Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

Night Train Murders was a brilliant, disturbing and politically charged exploitation film that was released from Italy during the 70's. While the film was basically a Last House On The Left rippoff, it still had the ability to shock and be different than many of the exploitation films from that period. It was directed by Aldo Lado who also made the giallo flicks Who Saw Her Die and Short Night Of The Glass Dolls so he was obviously a skilled director who used alot of flair and style, his camera work was stunning and the use of scenery was gorgeous, the lighting in the compartment with its heavy shades of blue was also amazing. The way these scenes are lit adds to the film's claustrophobic and uneasy feel and his direction was tight. The music was also great and it was done by Ennio Morricone, he makes effective use of a harmonica to announce the arrival of the two criminals/psychos.

Night Train Murders was definitely a high class Euro-trash film with first rate acting and good production values unlike Last House, don't get me wrong though I loved both films although the dubbing job could have been better. Ripping off Wes Craven's exploitation classic The Last House on The Left, Lado's film starts with best friends Margaret played by Irene Miracle (Inferno) and Lisa (Laura D'Angelo) preparing to travel overnight in a train to spend the Christmas holidays with Lisa's parents in Rome. Unfortunately a couple of punks Blackie (Flavio Bucci) and junkie Curly (Gianfranco De Grassi), hitch a free ride on the same train when they board it to escape a policeman who was chasing after them. Once on the train the punks amuse Margaret and Lisa when they ask them to help them hide from the ticket collector, but things soon turn sour when Blackie gets acquainted with a mysterious lady (Macha Meril) while trying to rape her and Curly has a violent confrontation with the ticket collector.

Margret and Lisa get back at their compartment resolving to keep out of harms way for the remainder of their journey. They even change trains when theirs is held up at a station by the police who are keen to arrest Blackie and the others and for a while they seem at ease in their new train having conversations about their next college term and their sex lives (or lack of), but it's at this point that they're joined by Blackie, Curly and their seriously twisted new female accomplice and soon things turn ugly. Macha Meril delivers a chilling performance as the pervert who encourages the street thugs to violate the girls. Meril (who played the doomed psychic in Argento's Deep Red) has an exotic beauty and her devolution from respectable intellectual to a sadistically cruel woman is quite convincing. Earlier in the film you'll notice the character trying to hide some pornographic pictures that fell from her purse from the other passengers and this reveals her dark and sadistic side which she attempts to conceal. The rest of the cast were great too especially the two girls who end up in this sad and horrific situation.

In the 15 minute interview extra on Blue Underground's DVD release, Director Aldo Lado mentions Night Train Murders as equal parts thriller and social commentary and he claims to have never seen Last House On The Left but liked the basic story outline prepared by his producer Roberto Infascelli who had been very impressed by Craven's film. He also says that he wanted to make a statement about society's class conflicts and the way the rich use young proles to commit crimes that satisfy their own secrets and forbidden desires. The Rape and violence was quite disturbing but not as graphic as I Spit On Your Grave or Last House but it still managed to be a very grim and unsettling film and there was a knife scene that's guaranteed to make you cringe, it was quite sick!. Night Train Murders is a fantastic film overall, the likes of which just don't get made anymore and it's a worthy addition to any hardcore horror fan's collection especially those who like these type of well made Italian exploitation/horror films, check it out.

I purchased this film thinking it would be much like last house on the left except on a train, and it was. The biggest dissapointment about it though is that its not as gory and the few killings there are in the film just arent brutal. It is well filmed though and very watchable.