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Terror Train

Play trailer Poster for Terror Train R Released Oct 3, 1980 1h 37m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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47% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
During a hazing, a fraternity of pre-med students has a particularly sinister prank in store for one their more timid pledges (Derek MacKinnon). With the help of a coed, Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis), they pull off the prank so well that the pledge needs to be institutionalized as a result. After several years pass and people forget the incident, those involved with the prank are ready to celebrate their graduation by having a costume party on a train, but they haven't escaped their past yet.

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Terror Train

Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness A run-of-the-mill slasher film whose central gimmick is setting its action on a train. Rated: C Apr 14, 2011 Full Review Time Out Better than most of its kind. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The classic horror films of the 1930s appealed to the intelligence of its audiences, to their sense of humor and irony. Movies like Terror Train... just don't care. They're a series of sensations, strung together on a plot. Rated: 1/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …back in 1981, it must have seemed like the slasher movie fad would never end, but Terror Train now appears to be one of the best of a rather tatty bunch. Cast, technical aspects and conception are all first rate… Rated: 3/5 Oct 4, 2024 Full Review Mark H. Harris Black Horror Movies While Terror Train has a good reputation among horror fans, until the hectic climactic battle between “final girl” and killer, it’s mostly run-of-the-mill slasher fare that distinguishes itself by... having Jamie Lee Curtis as the final girl. Rated: 3/5 Nov 18, 2022 Full Review John Brosnan Starburst Terror Train is okay as these things go... It has touches of ingenuity, and provides a few memorable shocks along the way. Jul 26, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member If you would of told me before I watched this that director Roger Spottiswoode who would down the road would direct Sly Stallone in Stop or My Mom Will Shoot I would of said omg this would be a banger of a horror movie. College prank gone wrong and now your on the Polar Express from hell. WTF magician David Copperfield in a horror movie playing a magician lol. Well it was good to see the scream queen legend Jamie Lee Curtis screaming like she did in The Fog and Halloween. This train went no where and shouldn't of left the station. 4/10 it was BAD and boring . Not one of the 80s horror movies I appreciate Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/09/24 Full Review Jordan W You know what? Terror Train ain’t terrible. It ain’t terrific. But it definitely ain’t terrible. It unfortunately has that overall look of a late 70s slasher that has never been remastered because nobody involved with the production wants to remember it even exists, but in spite of that– it’s a pretty okay movie. Jamie Lee Curtis was still putting in her A-lister effort here even though this film would further contribute to her being typecast in horror films. There’s quite a bit to like about this film, almost all the cast does a solid job with the material, the melodrama feels at least somewhat realistic and the execution of the overall mystery and plot are pretty well done. What isn’t well done, however, are the incredibly sloppy and hilarious tame death sequences alongside some hilariously bad cinematography in parts. As well as the hilarious silly and not at all immersive musical score. But overall, there's some good unsettling chase sequences at the finale that work pretty well, I’d say. Not a bad movie at all. Just passable, especially considering what this decade for horror films would devolve into. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/23/24 Full Review Lucas t Not very good, the kills are good, but the movies plot is thin and the acting is, well, 80s Slasher acting. 4.8/10. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/31/24 Full Review Jens B 1980 must have been a wild year for Jamie Lee Curtis, think of THE FOG and PROM NIGHT and now this Canadian train slasher. She definitely deserves her title as Scream Queen when she's running away from the killer in the finale. Before that, we get David Copperfield(!) and that coked up guy from DIE HARD, Kubrick's DP, and have I mentioned that this was directed by aRoger Spottiswoode who would later go on to direct a Brosnan BOND. The opening of TERROR TRAIN reminded me of PROM NIGHT and SLAUGHTER HIGH: a nerd character gets pranked, goes insane, and goes on to kill his foes a couple of years later. Nothing special in the story department. I liked the costume changes of the killer, especially that he performs in drag and no one notices, the train/snow setting is great, the characters aren't stupid (just drunk), and the whole vibe is just really entertaining. The film does drag in the middle but picks up the pace going into the finale. The kills aren't great, very pre-FRIDAY THE 13TH, in that they don't show much violence at all. There isn't any sex either, although JLC is rocking her pre-AIDS open relationship. TERROR TRAIN is an entertaining time capsule of a very specific point in horror film history that is way better than PROM NIGHT. (But not as awesome as PROM NIGHT 2) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/21/24 Full Review Jeepers C This is a simple slasher that takes part on a train. I liked the setting of being on a train and the claustrophobic qualities it brought upon the person viewing. A group of college grads go on a train trip, which turns deadly. They played a trick on a former frat pledge and he seeks revenge on this train trip, thus turning it into the terror trip from hell. He goes on a killing spree and won't stop until they all pay with their lives. Jamie Lee Curtis is the big name draw of the movie. It's worth a watch, if you're feeling nostalgic for a old school slasher. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/11/24 Full Review Hero O Terror Train. A 1980 American-Canadian slasher film which became a favourite of mine shortly after I finished watching the film. Spottiswoode's direction really appealed to me, as this film was his directorial debut. The score impressed me as well, and the performances of Ben Johnson, Derek MacKinnon and Jamie Lee Curtis. I think this is a VERY Impressive film, and I'm happy that it became a cult classic, since the film deserves it! I'll give this film 5 out of 5 stars and an "A+" grade! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Terror Train

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis During a hazing, a fraternity of pre-med students has a particularly sinister prank in store for one their more timid pledges (Derek MacKinnon). With the help of a coed, Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis), they pull off the prank so well that the pledge needs to be institutionalized as a result. After several years pass and people forget the incident, those involved with the prank are ready to celebrate their graduation by having a costume party on a train, but they haven't escaped their past yet.
Director
Roger Spottiswoode
Producer
Harold Greenberg
Screenwriter
T.Y. Drake
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Astral Bellevue Pathé
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 3, 1980, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 17, 2016
Runtime
1h 37m
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