Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Halloween Countdown: Horror Express

At the dawn of the 20th century, an archaeologist working in China unearths what he believes to be the missing link between man and ape perfectly preserved in ice. Eager to bring his discovery home, he books passage on the first train back to Europe, unaware that the still-living creature will turn the rail journey into a Horror Express!

I have fond memories of watching this movie on various UHF outlets while growing up. Setting the action aboard a speeding train is a great gimmick, and lends the proceedings a claustrophobic sense of urgency. Despite the presence of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, Horror Express is actually a Spanish film and not a Hammer production. The filmmakers have made the most of their meager budget, re-using sets and miniatures from the director's previous film, Pancho Villa. "Villa" himself, Telly Savalas(!), turns up near the end as a scenery-chewing Cossack. It's a lot of fun seeing Cushing and Lee as allies for a change, and they appear to be having a great time. You will, too.

The movie should show up in a viewer near the top of this post. You can click on the little diamond symbol to go full screen, or head over to the movie's page at the Internet Archive and download it directly to your hard drive. Enjoy!