Horror Express

1972

Action / Adventure / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller

24
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 80% · 15 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 53% · 2.5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.5/10 10 13729 13.7K

loose adaptation russia monster based on novel or book loss of loved one monk

Plot summary

Mysterious and unearthly deaths start to occur while Professor Saxton is transporting the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature he found in Manchuria back to Europe.

Director

Eugenio Martín Photo
Eugenio Martín

Top cast

Julio Peña Photo
Julio Peña as Inspector Mirov
Christopher Lee Photo
Christopher Lee as Prof. Sir Alexander Saxton
Peter Cushing Photo
Peter Cushing as Dr. Wells
Telly Savalas Photo
Telly Savalas as Capt. Kazan
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
717.53 MB
1280*766
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
24 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 7
1.37 GB
1792*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
24 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 24

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by coltras35 7 / 10

"Monster? We are British, you know."

When you get two grandmasters of horror, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together in a film, you know you're in for a good ride, and that on the Trans-Siberian Express with a monster on the loose.In 1906, Professor Sir Alexander Saxton( Christopher Lee, a renowned British anthropologist, is returning to Europe by the Trans-Siberian Express from Shanghai to Moscow. With him is a crate containing the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature that he discovered in a cave in Manchuria. Along for the ride is Doctor Wells, who doesn't get along with Saxton, but when the creature escapes from the box, and with the bodies piling up with their eyes turned white they have to act fast to stop it - but already the creature has found a new host ...Not your typical monster on the spree romp, Horror express is sprinkled with some intelligence. The monster is curious about the earth. A brisk direction and elevated tension keeps this film simmering, but it's Cushing and Lee that add high credentials to this chiller. Telly Savalas has a small cameo. Silvia Tortosa and Helga Line provide eye candy.
Reviewed by barnabyrudge 6 / 10

Undeservedly forgotten horror film - one of the better examples of Lee and Cushing working together in the '70s.

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. The two go together like strawberries and cream, like white wine and fish. One is a glove, the other is a hand that fits perfectly inside. The Lee/Cushing partnership made many movies together during the '50s, '60s and '70s, including some of the finest Hammer horror movies. Of their three decades as screen partners, their work from the 1970s is probably their weakest - Nothing But The Night, Dracula AD 1972, and The Satanic Rites Of Dracula are inferior examples of their films together. However, even in he '70s "low period" they still served up the occasional gem. The Creeping Flesh was a nicely done horror flick with a wickedly unexpected twist ending, and this - known in America and Britain as "Horror Express" - is a powerful and inventive bloodcurdler with a sprinkling of science fiction.In Siberia, 1906, anthropologist Alexander Saxton (Lee) finds a frozen creature which he believes to be the Missing Link. He transports the being back to western Europe by trans-Siberian train. Aboard the train are the usual assorted types:- a Polish countess (Silvia Tortosa); her husband (Jorge Rigaud); a mad monk seemingly modelled on Rasputin (Alberto De Mendoza); and a fellow scientist and long-time rival of Saxton's, the charismatic Dr Wells (Cushing). Midway through the journey, as the train passes through a desolate snowscape many miles from civilisation, the creature thaws out and begins killing the passengers. Wells carries out an autopsy on the corpses and realises that they are not up against the Missing Link, but a weird alien organism which inhabits the bodies of its victims and steals their memories. As the finger of suspicion falls upon each character, the scientists try to figure out which passenger is "carrying" the shape-shifting monster, while trying to keep everyone safe and alive.Horror Express has its share of dumb moments (what horror film doesn't?) but in the main it is quite an intelligent and original piece. Some of the supporting actors are quite amateurish, too, giving performances that distract one's attention for the wrong reasons. However, Cushing and Lee are believable as always, and it's their straight-faced conviction which makes the story as spine-tingling as it is. There is also a well-developed subtext in the film condemning religious fanaticism, with Mendoza's character shown to be so unreasonable and misguided that his "Christian" rantings are every bit as disturbing as the teachings of a heretic. The atmosphere is spookily maintained, with lots of eerie scenes (which probably got many a heart fluttering back in 1973, in the pre-Exorcist days of the horror genre). In particular, the climactic sequence in which Cossack soldiers, led by Telly Savalas, board the train only to be zombified by the deadly alien, is a chilling episode. You may need to be a fan of old-school horror flicks to enjoy Horror Express, but if you are it's definitely one worth seeking out.
Reviewed by dr_foreman 7 / 10

All Aboard for Horror Goodness...

I have vivid childhood memories of "Horror Express." When I watched the film as a young 'un, I was vaguely traumatized by its imagery of dead people with white, blank, blood-leaking eyes. Creepy stuff, for a kid.

Now that I'm an adult, with plenty of gory movies under my belt, I've largely gotten over my childhood dread of this odd little film. And yet, "Horror Express" still packs a scary punch for me during its best scenes. The train setting is both romantic and claustrophobic, and the monster is effective in both its human and creature forms.

The script blends science fiction and horror to interesting effect, suggesting that the monster is some kind of "unholy" alien. I've seen a lot of horror/sci-fi hybrid stories on TV (in Kolchak, The X-Files, Doctor Who, etc.), but not too many in the movies - so "Horror Express" is fairly unique in its blending of genres for the silver screen.

This movie is also noteworthy for its first-rate genre cast. Of course, horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are on hand (unusually, Lee has more dialog than Cushing - the reverse is usually true). But the really noteworthy piece of casting is Telly "Kojak" Savalas as a loud, bossy Cossack captain. To be honest, I think his glorified cameo is a little outrageous, and temporarily threatens to derail the film (pun entirely intended, I'm afraid), but ultimately he doesn't distract too much from the other, better-established characters.

Of course this is no masterpiece, but fans of what I call "good little horror films" should enjoy it immensely. It's got good ideas, scares, gore, eye candy, and cool actors - what more do you need, right?

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