‘Terror Train’: Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this 1980s horror classic

The 1980s were a watershed for what would be horror films as we know it, and one of the first films that kicked off a whole wave of cult films was “Train of terror”. Where the so-called queen of screams, Jamie Lee Curtisreturns to delight us with another slasher, after becoming famous with John Carpenter’s “Halloween”.

‘The Terror Train’ is a slasher in the purest style of B series and which will be released in theaters on October 3, 1980, just in time to heat fears for that year’s Halloween season. He tells us the story of a serial killer intruding on a train full of students celebrating the end of the year with a masquerade party.

The film is remembered for its good use of suspense and its good scenes of blood and violence. It is directed by Roger Spottiswoode, and one of the films in which Curtis participated in the horror genre in those years, in addition to ‘Halloween’ or ‘The Fog’. A special mention is the appearance of the best cataloged wizard in the world, David Copperfield.

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‘The Terror Train’ production details

Being a co-production between Canada and the United States, in addition to having Jamie Lee Curtis and David Copperfield in the cast, it also includes interpretations by Ben Johnson, Hart Bochner, Sandee Currie, Timothy Webber, Anthony Sherwood, Howard Busgang and Greg Swanson. With a script by TY Drake and music by John Mills-Cockell.

The concept of the film was based on an idea from producer Daniel Grodnik, who wanted it “Halloween by train”. The film was shot in Montreal between November and December 1979, shortly after Curtis finished filming “Prom Night”. It is an independent production, but was bought for distribution by 20th Century Fox.

A curious fact is that the studio had never released a slasher movie, but after John Carpenter’s Halloween hit and having Jamie Lee Curtis in the cast, it didn’t seem like such a risky decision. 20th Century Fox ran an entire marketing campaign for the film, which cost about $ 5 million and grossed about $ 8 million.

What is ‘Train of Terror’ about?

‘The Terror Train’ tells the story of a group of teenagers who, during the New Year celebrations, play a practical joke on a student, which ends up in a tragic accident. Three years later, they meet again for a big party on a night train. But what starts off fun turns into a nightmare when a serial killer sneaks onto the train.