crabapple
10-07-2006, 05:47 AM
It's got a stylish, modern title, but it's actually a period film...and it closes with a rock music version of its theme...I guess we could call this Period Cool!
This is one of the best horror films of the 1970's...featuring many creative ideas and a fine cast including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas (who steals the show during his brief appearance) and Silvia Tortosa. Everyone is lots of fun, and while this film is fairly gory, it's no mere bloodbath. It requires constant attention from the viewer as the story is actually fairly complex. And unlike the characters we find in most current horror films, the characters in "Horror Express" are fairly intelligent people, and their attempts to analyze the strange science-fictional situation in which they find themselves are most engrossing. Heck, even the monster in this movie is smart.
It's funny to consider that, though it features all the trappings of a horror film, it has little of the conventional atmosphere...it's very thinky, and so cleverly funny that the word "giddy" can be used to describe it. It seems obvious that the cast enjoyed the opportunity to work with such an interesting story. It transcends its genre.
It's so much fun that the rough edges from its low budget are easy to ignore. One of the most enjoyable things Lee and Cushing did together.
This is one of the best horror films of the 1970's...featuring many creative ideas and a fine cast including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas (who steals the show during his brief appearance) and Silvia Tortosa. Everyone is lots of fun, and while this film is fairly gory, it's no mere bloodbath. It requires constant attention from the viewer as the story is actually fairly complex. And unlike the characters we find in most current horror films, the characters in "Horror Express" are fairly intelligent people, and their attempts to analyze the strange science-fictional situation in which they find themselves are most engrossing. Heck, even the monster in this movie is smart.
It's funny to consider that, though it features all the trappings of a horror film, it has little of the conventional atmosphere...it's very thinky, and so cleverly funny that the word "giddy" can be used to describe it. It seems obvious that the cast enjoyed the opportunity to work with such an interesting story. It transcends its genre.
It's so much fun that the rough edges from its low budget are easy to ignore. One of the most enjoyable things Lee and Cushing did together.