Horror Express (1972) ★★★★
Because of its similarity to the famous Agatha Christie novel and the short story Who Goes There?, this could have been called Monster on the Orient Express – it's a film with a group of characters representing a cross-section of society and a creature which, like Christian Nyby and John Carpenter's films, could be anyone.
The obvious highlight of this is the interplay between Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, the latter mourning the recent death of his wife, and the film is often at its best when the two men are on screen together with Lee commanding attention through his sheer presence and Cushing busying himself around the set, always doing something interesting.
When Terry Savalas appears as a Cossack policeman, Kazan, years a definite scene stealer, swigging (and gargling) vodka and appearing to be having the time of his life. In their supporting roles, Silvia Tortosa and Helga Liné are very good, though credit must go to Olive Gregg who does the English dub for both characters (and at least one other), making them sound different and distinctive.
It's a film which looks very good and, because of the exterior shots, model work, score and sound effects, it's easy to believe everything takes place on a train. This adds to the atmosphere with a sense of claustrophobia which wouldn't exist if the events will take place in such a confined environment.
This is a film I like a lot and have seen many times – the Arrow Video Blu-ray disc I watched today is my second purchase this format because I have the Severin Films release as well. One of the few things I don't like is the title because I wish they'd used the Spanish title: Panic on the Orient Express.
|