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Horror Express -
An apparently invincible monster who can change form is let loose in a confined space located in a freezing environment. Is this The Thing? Whether it really is an adaptation of Who Goes There? or not, the important thing is it offers a fun and frightening time. That confined space is the Trans-Siberian Express, which is barreling through Russia transporting everyone from professors played by horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee - Lee's being guilty of bringing the villain aboard - a scientist, Polish royalty and a doomsaying monk, each of whom are fair game.
The best horror villains tend to be the best designed ones; in other words, it's clear what they can and can't do. This one is averse to light, can only kill in the dark and can steal the knowledge and form of its victims, which are rules the movie does a good job of setting down. As always, having Lee and Cushing along for the ride makes everything better - I especially like how fey and smug Cushing's professor is - but the MVP is de Mendoza's Rasputin-adjacent scenery-chewing monk. He and the professors' debates as to whether or not the monster is a spawn of Satan also make for quality character building. Also, if gore and nightmare fuel are what you crave from horror, you're bound to love what the monster does to its victims.
Is this movie on par with the two Things? Not quite. It's rough around the edges and not always in a good way, especially in terms of editing. Each cutaway to the exterior of the train to denote the passage of time is jarring, for instance. I also wish the train seemed more claustrophobic. For the ways it proves that the scariest monsters are not only well conceived, but also unstoppable, and that a train is an underappreciated setting for movies like this one, redundant is not a word I would use to describe the experience of watching this. Oh, and speaking of scenery chewing, there's a cameo from a welcome sight in the third act.
An apparently invincible monster who can change form is let loose in a confined space located in a freezing environment. Is this The Thing? Whether it really is an adaptation of Who Goes There? or not, the important thing is it offers a fun and frightening time. That confined space is the Trans-Siberian Express, which is barreling through Russia transporting everyone from professors played by horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee - Lee's being guilty of bringing the villain aboard - a scientist, Polish royalty and a doomsaying monk, each of whom are fair game.
The best horror villains tend to be the best designed ones; in other words, it's clear what they can and can't do. This one is averse to light, can only kill in the dark and can steal the knowledge and form of its victims, which are rules the movie does a good job of setting down. As always, having Lee and Cushing along for the ride makes everything better - I especially like how fey and smug Cushing's professor is - but the MVP is de Mendoza's Rasputin-adjacent scenery-chewing monk. He and the professors' debates as to whether or not the monster is a spawn of Satan also make for quality character building. Also, if gore and nightmare fuel are what you crave from horror, you're bound to love what the monster does to its victims.
Is this movie on par with the two Things? Not quite. It's rough around the edges and not always in a good way, especially in terms of editing. Each cutaway to the exterior of the train to denote the passage of time is jarring, for instance. I also wish the train seemed more claustrophobic. For the ways it proves that the scariest monsters are not only well conceived, but also unstoppable, and that a train is an underappreciated setting for movies like this one, redundant is not a word I would use to describe the experience of watching this. Oh, and speaking of scenery chewing, there's a cameo from a welcome sight in the third act.
