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Des chose a film that was pretty much constantly playing on WWOR here in New York, a film you’d think would be right up my alley--yet I’ve never seen it. The subject for today is the Spanish science fiction horror film starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas (as a cossack...a kick-ass muthafuckin' cossack), Horror Express.
Now the only thing I could remember about this film was that there was an alien, a bunch of zombies with solid white eyes, and cossacks. All of these things are contained within its lean, mean eighty-seven minutes...but so are spies, a grotesque ape-monster, a needle piercing an eye (something that always icks me out fiercely), and more joy than I think should be allowed in one low budget movie.
Much like The Blood Drinkers (yes, I will be bringing this misbegotten flick up a lot; I suspect it is this year's Zombie Hunter), Horror Express seems to have been made with an eye towards people mistaking it for a Hammer Production--but director Eugenio Martin knows what he's doing, and this has the same feel as Hammer pictures of its time while also being somewhat unique thanks to its novel backdrop and a canny little script that makes it seem like an ancestor of the Quatermass films.
Sir Alexander Saxton (Lee) is transporting his latest paleontological find on the Trans-Siberian Express, an anthropoid fossil that could prove the theory of evolution. However, his peer Dr. Wells (Cushing) can't resist bribing a worker to take a look at the thing--and the thing isn't so fossilized. It turns out that there is a sort of alien psychic entity on the loose on the train, and it wants to find a way home...and thinks that a special alloy devised by the Count Petrovski (George Riguard), who is traveling with his gorgeous wife (Silvia Tortosa) and spiritual advisor (Alberto de Mendoza) in tow, may be the key. And nothing--not spies, not an increasing number of bodies, not even a tribe of cossacks headed by Captain Kazam (Savalas, who takes the scenery in both hands, takes a bite, and defiantly chews)--will stop it.
I had so much fun watching this. It moves like the train it’s set on, is full of great actors (in addition to the actors I’ve cited, I adored Alice Reinhart as Wells’ sidekick Miss Jones), and the script sets up the rules and sticks with them. I never had to stop and wonder how the creature acts the way it does. The characters who end up as the host for the thing make for charismatic bad guys, especially de Mendoza who starts out decrying it as the devil--then ends up worshipping it. With the possible exception of our spy, there’s a reason for everyone to be involved in the proceeding...and I loved seeing Lee and Cushing acting together as the heroes in a pulpy adventure so the camera can take full advantage of their natural chemistry for a change. There are even moments of levity that don’t intrude on the creepiness of the overall piece (but then, any time we can get Peter Cushing proclaim with indignation, “Monsters? We’re British!” is pure gold...)You know how much I love this film? I want to remake it. Hell, I’ve already thought out the ideal cast....
I am almost ashamed that it took me until today to watch this. It’s a delightful little gem and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Watch, enjoy and revel in its pleasures.
Tomorrow, our sponsor is Buffalo’s Maven of Movie Madness, writer/director/film festival organizer Greg Lamberson! Greg has chosen for me a classic featuring one of my favorite figures in pop culture, a film from a period where TV movies were actually hella scary, The Night Stalker!
If you want to join Greg, Felissa Rose, Brian Trenchard-Smith and other great Horror Luminaries in geting me to watch a movie of your own choice during the Halloween Horrorfest, please consider joining the Domicile of Dread Patreon at the $3 Tier or greater. Each new patron gets a free slot in this Gauntlet of Ghoulishness! There are still nine open slots, so act fast!
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