Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

This has without a doubt been one of my favorite films my entire life! I clearly remember as a young, 8 y/o sitting with my fangoria mags and the new TV Guide on wednesday when it arrived, scanning Saturday's afternoon lineup for ANYTHING Horror. Sometimes there wasn't much to mark. Some weeks I had a full day of horror if I got lucky. Then there were the days Horror Express would run!! I could forget my books, my homework, my chores, my own head if it wasn't attached, but if HORROR EXPRESS was gonna play, I LIVED it all week. It was pure crack to me. The perfect "Horror Movie". I was already a huge fan of all things Hammer, so this Spanish film seemed just perfect. Lush sets, beautiful, victorian/gothic costume design, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee!!! ( and a guy I always swore was Paul Naschey) as well as a cool creature, creepy as hell musical score, zombies and Telly Savalas as a Siberian police captain, speaking with a modern New York accent. The film builds and builds through creepy, moody setpieces and chillingly scored and filmed kills(the "out of focus weightlessness" effect as the victim & camera fall backwards.) always sucked me in. I still have a Public Domain DVD but would LOVE to finally see this one widescreen. For TRUE fans of CLASSIC horror(see; Amicus, Hammer,). This movie is like comfort food for me. When I can't sleep, when I need to relax, when I want background noise while I'm doing stuff around the house. I use this movie like most would use their favorite cd or album. I don't even have to be watching it for it to entertain and sooth me. A Masterwork! This is one not to be missed!!!

An arrogant, ambitious anthropologist (Lee) encounters a kindly physician (Cushing) while boarding the Trans-Siberian Express in the early 20th century. His cargo consists of an ancient corpse obtained in Manchuria that contains an unimaginable power. Before long, this entity develops a body count and a set of surprisingly lofty goals...

This British/Spanish production has quite a lot to recommend it: an excellent cast, fine cinematography and a cunning story that moves at a satisfying pace, defies expectations and provides no small number of surprises. Even though "Horror Express" isn't schlock-free by any means, it does produce a few creepy scares and has atmosphere to spare. While this is hardly a classic, it's a cut above the average Hammer or Amicus production.

Lee and Cushing are typically excellent in their respective roles. These two screen veterans appeared in quite a few films together, usually as adversaries; Hammer enthusiasts will likely be pleased to see them playing allied characters. Much of the supporting cast consists of Spaniards and Argentines portraying Russians and Poles. While they do nothing to conceal their obvious accents or fake Slavic alternatives, their performances are proficient; De Mendoza is especially good as an unstable monk obviously inspired by Rasputin.

Weirdly, Savalas appears two-thirds into the film as a brutal Cossack. He tries and fails to affect a Russian accent while speaking his first few lines, reverts to his trademark Long Island intonations and spends most of his screen time pushing people around. Though Savalas was even more egregiously miscast here than he was in Martín's prior effort ("Pancho Villa"), his screen presence is so overwhelming and his performance so enjoyably over-the-top that it's hard to care. I almost expected him to start swilling vodka while sucking on a lollipop, and I wouldn't have minded if he did.

For the most part, "Horror Express" is beautifully shot; the ornate interiors and costumes are embellished by vibrant Technicolor stock, and the darker scenes obscure all but the most necessary (re: macabre) elements. In this way, Alejandro Ulloa's photography alternates between florid and minimalist aesthetics in order to exploit the most effective aspects of both. The frigidity of the Siberian tundra is simulated in exterior shots that are often underexposed and color filtered. The effectiveness of this technique varies from one shot to another; this film's Siberia often looks a lot like Spain!