DOOMSDAY

Some of the science fiction/horror films that fall into the public domain turn out to be classics. They are films that stand long after decades have passed due to both their wide availability, their cheap price tag, and the fact that they are commonly appreciated and classified as exceptional movies. Eugenio Martino’s Horror Express (aka Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express, 1971) is a fine example of a film that has enjoyed many late-night television airings and home video perseverance despite its status as a “budget” title.

It is the early 1900s. Sir Alexander Saxton (played by Christopher Lee) returns from the freezing temperatures of his archaeological expedition in Northern China with the frozen remains of a missing link. He boards the Trans-Siberian express train with his discovery in a crate. Also on the train are Dr. Wells (a curious and slightly corrupt scientist portrayed by Peter Cushing), Wells’ assistant, Polish aristocrats (a Count and Countess), their crazed religious consort (a monk), an engineer, an International spy, a Russian police detective (Mirov), his subordinates, and dozens of other passengers.

The creature thaws out and kills several passengers. It is discovered that the beast is nothing more than a vessel for an alien intelligence that is able to transfer from body to body through eye contact. It can also murder at-will through the same method. With each individual it kills, it retains the intelligence contained in the victim’s brain. When it is discovered that the creature is roaming free, the police detective orders a search of the train in order to destroy the beast. The beast kills the spy in the middle of her pursuit of a sample of steel, owned by the Count. During this incident, the inspector Mirov shoots the creature. Before dying, the alien intelligence jumps from the creature to Mirov. With this newly-found credibility, the alien decides to use its power to protect its identity. The creature kills anyone who is a threat to its safety.

Because of the killings, Saxton has a telegraph sent to the next station, manned by Russian Cossacks. The Mirov-creature kills the conductor, but it is too late. The soldiers board the train (lead by Captain Kazan, portrayed by Telly Savalas). A violent inquiry is held, where the inspector is shot and stabbed. He is aided by the mad monk who is convinced that Mirov is possessed by Satan rather than controlled by an alien force. The monk, dissatisfied with his position in life, requests that “Satan” possesses him as he leaves Mirov’s dying body.

The monk, now controlled by the alien, kills all of the soldiers on the train. He has killed everyone he needs to acquire the knowledge to potentially build a spacecraft in order to leave planet Earth (it is revealed that he was accidentally left behind on an expedition). The creature takes control of the train after sending his newly-resurrected zombie-like victims after Saxton and company. At the same time, the authorities order that the train be diverted off of a cliff. Saxton and Wells race against both the charging train’s destruction and the alien’s zombie pursuit…..

Horror Express is widely available on VHS and DVD. Perhaps the finest-looking versions are the Image Entertainment disc (which is re-mastered from a beaten, yet colorful, film print and presented 1.66:1) and the out-of-print Simitar disc (likely to be taken from a broadcast master rather than VHS, like other budget DVDs). Whichever version purchased, Horror Express is a film that is sure to delight fans of classic horror.

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