Jamie Lee Curtis became the first slasher Scream Queen thanks to a surprisingly small batch of films – “The Fog,” “Prom Night” and “Terror Train” in 1980, bookended by the first two “Halloweens” in 1978 and ’81. Here I’ll look at “Terror Train,” chronologically the pinnacle of her genre dominance and also a strong example of how good acting can elevate what would otherwise be shlock.
Curtis jumps ahead to playing college age – fair, as she was 21 – as Alana, the uncomfortable girlfriend of a frat prankster (Hart Bochner’s Doc). In the cold open, he leads a vicious prank on a pledge, Kenny (Derek McKinnon). When the action jumps ahead three years, Curtis nicely portrays Alana’s unease with Doc (now graduated and an honest-to-god doctor, LOL) and her fears about the potential return of Kenny; it’s a level of acting most cheap slashers aren’t treated to.
Shot in frigid Canada, with the actors obviously being cold in the outdoor shots, director Roger Spottiswoode (in the first entry of a respectable resume that includes the Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies”) and cinematographer John Alcott squeeze the most out of a thin – albeit engagingly mysterious – story by three writers. I think they shot on a real moving train; if not, they did a nice job rocking the train cars to simulate movement.
“Terror Train” (1980)
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writers: T.Y. Drake, Judith Rascoe (screenplay); Daniel Grodnik (story)
Stars: Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner
“Terror Train” reminds me of 1983’s “Sleepaway Camp” in the way it gets a significant vibe out of a (seemingly) obvious “mystery,” where there’s only one suspect. The stuff between the killings is quite watchable, even though it could be called “filler.”
Film pulls a rabbit out of its hat
Logistically, the decisions by conductor Carne (Ben Johnson) make sense. This is an excursion late at night through an area without roads, so outside help won’t be available till the next station. An early scene establishes that the train has no radio, cueing us to think about the train’s isolation if things go bad. After a couple corpses pop up, Carne clears everyone out, has his men search the train and does a headcount. Slasher films gain verisimilitude if there’s a veneer of competence from the authorities.
Best of all, we see David Copperfield’s magic act between kills. Interestingly, even though he’s a famous magician rather than an actor, Alana suspects the magician may be Kenny, a few years older and out of the asylum. Today’s special effects have mostly ruined magic on screen, but in “Terror Train” these appear to be Copperfield’s illusions, presented without embellishment. Alcott locks down a wide image and lets the act play out.
“Terror Train’s” presentation of slasher kills is relatively weak, and I can’t say the movie has a deeply foreboding mood. There are isolated moments of gore, like a severed head bouncing around, but it reads as shlock more than shock.
But the work by Curtis, Johnson and McKinnon is enough to keep things intense, with the others – in costume, as this is a New Year’s Eve frat party — providing the party atmosphere. (A New Year’s Eve college party strikes me as illogical. Wouldn’t everyone be on holiday break? And doesn’t the initiation of new members take place in the fall? Oh well, it didn’t bother me as much as when sports take place out of season in other high school/college movies and shows.)
The ending clinches “Terror Train” as a better-than-average slasher and cinches the theme of illusion. A tip of the magician’s top hat goes to viewers who correctly guessed whodunit and how. I didn’t, and was impressed. I think even if you do get it right, it will be satisfying, rather than disappointing due to being too easy.