Night Train Murders (1975)
Studio: Blue Underground
Theatrical Release: April 8, 1975 (Italy)
Blu Ray Release: January 31, 2012
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
Blue Underground's most recent blu ray release is the 1975 Italian crime thriller Night Train Murders, an almost blatant rip off of 1972's notorious Last House on the Left. While the film dragged at times and my mind kept wondering away from what was going on in the film, what really held the film together is director Aldo Lado's excellent direction. In the hands of a lesser director, Night Train Murders could have been a complete failure.
It's Christmas Eve and two young college age girls are going home for Christmas. As they travel by train throughEurope, they encounter two young juvenile delinquents who sneak on the train and take refuge in the girl's bathroom while the conductor takes their tickets. One of the men meets a beautiful woman who seems to be off her rocker as well. While he tries to rape this woman, she quickly accepts the man and is suddenly just as mean and dangerous as these two men, if not more. After a bomb scare on the train, the girls hop onto another train but the young men and woman follow them and soon force them into watching the men get the woman off and then soon, forcing them to do it to them. When one of the young punks pulls out a knife, things go a little too far and the girls are quickly attacked. Meanwhile, one of the girls parents await for their arrival. Her father is a doctor who seems to be working long hours and is having marital problems with his wife. This strange subplot goes nowhere and is soon abandoned for whatever the reason. When the father gets wind on what happened to his daughter and friend, its revenge time.
While I enjoyed the claustrophobic feel of the attacks on the train and Lado's entertaining direction (I liked his slow zooms and different angles on one of the sex scenes), once the film changes paces and takes place off the train, I soon got bored. It quickly became a Last House on the Left rip off with the father exacting revenge. Both father's are doctors, both villains are castrated, both villains take refuge at the parents house unbeknownst to them. The opening and closing song is a feel-good folk song much like the one performed in Last House on the Left by the late David Hess. Even the trailers for the film use the same advertising campaign of "It's Only a Movie". Lado explains on a featurette that the producer of the movie had seen Last House and wanted to make a film like it. Lado claims to have never seen it which I find hard to believe. The movie was even called New House on the Left when it was released in the States with a hilarious radio campaign that has nothing to do with the film whatsoever.
If you take a look at the American trailer for Night Train Murders, you'll notice the picture is dark and murky. Then when you take a look at how well Blue Underground cleaned up the picture, you'll be simply amazed. Once again, another home run from Blue Underground. They continue to release hard to find horror classics completely uncut and never looking or sounding better. Colors are bright, the picture is crystal clear, these are the very reasons why God gave us blu rays. While I have enjoyed other films released by Blue Underground more than Night Train Murders (check out my review for Deep Red or Zombie) this blu ray is still recommended.
Theatrical Release: April 8, 1975 (Italy)
Blu Ray Release: January 31, 2012
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
Blue Underground's most recent blu ray release is the 1975 Italian crime thriller Night Train Murders, an almost blatant rip off of 1972's notorious Last House on the Left. While the film dragged at times and my mind kept wondering away from what was going on in the film, what really held the film together is director Aldo Lado's excellent direction. In the hands of a lesser director, Night Train Murders could have been a complete failure.
It's Christmas Eve and two young college age girls are going home for Christmas. As they travel by train throughEurope, they encounter two young juvenile delinquents who sneak on the train and take refuge in the girl's bathroom while the conductor takes their tickets. One of the men meets a beautiful woman who seems to be off her rocker as well. While he tries to rape this woman, she quickly accepts the man and is suddenly just as mean and dangerous as these two men, if not more. After a bomb scare on the train, the girls hop onto another train but the young men and woman follow them and soon force them into watching the men get the woman off and then soon, forcing them to do it to them. When one of the young punks pulls out a knife, things go a little too far and the girls are quickly attacked. Meanwhile, one of the girls parents await for their arrival. Her father is a doctor who seems to be working long hours and is having marital problems with his wife. This strange subplot goes nowhere and is soon abandoned for whatever the reason. When the father gets wind on what happened to his daughter and friend, its revenge time.
While I enjoyed the claustrophobic feel of the attacks on the train and Lado's entertaining direction (I liked his slow zooms and different angles on one of the sex scenes), once the film changes paces and takes place off the train, I soon got bored. It quickly became a Last House on the Left rip off with the father exacting revenge. Both father's are doctors, both villains are castrated, both villains take refuge at the parents house unbeknownst to them. The opening and closing song is a feel-good folk song much like the one performed in Last House on the Left by the late David Hess. Even the trailers for the film use the same advertising campaign of "It's Only a Movie". Lado explains on a featurette that the producer of the movie had seen Last House and wanted to make a film like it. Lado claims to have never seen it which I find hard to believe. The movie was even called New House on the Left when it was released in the States with a hilarious radio campaign that has nothing to do with the film whatsoever.
If you take a look at the American trailer for Night Train Murders, you'll notice the picture is dark and murky. Then when you take a look at how well Blue Underground cleaned up the picture, you'll be simply amazed. Once again, another home run from Blue Underground. They continue to release hard to find horror classics completely uncut and never looking or sounding better. Colors are bright, the picture is crystal clear, these are the very reasons why God gave us blu rays. While I have enjoyed other films released by Blue Underground more than Night Train Murders (check out my review for Deep Red or Zombie) this blu ray is still recommended.
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