What makes it different from others?

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

College students are stalked by a killer during a costume party aboard a train in this iconic 80s horror movie. The setting is a tad far-fetched, but it leads to some great thrills and chills as nobody is able to leave the nonstop locomotive and as the killer keeps changing masks and costumes with everyone simply assuming that he is the person who they first saw in that outfit. A couple of minor plot holes aside, the biggest thing that weighs against 'Terror Train' is a precredits scene that gives away the killer's identity; as such, the film lacks the mystery element of something like 'Friday the 13th', but it is a surprisingly gripping ride even with the murderer and his motivations very obvious from the get-go. David Copperfield offers a lot of extra sparks as a mysterious hired magician who performs several of his own tricks, the train interior sets are deliciously over-the-top with neon lighting and party decorations, and the whole production is well photographed by the legendary John Alcott (of 'Barry Lyndon' fame). The film additionally offers some food for thoughts in terms of pranks taken too far, with the killer motivated by one such prank and most of the other characters believing that the deaths are merely pranks. The film also gets some points for making Groucho Marx look absolutely terrifying simply by the way the killer wears a mask of his face.

Three years after a prank gone wrong, a costumed killer is targeting some snotty college kids on board a train. I happen to like trains and I enjoy a good '80s slasher film as well. This one isn't half bad. Not great but good. Some will be disappointed as there isn't much gore. The cute girl quota is filled by Jamie Lee Curtis, Sandee Currie, Joy Boushel, and Vanity. Who can forget Hart Bochner and Ben Johnson? Well, quite a few people can but they're good here anyway. Of course the big selling point is David Copperfield playing -- wait for it -- a magician! The plot's fairly thin and the killer is hardly a surprise but it's all good fun with some suspense and a decent cast for the genre. All aboard!

Jamie Lee Curtis electrifies the opening scene of Terror Train with her beaming, toothy smile. She was a beautiful young actress. Sadly, because of her trite label as the "Scream Queen," I believe she never reached her full potential. She was terrific in A Fish Called Wanda, True Lies, and even Halloween, but she could've really been a talent. However, she settled for something that may not be as prestigious, but is just as remembered as an Academy Award: being the face of a genre that always draws fans. She's very good in Terror Train; although it feels like a very similar role to those she portrayed in Halloween and Prom Night, there's something stronger about the character that makes Curtis work standout more.There are some stereotypical college partying scenes and generic characters, but Terror Train is very entertaining. With movies such as this, you can't judge them on a regular film rating scale that you would judge film such as The Godfather, Taxi Driver, or Citizen Kane with. Instead you have to look at what's in front of you. Terror Train isn't a film with ambitious goals to meet, it's meant to purely entertain its audience and it does an acceptable job at that. It's a decent of the genre and for what it sets out to be. The exposition of horror films in the 1980s was dreadful, all falling to the same fate. They barely involve the viewer in the characters or the story, they keep them afar from the action. Terror Train has traces of that in explaining the characters, besides the character of Jamie Lee Curtis and the train conductor. All the other indistinguishable characters are expressed to have no moral values. Other problems Terror Train runs into is the convenient plot devices working in the plot's favor (the train used take has no radio...hmm?). Sometimes the screenplay has the characters do things just to say they did them without, but the plot wasn't advanced by said action. The choreography of the final chase scene was so sloppy; it was probably put together a few minutes before shooting.Setting can sometimes make or break a horror film, and I love the setting in Terror Train! It's ominous, spooky, and gives a distinctive quality to the horror flick. Hitchcock used trains a lot in his films, the setting serves as an homage to the legend in a way. The different color of lights are used to create mood and it's mostly effective. The villain works in Terror Train very well. It's a different take on the antagonist in a horror film, the mask at the beginning was my favorite face of the killer. Terror Train holds the anticipation of the killings, but its a film that rejects the graphic violent scenes. I'm not sure if it adds to retracts the film's overall quality, but it's certainly noticed with each death. Is Terror Train bursting with originality? No. Does it use clichés of the 1980s horror films? Yes. It's not an expertly made film, but I did enjoy the time I spent watching it. It's more entertaining than Prom Night, but lacks Halloween's brilliance and insight. Rating: 5/10Grade: C+

"Terror Train" is somewhat better than most other slashers made around this time. It's obvious that the movie had a budget, for one thing; never once does the movie look cheap. It's also well directed; you can really feel the cold and cramped environment the characters are in, and there is an effective moody feeling throughout. Also, while it is pretty obvious who the killer is - and why he or she is doing all the killing - the movie does inject a twist when the revelation towards the end is revealed.However, the movie is not without problems. Except for Ben Johnson's character, none of the characters in the movie is that sympathetic or appealing. The first hour is rather slow and padded at times, though things do pick up in the last half hour. Gorehounds may be disappointed that there isn't as much bloody mayhem as they may be expecting. In fact, for a long time I thought that the movie might get a PG-13 today, though eventually things pick up in this area.Overall, I wouldn't say that this is a must see for a general audience. Slasher fans, however, will almost certainly find it's a lot better that most other slashers of the period.