought that was a good callback. I enjoyed that kind of funny They went kind of hard on the magician stuff. It made it feel like filler I mean I kind of get that you could probably argue that like hey You got David Copperfield for the film. So why don't you feature him as much as possible? So like I get it from that standpoint But I'm also gonna say that I didn't enjoy having so much of the magic in it Like just show him do magic magic tricks like twice Maybe and just like one magic trick each time like they did a lot of magic tricks in this film to the point Where it literally felt like they were just trying to waste time They're just like a man. We're not hitting time get Copperfield out there make him do some more magic Which apparently he kept the tricks on camera just like the tricks. He actually does on at shows So apparently he was going for realism from a magician standpoint. So that's interesting I like how the conductor is more interested in covering up the dead body than anything Especially the first one he finds he really seems like he just wants to take time to figure things out for himself And then he eventually tells that other guy he works with and I'm just like I Don't get it and then he finds another body and then he tries to keep that one covered up But then some for some reason he just decides I'm gonna tell Alana. I Don't get it like characters don't really make a whole lot of sense in this film They're very thin which I guess you would assume that for kind of like a slap-dash Slasher film which this is obviously And how was the killer able to move Jackson's body and clean up the bathroom without anyone knowing? It's an interesting twist that when the conductor takes the other guy there to the bathroom to see the dead body That it's not there anymore. And in fact, it's the killer who's put on the costume and is like, oh no, I'm alive But how would he have gotten the body out there out of there? Where did it go? I mean, I guess he cut it up But where did it go the rest of it and how would no one have seen that or heard that and how did he get all The blood cleaned up and how did nobody see any of this? It's just It's weird like You can't rationalize that stuff. It's just ridiculous But you know, it's a ridiculous movie. So you just accept it keep moving on The severed hand gag was terribly executed. I get where they were going with that when he's with Oh my gosh, what Michi that's right when he's with Michi in that little Like bunk bed type thing on the train where he is like He he pulls out the hand but it's actually Jackson severed hand and puts it on her throat like not a bad idea But the way it looked was so corny so crappy that it was just it would have been better if they kept it out It just had actually choked her with their regular hands. I Do like the late reveal by Alana that Kenny had killed someone before But why wouldn't she have already shared this information because it seems like something that a college kid wouldn't be able to keep to Themself especially when she wasn't really friends with Kenny or anything. She was in on the prank I know she did feel bad about it, but she was still very good friends with these people and this is three years later So there's been a lot of time that she's been able to tell them Hey, this guy's actually a murderer. Maybe you should actually be concerned about this So that didn't really feel very legitimate One stock started looking under the bench across from him I knew that the killer was gonna end up being under the bench that he was sitting on and the fact that he doesn't think about that Typical for a film like this. I mean this was the time period You know, especially in the 80s where people would just yell at the screen If they saw a film in the theater like this and just be like don't do that Don't open that don't go there because they literally just did the dumbest things to move the story forward Obviously see that and play at play in here So you can't really fault the movie because that was I mean that's what was going on with film at this time So it's just par for the course But when you watch that now, you're just like of course And the conductor makes the mistake of assuming the killer would be a male When he lets when he makes the assumption that the magician actually a lot of people make the assumption that it's the magician Who's doing the killing which I guess is linked back to when they said we didn't I think doc said that they did not Hire a magician. So that puts the suspicion on the actual magician himself. David Copperfield's character and obviously Does not even look at his assistant who ends up being Kenny obviously because it's a female Or they believe it's female. So You know and that actually speaks to another thing Which is some people could argue that this is kind of a portrayal of someone who's transsexual in a negative manner I don't know that it was necessarily Driven home as being transsexual more as just Being in that costume in order to get on the train in order to fool people and make the murders Because I don't think there's anything I may have missed it and you can let me know in the comments I don't think there was anything in there about Kenny actually being transsexual Although there is a bit of an undertone of them talking about his mental health And then the fact that he does end up showing up in woman in women's clothing Would make people make some sort of negative connection. So for that reason it is problematic now in Nowadays society it was not then and this is one of those things I always say that when you watch a film like this, you need to remember Societally what was going on at the time doesn't mean it was right, but it means that it wasn't a conscious thing then So you need to understand that that's what it was and for that reason things like this I think are fine to be around because it's a reminder of how far we've come over the decades now If a film like this was made now, I would say yeah, that's problematic Because look at society now, you can't do that now like don't do that now. That's the right thing. Do not do a film like that now Solid jump scare when the killer's arm pops out in front of Alana in the hallway after she had stabbed him in one of the little train car areas It was effective. I was legitimately surprised with that I didn't see it coming and it worked really well how the arm just kind of like shoots out in front of the camera Right in front of her face. I liked it. I like the way they framed it very good The extended scene of Alana fighting and running from the killer is actually pretty solid It really does ratchet up the tension the danger You're really feeling that kind of fear that she's feeling the movie is relatively slow and meandering up until that point But I do think that it has a good finish and that's one of the strongest things about this. So yeah The killer at the window while Alana is resting, you know outside the window kind of looking in it was kind of funny I found it really laughable the way like he showed up at the window and moved around it looked just Hokey and weird to me. I don't know if anyone else felt that way, but Yeah, it just made me kind of laugh and it kind of took me out of the moment a little bit because it didn't look good It didn't look menacing which is I know it was supposed to at that point The final scene between Kenny and Alana is Effective and I like the satisfying thud when Kenny hits the snow after the conductor wax him with a shovel and out of the side of the train that was very satisfying because it's this kind of exclamation point on the death of the villain and I love those types of things like that Satisfying thud is you see the body just smack down on the ground. It's a good way to end it It really is and and like I said, it's a good ending to the film Even though it's a kind of meat bit of a meandering mess moving to that point. I Like all the long shots from the ends of the train cameras. They always make them look good in general They actually did a really outstanding job shooting in close quarters You need to consider that they were inside of train cars filming though There's not a lot of room to kind of like have the characters moving around to set up the shots properly to move The cameras around when they were actually moving so I think they really did a good job with the technical aspect of that So I bet that's not something people really think about that much But I want to make sure I brought that up because I think it's important They throw out a few red herrings like the girl who gets Snippy with Mitchie who says watch your toes because it seems that's kind of like she's got a thing against her When Mo tells Doc that he's gonna get him. That's another moment that they kind of like Linger on a little long to kind of tell you maybe there's something going on here And then when Doc says that they didn't hire a magician and that's obviously in the end what ends up throwing the suspicion on the Magician even though that's kind of on the right path because of the assistant Kenny You can tell pretty early that Kenny is the killer and I'll tell you why they show the eyes they make the mistake of close up showing the eyes in The mask in the first one the Grappler marks one So I was looking at the eyes and I'm like those eyes look exactly like Kenny's eyes because they did a close-up Kind of freeze frame on Kenny's face in the prank scene in the very beginning So it wasn't that long ago if they had spaced it out more I may not have picked up on that But I feel like I'm probably not the only one who ends up picking up on that I'm sure a lot of people do for that reason like you've seen his face pretty recently and then you see those eyes It just connects it connects. So the whole time. I knew it was gonna end up being Kenny But towards the end I didn't realize that Kenny was the Assistant because I wasn't really focusing on the assistant that much because I was watching the magic even though I complained about there being Too many magic tricks, but yeah, that's what it is So out of five stars with half stars in play. This isn't great, but it's still kind of fun I'm gonna give it two and a half stars I was between two and two and a half because obviously it's not that great I can't even put it on the so bad. It's good scale because I don't really think it's in that category I feel like it kind of straddles the line between a so bad. It's good and just a straight-up legitimate film So I'm gonna give it a two and a half star rating We'd love to hear what other people have to say about it give me your thoughts in the comments Do you love this film? Do you hate this film? Are you in the middle kind of like me? But let's talk about it. Also do me a quick favor if you have not subscribed yet Please please hit that subscribe button. That is the way to keep me doing these videos I it keeps me motivated it legitimately does every time I see a new person subscribing It really kind of gets me excited and I'm like, there's another person who's actually consuming what I'm putting out And they're appreciating it which obviously makes me want to do more and keep providing it to you guys Also, you're just kind of joining this nerdy horror community that I'm trying to build Because I started this channel just to talk to people about horror Legitimately because where I live I can't really do that I can't get nerdy about horror like this and I will bet you the majority of the people that I know who are even into Horror who I who live around me don't even know what Terra train is just saying but anyway Thanks everyone for checking this out and until next time keep it brutal