‘Terror Train’ Turns 40: Still a Hell of a Ride

October 3, 2020

In 1980, Jamie Lee Curtis was in the midst of a consecutive horror movie run that would cement her as the quintessential scream queen. She started the run with in 1978 with John Carpenter’s Halloween and ended in 1981 with Halloween II. In between, she starred in another four movies that would go on to become cult horror favorites for the next four decades, with The Fog, Road Games, Prom Night, and the underrated slasher film that turns 40 today, Terror Train.

In Terror Train, a fraternity of college students decides to play and insane prank on an awkwardly shy Kenny (Derek MacKinnon), by having Alana (Jamie Lee Curtis) lure him into a bedroom with the promise of sex, but tricking him into bed with the body of a dead woman that the students stole from the local medical school. Kenny is traumatized and sent to a psychiatric hospital. Three years later, the same group of students throws a New Years Eve costume party aboard a train. As the party rages on, the students start to get picked off one-by-one by a costumed stranger.

Although the “revenge of the bullied” premise isn’t the most original aspect, there’s always an added sense of fear when the victims are trapped and isolated, as opposed to having somewhere to escape to. The train setting is truly innovative from both the viewer and the director prospects. Camera angles are closed-in, and the lighting was perfected, offering the possibility of suspense from every nook and cranny of the train. The killer could be waiting anywhere, and the costume party is a nice touch, allowing him to be anyone, while mingling among the drunken party guests as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

In most of the slasher films from this era, the villain and their motives are established early with the other characters in the film. In Terror Train, a level of mystery and detective work is done by the victims to decipher who and where the killer is. We’re given more backstory as the film continues, rather than being told everything up front. Director Roger Spottiswoode wanted the themes of magic, misdirection, and illusion to be prominent in the film, giving us more of a Murder on the Orient Express vibe than Halloween. He even hits us right on the nose with a mid-party magic show featuring David Copperfield, in his only horror film role. Mindless gore is replaced by suspense, and it really works. Don’t get me wrong, there are gory moments, but they are used as welcomed accents to the film, rather than scene-shockers.

I know that Halloween really bumped Jamie Lee into the scream queen status, but she really deserves more credit for films like The Fog and Terror Train. She often casts aside slasher tropes, and plays her characters intelligently, always thinking about how to defeat the antagonist, rather than solely run away from him. In fact, the entire ending of this film was thought up by her, using the psychosis of the killer to defeat him, rather than just the brute strength of someone else stepping in.

Even 40 years later, Terror Train gives us the breath of fresh air we need in an entirely over-saturated sub-genre of horror. If you haven’t seen it, add it to your list of spooky movies to watch this October. You won’t be disappointed!