Terror Train (1980)

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, Ben Johnson, Timothy Webber, Candee Carrie, David Copperfield, Joy Boushel, Vanity, Greg Swanson, Derek MacKinnon, Steve Michaels, Charles Biddle Sr. [R]

A New Year’s Eve costume party aboard a train gets terrorized by a killer targeting the individuals responsible for a prank-gone-wrong a few years earlier. Not a half-bad slasher—but not a half-good one either—with a formulaic premise, a few suspenseful moments in the last half hour, and the novelty value of seeing magician David Copperfield “act” in a significant supporting role…as a magician (and possible suspect for the killings!). Pretty good photography for its type, and far less blood-and-guts, which may frustrate mad slasher flick fans since the murders are tepid and immemorable save for the fact that the killer tends to switch costumes with the most recent victim. The filmmakers don’t exactly try hard to conceal its late-game twist, and did they think that introducing the elements of magic, illusion, and costumes would let them get away with the entirely illogical way that the killer is able to move up and down the length of the train freely without ever being noticed/missed? Spottiswoode’s directorial debut. Vanity went credited as D. D. Winters.

44/100