Joe Dante on HORROR EXPRESS

This Spanish-British coproduction, shot in Madrid under the evocative title Panic on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, remains one of the most satisfying screen pairings of longtime friends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Nevertheless Cushing, mourning the passing of his wife, initially tried to leave the picture before shooting and had to be talked into going through with it by Lee, with both later admitting it was one of their most enjoyable experiences. Initially unheralded, it's since become a fan favorite.
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[@FilmmakerJ]

Anybody notice that this is pretty much "The Thing from Another World" or John Carpenter's "The Thing," but takes place on a train. Having Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee battle The Thing has got to be an awesome film.

[@scampoli25]

Also Evil Dead. Evil force posses people and brings them back from the dead, with white eyes, in a confined space. And a hero with a double barrel shotgun has to stop it.

[@queenglamazona8789]

The weird thing is this was made first.

[@phillipford2216]

@@queenglamazona8789 The Thing from Another World is a 1951 film, based on a 1938 short story. Carpenter's movie is more faithful to the original text, too.

[@NuncNuncNuncNunc]

First Thing that came to my mind.

[@Treblaine]

Elevator pitch "The Thing on The Orient Express with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing."

[@kamuelalee]

Cushing and Lee in any film together are automatic cinematic treasures.

[@lamecasuelas2]

Yeah! Yeah! Like even Satanic rites of Drácula Is worth watching just for the two of them.

[@varanid9]

@@lamecasuelas2 True. As goofy as the rest of the movie was, I found the final confrontation between Cushing and Lee oddly moving. A quiet scene, Van Helsing and Dracula are pretending not to know who each other actually is, but their lines imply a coded message to each other that they know this will be their final encounter. And, in real life, it was their final scene together as those characters which they were famous for.

[@Setebos]

Not only a great film, but a great creepy musical theme.

[@queenglamazona8789]

The Musical Score is the Best Part.

[@BikiniDeathSquad]

Yes! I just saw Horror Express maybe a month ago. The mad monk character was the highlight for me. He actually wanted to become a servant to the monster...to do his bidding. Terrific film!

[@sdovas]

Another one of many small narrative flourishes --think about that next time your fundamentalist auntie bugs you about Faith -- that only add to really stand-out if woefully underappreciated horror movie.

[@josephconsoli4128]

I watched this on TV by myself in probably 1978 as a kid and it freaked me out! The ending when all the dead bodies start getting up reminded me of Night Of The Living Dead. That monk gave me nightmares! I always looked for the grind-house horror movies that were all over TV in the '70's. That's why I slept with the hall light on until I was about 16!

[@TsukiumisGuy]

A really great looking copy came out on Blue-Ray and DVD by Severin Films in 2011. The HD transfer came from vault elements found in a Mongolian Film Depot of all places! This release contains all kinds of extras; An interview with the director, a 1973 audio interview with Peter Cushing, An interview with composer John Cacavas who was an American living in England at the time. He returned to the states and did music for Telly Savalas TV show, KOJAK and other shows like HAWAII 5-0.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

TomsWorld38 , that was the very first Bluray I ever bought. It looks amazing!

[@sdovas]

Hooray for Mongolia!!! Bet there's a thriller in the story of how this great picture ended up there, too

[@ThreadBomb]

I have that blu-ray, and I think it was the first one I bought too (unless it was Island of Lost Souls). But I first grew to love the movie from a DVD with a transfer that was 4:3 but surprisingly crisp and colorful. I then tried another cheap DVD version, but the whole things had been transferred in soft focus and watching it gave me a headache. Eventually I sought out the luxury version, which was the start of my small blu collection.

[@FCSchaefer]

Great movie, one of Cushing and Lee's best movies.

[@Deepdesert]

I really liked this movie. Anything with BOTH Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing can't be all bad!

[@ThreadBomb]

Such an underrated movie! The first 20 minutes are slow, but then you get some great creepy horror, a few big laughs, and an action showdown at the end. Cushing and Lee in top form, plus a wild cameo appearance by Telly Savalas. The "scientific" elements of the film are funny and fascinating; it's as though the movie was written in the same year that it's set (1906).

[@dionysoscub]

First saw this film as a kid bybway of Creature Feature on a Baltimore, Md, tv station and loved it. Years later I was lucky enough to have one of the writers of the script as my screenwriting teacher at SVA. 💕👍

[@chriswalas9891]

I grew up on the horrific copies of this film that were floating around. Terrible, terrible copies. At one of the HP Lovecraft Festivals in Portland, I walked into a showing of a newly struck print from the original negative. I was truly dumbfounded at how superb the print looked ! A wonderful film. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it really has a lot of fun not doing that. BTW, our world could do with a few more Joe Dante’s!!

[@jamiebraswell5520]

I love this movie. I first saw it on some cheap DVD set that had three Christopher Lee films on it. That print wasn't very good. Later on, this was the first movie I ever bought on Bluray. The Bluray quality is amazing and Horror Express can finally be seen as it was meant to be seen!

[@varanid9]

First, "Planet of the Vampires", and, now this one. 2 of my favorite old horror films of all time. Mr. Dante has excellent taste in his films.👍👍

[@crabnebula1914]

There are soo many bad prints of this movie, but it's a terrific film. Plus, I agree with Joe Dante, I absolutely love movies that take place on trains.

[@ThreadBomb]

The Lady Vanishes. Terror By Night. Two of my faves.

[@Drforrester31]

The recent Blu-Ray release from Arrow looks absolutely fantastic. It was a great way to experience this film for the first time

[@YolandaAnneBrown95726]

This still creeps me out.

[@haremcinema-show_over7642]

I LOVE this movie and thank you very much for reviewing it.

[@midlandredux]

The trailer shows way too much of the creature. The film itself is much more subtle, much creepier, and makes the most of its excellent cast of characters and wonderful 1905 sets. Savalas is awesome, by the way, as a Cossack, and actually manages to steal a scene or two from Cushing and Lee.

[@TsukiumisGuy]

I agree. The trailer gives too much of it away! And you do see too much of the creature in the trailer.

[@sdovas]

True but the creature really is only where the berserkness Starts... the horde of bloody-blank-eyed zombies really puts it over the top and the trailer does what it's supposed to do: pique your interest, but if you e seen it then you know the rest of the picture really beats you up as a thrill-ride.

[@ThreadBomb]

I don't think it gives too much away, because SPOILERS we eventually learn that that body was only a host, and the monster can leap between bodies.

[@richardmcleod1930]

Ever heard of "The Comeback" aka "Hollywood Horror House, aka "The Savage Intruder" (around 1969)? Miriam Hopkins, John Garfield Jr., Gale Sondergard, Joe Besser, Minta Durfee Arbuckle and who knows else. The opening scene of the decaying Hollywood sign is quite memorable. The cast is certainly interesting. I don't think this film was ever formally released because it was at the time of the Manson murders and probably felt to be way too near the source?

[@pjangels609]

It's really "The Thing" on a train.

[@brvndxxxn]

I love this film!!!

[@jamescappio7434]

The best Hammer film Hammer never made.

[@JohnInTheShelter]

More fun than 90% of Hammer's output.

[@leeccdoo]

I LOVED Horror Express but are you fucking kidding me dude? LOL Hammer Films is regarded as a legendary film studio for a PRETTY DAMN GOOD reason as most of there movies still stand the test of time. I also highly enjoyed John D. Hancock's Let's Scare Jessica To Death and Larry Clark's God Told Me To.

[@ThreadBomb]

@@leeccdoo I think the OP was right. Horror Express is such wild and rollicking fun, not much of Hammer can compete in those terms.

[@vivadjango]

Agreed!

[@pauljacques2133]

I actually agree and this is definitely the best film the two did legends together.

[@topskek9786]

Great Lovecraftian movie

[@doomo]

The Rifftraxx version is terrific!

[@jackgrattan1447]

Better than anything that Hammer was putting out in the '70's (which is what it gets mistaken for due to the two leads). But what Hammer film would have Telly Savalas on hand for some scenery chewing?

[@johnpetty9310]

Wow, i found this post right on time, i just watched this movie for the first time in COLOR, back when i first saw it in the 1980's ,it was grainy and dark.

[@queenglamazona8789]

This is one of my Favorite Horror Films. It's Got Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing(Not to mention Telly Savalas). It's Got A Body Switcing Alien that's Similar to The Thing. It's Got A Murder On The Orient Express Vibe Going On. Plus All the Dead People Come Back to Life As Zombies Near the End of the Film and Attack the Passengers. This Movie Has Everything. It's Awesome.

[@lamecasuelas2]

Saw this on TV the other day, quite enjoyable even though It isn't Lee's or Cushing's Best.

[@only257]

good movie

[@Setebos]

A 24-carat goodie.

[@robertlucido3686]

About you said you first saw it in 1974, did you also see the 1974 adaptation of, "Murder on the Orient Express," with Albert Finney

[@Simpleburger1968]

One of those rare films where Lee and Cushing are the good guys...and get to survive to the end !

[@queenglamazona8789]

There was also the Hound of the Baskervilles. They were both in that and they survived.

[@jiujitsu77]

the monk kinda looks like paul naschy

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Heh heh.. now that you mention it...

[@eduardo_corrochio]

I always saw a young Deniro resemblance there.

[@queenglamazona8789]

John Belushi in a role that will surprise you.

[@Winchester85]

I totally agree. Both actors are the shiz-nit :)

[@AlanBondFilms]

Must admit I enjoy this flick. Have it off TCM and in widescreen. Better copy than the cheap DVD I bought (pan and scan!) The cast does it for me.

[@deckofcards87]

+Alan Bond You say that like you're embarrassed to like it, it's a great movie

[@AlanBondFilms]

+Edeniobennettsque Sorry, I never said anything like your claim. Don't know where you got that from. As I said a most enjoyable flick.

[@deckofcards87]

Alan Bond "Must admit" made it sound like a guilty confession, but okay, all's good. Haha

[@chrispage2761]

who knew count dooku and grand moff tarkin were old friends.

[@Jimvanhise]

I saw this at a drive-in in 1974 and it was obviously a dupe print. I thought maybe someone had stolen the original print and replaced it with the substandard print shown, but Joe Dante reveals the truth. The thing is it costs just as much to make a print from the original negative as it does to dupe it, so I don't know what the point of doing that was.

[@dacreamofthecrop]

I had no business watching this when I was 5 yo

[@dancingadolphs9815]

My 88 year old father is a creature of super-human evil.

[@sdovas]

When does the movie come out?