Terror Train

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Terror Train

R

1980

1h 37m

Holiday

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

44%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

During a hazing, a fraternity of pre-med students has a particularly sinister prank in store for one their more timid pledges (Derek MacKinnon). With the help of a coed, Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis), they pull off the prank so well that the pledge needs to be institutionalized as a result. After several years pass and people forget the incident, those involved with the prank are ready to celebrate their graduation by having a costume party on a train, but they haven't escaped their past yet.

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

04/14/2011

C

A run-of-the-mill slasher film whose central gimmick is setting its action on a train.

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Time Out

06/24/2006

Better than most of its kind.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

10/23/2004

1/4

The classic horror films of the 1930s appealed to the intelligence of its audiences, to their sense of humor and irony. Movies like Terror Train... just don't care. They're a series of sensations, strung together on a plot.

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Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

Sep 18

2/10

I picked Terror Train because I was trying to find a horror movie set during New Year’s, and apparently the picking is very slim, because this is considered “the good one”. It isn’t.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

10/04/2024

3/5

…back in 1981, it must have seemed like the slasher movie fad would never end, but Terror Train now appears to be one of the best of a rather tatty bunch. Cast, technical aspects and conception are all first rate…

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Mark H. Harris

Black Horror Movies

11/18/2022

3/5

While Terror Train has a good reputation among horror fans, until the hectic climactic battle between “final girl” and killer, it’s mostly run-of-the-mill slasher fare that distinguishes itself by... having Jamie Lee Curtis as the final girl.

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Shawan L

@ShawanLLibang Feb 12

Terror Train is that early-’80s slasher stuck between being iconic and completely forgettable. It’s far from a classic, but there’s enough intrigue to hold your attention. Instead of nonstop gore, it leans into mood, with the killer swapping costumes like a lethal runway act. The catch? Most of the party crowd blends together, so their exits barely register. And for a movie set on a train, it doesn’t always make the most of that claustrophobic backdrop—some scenes feel oddly disconnected from the setting.

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Farah R.

@Farah Dec 8

A disappointment from the scream queen of the 80s, Terror Train is a flop for the genre and Jamie Lee Curtis. The story isn’t bad but the kills aren’t exciting and the characters aren’t well-written. The killer reveal made no sense and ruined the film.

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Miike J

@Miike100 Oct 31

Don’t waste your time unless you’re into campy retro thrillers. There are a lot of murders, but most of the violence is offscreen and what you do see is pretty cheesy. Definitely not scary. Includes several tired tropes, such as girls doing the most stupid thing possible when confronted with the danger of a serial killer; old men are automatically trustworthy; jocks are mean idiots; give a girl alcohol and her top automatically comes off, bra and all; and men who dress like women are psychopathic maniacs.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Jul 30

Filme bacaninha, o roteiro é mais ou menos, as cenas de terror são bacaninhas, a história é bacaninhas, o elenco é bacaninha, e alguns ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são bacaninhas, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e eu achei bacana o plot twist.

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Garry A

@heavyg Jun 23

80s slashers are my favorite. There are plenty of average ones that I've enjoyed. This one had four deaths in the first hour and only one of them showed the murder actually happen. Even Jamie Lee Curtis could keep this one from being lame. The best scene was the final killer reveal in the last 5 minutes.

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William D

@Williams0604 May 8

Okay movie but not the best movie I have seen.

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Synopsis

During a hazing, a fraternity of pre-med students has a particularly sinister prank in store for one their more timid pledges (Derek MacKinnon). With the help of a coed, Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis), they pull off the prank so well that the pledge needs to be institutionalized as a result. After several years pass and people forget the incident, those involved with the prank are ready to celebrate their graduation by having a costume party on a train, but they haven't escaped their past yet.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Producer: Harold Greenberg
Screenwriter: T.Y. Drake
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Astral Bellevue Pathé
Rating: R
Genre: Holiday, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 1980, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2016
Runtime: 1h 37m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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