Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Powerful

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

With both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee starring, we're already off to a great start. Next we have the creature, which is very compelling conceptually - it would have felt right at home in a classic Star Trek episode. As you can guess by the title, the setting is a train, which serves to heighten the tension. Musically, one could mistake this for a spy-thriller, which the film did borrow elements off. In addition you even get zombie elements thrown in. Horror fans, and even the casual, will find something to like with this one.

I'll get straight to the point - I love this film and think it's one of the best horror films of all time. Many people won't agree and that's fine. But I'm going to use this space to talk about this film and what it is that I think makes it so great.Christopher Lee is at the top of his game as an anthropologist who discovers a frozen monster in Manchuria and travels back to Europe on a trans-Siberian express train with it. It isn't a giveaway to say that the monster was merely in hibernation and wakes up as the ice it's contained in melts. There's a great atmosphere, brimming with suspense and tension. The twists and turns in the story are well-executed and the film will keep you on the edge of your seat as you wonder how all this will end.The always dependable Peter Cushing is equally great as a scientist traveling on the same train. Cushing's wife had recently died and he didn't want to star in this film. But Lee persuaded him to do it, and while this may be selfish of me to say, I'm glad he did. It's one of the few films where they are on the same side in the battle of good versus evil and it's brilliant to watch them together.I could never write a review for this film without mentioning the late Julio Pena, who played Inspector Mirov. He died a few months after filming was complete and before the film's release. But I'm sure his knowledge that he delivered his best performance of his career in his film will help him rest peacefully. He's absolutely fantastic to watch in action and the Mirov character himself is perhaps the most interesting police inspector to feature in a Spanish horror film, as well as being one of the most interesting fictional police inspectors ever.The other actors are great too. Alberto de Mendoza gives the performance of his career as a Rasputin-like mad monk named Pujardov. Silvia Tortosa, Georges Rigaud and many more are all great in their roles and hold our interest in their scenes. Helga Line is given an unusual role as a mysterious character, not what she at first seems. It's a pity she's written out of the film so early on.Eugenio Martín directs the film very differently from the way most Spanish horror films are done. Spanish horror films, like British ones, are often very entertaining (like Paul Naschy's many films for example) but rarely scary and having what I call a "safe edge" to them. By that I mean you feel almost 100 per cent sure that certain characters who you could pick out would make it to the end of the film. The atmosphere, combined with the twists and turns, lead you to suspect none of the characters are safe and that anything could happen. Martín's direction capitalises on the claustrophobia of the train setting to the full. He times the shocks and surprises well. Some people complain about the frequent exterior shots of the train between scenes. But I think they miss the point that Martín is reminding the audience that the characters are trapped in a potentially fatal situation. The icy cold of the Siberian countryside is not exactly a place one could consider an escape either, something Martín clearly wants to emphasise. The other thing being emphasised I believe is that the train journey is very long and that the dangers aboard the train will persist for what seems like an eternity.Overall, HORROR EXPRESS is an unsung horror masterpiece in my opinion. It's simply a magnificent, fun film to watch on a Friday or Saturday night.

When I first searched for "Horror Express" on YouTube, the Cushing/Lee credits made me assume it was a Hammer film. But to my surprise, none of the usual Hammer names appeared in the production credits, and realized that this was actually something different. I decided to give the movie a chance, and was rewarded with a pretty good movie. "Horror Express" is interesting in that the scope and feel of the story and the ideas at play are somewhat more inventive than the typical monster film from the period. What starts out as a "Yeti rampage" turns into something quite different: the thawed out "fossil" that breaks out of its locked coffin is more of a gorgon/basilisk than a killer ape, and its origins turn out to be extra-terrestrial rather than supernatural. And things get even more complicated when the "creature" is revealed to be able to possess minds as well as "draining" them - so it doesn't just kill its victims, it subverts and corrupts their very identities.And if it escapes from the train, it might cause untold damage at loose in the world...which raises the stakes even higher than just "personal survival". Putting the whole story aboard an exotic train traversing the wilds of Siberia was a clever choice that reinforced the claustrophobia and isolation of the setting as well as interesting props and sets. Cushing and Lee are their usual excellent selves - how many actors from that era could discuss "extra galactic intelligence"s with a straight face and make you believe it? And the rest of the cast keeps up. There's not a flat tire in the cast (although I think Savalas' accent. was somewhat jarring and out of place in this setting). IMO, "Horror Express" is one of the finest movies in its genre, and it is well worth hunting down and seeing if you haven't already.

A nice classic horror movie which I was able to catch on BBC recently, some late night. The story combines an age old legend themed horror with some sci-fi elements. The combination struck me as pretty original - especially for its time... and I'm pretty much convinced I saw the prototype of The Terminator (yes, the 1984 one!) here...?!The story is one of many mysterious incidents and deaths and investigations on a moving train, with some scientists, a priest, some Tsarist Russians and miscellaneous victims ready to be mauled by the one who should never have been awakened... The horror elements are relatively convincing, though perhaps a little cheesy at the same time. The acting is pretty good, but with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee ánd Telly Savalas you've got a good bunch. Ángel del Pozo played really well as the priest as well. Silvia Tortosa and Helga Liné were the designated female beauties to be gazed upon with delight. As I did.A good 7 out of 10.