‘A non-stop ride to Hell!!’
Horror Express is a 1972 British-Spanish sci-fi horror film directed by Eugenio Martin (Supernatural; A Candle for the Devil; The Fourth Victim), produced by Bernard Gordon and written by Arnaud d’Usseau and Julian Zimet (Psychomania). Like both versions of The Thing, the plot is based on John W. Campbell, Jr.’s 1938 novella Who Goes There? The Spanish title is Pánico en el Transiberiano“Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express”
The Scotia International production stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas (Lisa and the Devil), Alberto de Mendoza and Silvia Tortosa (The Loreley’s Grasp).
In order to cash in on the early ’80s horror movie boom, the film was re-released in the US by New Century Pictures as The Possessor.
Plot:
In 1906, Professor Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), an English anthropologist, is returning to Europe by the Trans-Siberian Express from Manchuria to Moscow. With him is a crate containing the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature that he discovered in a cave in Manchuria. He hopes it is a missing link in human evolution. Doctor Wells (Peter Cushing), Saxton’s rival and Royal Society colleague, is also on board but travelling separately.
A long-haired and bearded monk (Alberto de Mendoza), the spiritual advisor to a Polish Count and Countess who are also waiting to board the train proclaims the contents of the crate to be evil. Saxton furiously dismisses this as superstition.
Saxton’s eagerness to keep his scientific find secret arouses the suspicion of Doctor Wells, who bribes a porter (Victor Israel) to investigate the crate. The porter is killed by the ape-like creature within, which then escapes the crate by picking the lock…
Book reviews:
” … gets away with its unlikely story with the fast speed of the action and nicely humorous passages such as Lee and Cushing, accused of being callous monsters, protesting “But we are English!”.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
“Curious horror piece with a few interesting touches along the way.” Howard Maxford, The A – Z of Horror Films, Batsford, 1996
“The creature has the ability to erase men’s minds by turning them into blank eyed zombies. It’s great fun, with Lee and Cushing playing the material for all its worth.” Jamie Russell, Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema, 2014, (2ndEdition)
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“It’s a tense and fast-paced B-movie that refuses to let up. It doesn’t ask to be taken seriously and doesn’t need to be. The monster appears almost immediately rather than after the traditional 60-minute wait. The druggish on-again off-again soundtrack heightens the fear, and note how the themes in the soundtrack return when whistled or performed by some of the characters. Basically it’s one wonderfully weird scene after the next.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers, Lulu, 2012
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“The art direction (Ramiro Gomez Guardiana) and cinematography (Alejandro Ulloa) are exemplary, and the films moves at a tremendous lick […] There are autopsies galore, plenty of gory deaths, a very generous ration of droll humour, a late appearance from Telly Savalas, lots of reactivated zombie Cossacks and a thrilling climax which is a ‘cliffhanger’ in the most literal sense.” Jonathan Rigby, English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema, Reynolds & Hearn, 2004
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” …Spanish director Eugenio Martin keeps it going at a rapid pace, so the holes in the plot and some dodgy dubbing are not too noticeable. The odd scary moment, and a lot of fun…” Andy Boot, Fragments of Fear: An Essential History of British Horror Films, Creation Books, 1996
“Horror Express is like The Thing (1951) meets Murder on the Orient Express meets The Hidden (1987). And, surprisingly, it’s a pretty good yarn too. […] Impressively, Horror Express is rather ambitious in its thinking, even beyond the details of the creature. The movie keeps throwing in inspired twists, most of them unexpected.” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1970s, McFarland, 2002
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” …classy fun with a slight satiric edge.” Mike Mayo, The Horror Show, Visible Ink Press, 2013
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“The performances alone make the film worth the price of a ticket but one should not overlook the atmospheric photography of Alejandro Ulloa or José Maria Ramos’ opulent production design, which expertly disguises the poverty of the sets. In fact, the budget could only stretch to two train carriages mounted on springs, with Ramos rapidly redressing whichever of the sets was not in use.” John Hamilton, X-Cert: The British Independent Horror Film: 1971 – 1983, Hemlock Books, 2014
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“Director ‘Gene Martin’ keeps the action moving along at a frantic pace and the music by John Cacavas (who later scored The Satanic Rites of Dracula for Hammer) is very catchy indeed, the highlight behind a melody that even the creature himself is heard whistling! The original title Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express, was a bit of a mouthful but I personally think it was a better moniker for this eerie, claustrophobic and at times downright scary little picture…” Tim Greaves, Ten Years of Terror, FAB Press, 2001
“An inferior reworking of The Thing from Another World, which still manages to keep interest alive despite some poor special effects, a flat jokiness and stereotype characters.” Chris Petit, The Time Out Film Guide
“The claustrophobic feeling of being trapped aboard a moving train with a deadly monster is used effectively. The miniature train effects are generally quite good…” Gary A. Smith, Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956 – 1976, McFarland, 2000
Full film – free to watch online:
On February 12, 2019, Horror Express was released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video. Special features:
Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original Uncompressed mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Introduction to the film by film journalist and Horror Express super-fan Chris Alexander
Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express – an interview with director Eugenio Martin
Notes from the Blacklist – Horror Express producer Bernard Gordon on working in Hollywood during the McCarthy Era
Telly and Me – an interview with composer John Cacavas
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
Fully illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing by Adam Scovell
Commenting on the new release and the previous Severin Films Blu-ray, John Llewellyn Probert of House of Mortal Cinema noted:
“Where the Arrow disc wins is in the new extras, and best of these is an outstanding commentary track from Kim Newman and Stephen Jones which is engaging, enthusiastic, and packed with interesting pieces of information and genre commentary. It’s truly excellent stuff and worth getting the new disc for.”
Choice dialogue:
“There’s a stink of Hell on this train.”
Cast and characters:
Christopher Lee … Professor Sir Alexander Saxton
Peter Cushing … Doctor Wells
Alberto de Mendoza … Father Pujardov
Telly Savalas … Captain Kazan
Julio Peña … Inspector Mirov
Silvia Tortosa … Countess Irina Petrovski
Ángel del Pozo … Yevtushenko
Helga Liné … Natasha
Alice Reinheart … Miss Jones
José Jaspe … Conductor Konev
George Rigaud … Count Marion Petrovski
Víctor Israel … Maletero – the Baggage Man
Faith Swift … American Passenger
Juan Olaguibel … the Creature
Barta Barri … First Telegraphist
