D.D. Winters probably has enough Vanity to care...so that means we can pick this one:
I didn't get to see this one in the theater - but my lucky cousin and at least one friend from school did - and they regaled me with stories about it so I was champing at the bit to see it. When it finally premiered on Showtime however many months later - you know I was glued to the screen!
The next to last of Jamie Lee Curtis's horror run - with her next picture - Halloween II - bringing her full circle and sending her off in other career directions - this old school slasher has some real positives. Our leading lady is the first - and her co-stars Ben Johnson (The Last Picture Show) and Hart Bochner (Die Hard) add to the positives. The train setting and the masquerade party plot - giving the killer several outfits to wear instead of just one - also all good. The cinematography from the amazing John Alcott raises this movie's profile and quality for sure. These help the flick past the problem points - they go way too low key with the gore and kills, and once you know the movie (and where/how the killer hides out between kills) there are lots of lapses in logic that cannot be easily explained away. At the very least the killer must have downed a couple of pots of coffee to keep the energy up for moving around the train at full speed for most of the movie's running time.
All that said - and that was way more review-y than normal for this department - I do rank this flick among my faves, and was thrilled to receive it as a present on Blu-Ray a few months back. I would enjoy checking it out with you any time - even tonight - if you wanted to come by!
Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
definitely low on gore, but hell, the killer is damn creative with his killings. Really an underrated fave!
ReplyDeleteThat is true - and I do really like the movie!
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