Such a frustrating disappointment

A lot of fun.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Prof. Sir Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee) discovers a frozen man-ape in Manchuria which he takes on a train. It thaws and kills passengers. Peter Cushing plays a doctor and Telly Savalas has been billed higher than his role. The science in the film is a joke, even when the film was made. The microscope scenes were funny, but would pique the interest of preteens. I watched this film on a multi-pack and it was not restored. The newer offerings of this film have been restored.Guide: No swearing, sex or nudity.

Much loved, though I know it is, I've always had something of a problem with this film. Neither do I share many peoples love of Psychomania. Both are from the pen of Arnaud d'Usseau and I feel that it is in the area of the script that I have difficulty. Both, I feel, suffer from a slightly hokey Englishness. There are positives and I had forgotten just how effective the white and red eyes are. Apparently these caused problems in that whilst the actors had the lenses in they could see nothing! Still, they are very good and the effects generally are more gory than I remember (maybe its the wonderful new print). Of course, another factor is that I seem to be alone in finding many of Christopher Lee's performances stiff and monotonous. Here his tendency towards pomposity also seems to be allowed free reign and whilst Cushing works gallantly and realistically, I couldn't say the same for Lee. Alberto de Mendoza is great as a Rasputin style priest - keen to follow his leader, even if the devil himself. Helga Line is as serene as ever and Telly Savalas does a well over the top drunken Cossack. Too many shots of a toy train in the snow but the interiors are rather fine and though there are obvious limitations with a set confined to a train, director Eugenio Martin just about keeps things going.

A British scientist transports an ancient fossil on the trans-Siberia express, but the fossil wants to bury the passengers ...Nice Hammer-style horror with a well paced story and solid performances. The setting is period cosmopolitanism in colonial Asia, with the usual class-based conservatism of the genre but also a nice line in self awareness: "Monsters? But we're British, you know!" The plot device of the train is well executed, and the development of the threat never goes overboard. The only weaknesses are that there's no character development, and the ending is rushed.Performances are standard from these actors, with a brief flare-up of "what you are I wouldn't eat" from Telly Savalas. Music is of its time - a little grating in the opening sequence, but not excessive.Overall: well told story that sits comfortably in the Hammer tradition.

When I first searched for "Horror Express" on YouTube, the Cushing/Lee credits made me assume it was a Hammer film. But to my surprise, none of the usual Hammer names appeared in the production credits, and realized that this was actually something different. I decided to give the movie a chance, and was rewarded with a pretty good movie. "Horror Express" is interesting in that the scope and feel of the story and the ideas at play are somewhat more inventive than the typical monster film from the period. What starts out as a "Yeti rampage" turns into something quite different: the thawed out "fossil" that breaks out of its locked coffin is more of a gorgon/basilisk than a killer ape, and its origins turn out to be extra-terrestrial rather than supernatural. And things get even more complicated when the "creature" is revealed to be able to possess minds as well as "draining" them - so it doesn't just kill its victims, it subverts and corrupts their very identities.And if it escapes from the train, it might cause untold damage at loose in the world...which raises the stakes even higher than just "personal survival". Putting the whole story aboard an exotic train traversing the wilds of Siberia was a clever choice that reinforced the claustrophobia and isolation of the setting as well as interesting props and sets. Cushing and Lee are their usual excellent selves - how many actors from that era could discuss "extra galactic intelligence"s with a straight face and make you believe it? And the rest of the cast keeps up. There's not a flat tire in the cast (although I think Savalas' accent. was somewhat jarring and out of place in this setting). IMO, "Horror Express" is one of the finest movies in its genre, and it is well worth hunting down and seeing if you haven't already.