The Film

Being a fan of the horror genre, it’s very rare to have a horror film pass me by—whether it’s a glossy mainstream theatrical horror film or a shameless straight to DVD Dominique Swain slasher flick with a glossy cover. Imagine my surprise when I saw three recognizable actors (one of which is holding a bloody meat cleaver) gracing the cover of a straight to DVD independent film I had never heard of. Upon seeing the cover, I was instantly intrigued and felt the need to add this to my must-see list. So was Night Train worth the ride or was it yet another sad entry in my overflowing mental rolodex of low-grade horror fare?  All aboard to those who care!

In this Agatha Christie-inspired thriller, Danny Glover stars as a seasoned train conductor, who just like his famed Murtaugh role— is getting too old for this sh*t. When he lets a silent and mysterious man onboard, (who is only carrying a Christmas gift as luggage) his night as well as a pre-med student’s (Sobieski) and an inebriated salesman’s (Zahn) night soon takes a turn for the worse upon discovering the mysterious man’s dead body.   It is then when all three discover the contents of the Christmas gift in the dead man’s hands that contains a concealed box with treasure inside it. 

When the greed takes over common sense, they all come up with the “brilliant” plan of getting rid of the body and keeping the treasure to themselves. Unbeknownst to them, the mythical box has other plans stored for them and proves that even the best-laid plans will almost always go awry. Overly choreographed confrontations, poor CGI and laughable chase scenes ensue.

Those expecting Terror Train will be sorely disappointed, as this film is far more about the journey of deceit, lies and greed rather than the carnage that comes from it. The film strives to be on par with Sam Raimi’s under-rated crime thriller A Simple Plan with the budget of Maurice Devereaux’s End of the Line. Unfortunately, the lack of funds hindered the timeless film noir feel and tone this film was going for with its unconvincing set designs and its overblown CGI effects. (The latter of which wouldn’t have been so abundant if the director didn’t feel the need to show more exterior shots of the train than Under Siege 2.)

Being no strangers of the transportation horror sub-genre, (Glover in Switchback and Sobieski and Zahn in Joy Ride) one would think they would have no trouble with their roles. However, from Glover’s unintentionally funny wide-eyed chase sequences to Sobieski and Zahn’s misplaced and forced “necking” scene, it is clearly evident they are given far too much freedom and lack the direction they need to stick to their core strengths. Although given the fact that all three are known and respected actors in a first time director’s independent film, this was only to be expected.  I will however commend Sobieski on her much-improved psychotic acting skills though. (Anybody who has seen 88 Minutes knows what I’m talking about.)

One thing the film was able to get right was its element of mystery and not once does it ever fall into the lazy conventions of a well-thought out police procedural. The film keeps the characters and its viewers in a state of tension and ambiguity and never explains the box’s existence—leaving it to remain an enigma, which is uncommon to see in a world that mostly yearns for quick and easy answers.  (Although if the budget was bigger, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a Cenobite jump out of the box.)

Like most straight to Dvd thrillers, its cover is misleading. Nevertheless, the film is not a total bore and does deal well with its heavy-hitting theme of human corruption. If only the film focused more of its energy on its characters than having them race to hack up body parts with meat cleavers and ignore obvious plot twists. (Hint: Watch for Adam’s apples!) Night Train may not fully achieve the emotional resonance it was striving for; (due to lack of budget, consistency and direction) it certainly is not a bad way to waste a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

The Blu-ray

Special Features:

The DVD also features choppy and poorly edited behind the scene footage about making the train sets meshed with cast and crew lying through their teeth about how much they enjoyed making the film. If watching fifty minutes of this intrigues you, be my guest.

The film also features the trailer and photo gallery. 

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-Ray: Rating:

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