|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
6
|
|
 |
|
7 |
|
10
= Highest Rating |
|
Guest
Review by Rod
Barnett |
When
teenaged schoolgirls Lisa (Irene Miracle) and
Margaret (Laura D'Angelo) travel home from Munich
for the Christmas holidays they expect little
more than a boring overnight train journey. They
catch the attention of two lower class petty criminals
who hop onboard to avoid a pursuing policeman.
Curly (Gianfranco De Grassi) is a heroin addict
but seems the milder of the two, especially when
Blackie (Flavio Bucci) traps an upper class woman
(Deep Red's Macha Méril)
in the restroom. But what starts out as a rape
quickly becomes a very consensual act as the woman
responds lustfully to the attack. Lisa and Margaret
decide to switch trains to get away from the lads
but soon discover that they have followed — and
now have the upper class woman tagging along as
well. The lady seems to have adopted the two thugs
as servants and begins to direct them in their
taunts and abuses of the girls. She even manages
to force a passing voyeur to rape Lisa. Finally
things escalate to the breaking point and some
nasty deaths occur... but that's not the end of
the story. The upper class lady and her pals are
unlucky enough to find their way to the Lisa's
home for Christmas dinner where revenge is now
on the menu.
A superior variation on Wes
Craven's Last House
on the Left —
all the way down to the violent finale —
Night Train Murders
is very well made. It's obvious from the start
that the producers were aiming to rip off the
low budget American hit, but this film is better
looking and much more professionally made, with
a lot of craft in evidence. The movie is directed
solidly with many artful moments, beautiful lighting
and striking transitions showing a great deal
of care in the production design and staging.
Ennio Morricone's under-used harmonica-laced music
is nice as well, sounding like outtakes from one
of his Leone western scores. These high quality
elements help make Night
Train Murders a pretty good film but I
think distract from something the filmmakers might
have been trying to accomplish. This film never
manages to induce that sick feeling of dread that
Last House does,
mainly because of the technical aptitude of the
team behind the production. Last
House's grainy photography, amateur acting
and obvious lack of budget made its horrific acts
creepy and believable. Here the violence is all
a little too slick to get under the skin... even
while it still manages to be effectively nasty.
To be blunt, this movie is solid but lacks the
repellent viciousness that elevated what it's
imitating to the level of the truly disturbing.
Of course, it's also missing the dumber elements
of Last House too,
which counts in its favor. Craven's bitter pill
sticks in the memory longer because of its rough
edges, whereas this one slides down easily as
just another piece of above average Euro Trash.
For me the only sour notes are the ones heard
in the simply awful song that plays under
both the opening and closing credits. It's like
listening to someone in great physical agony call
a dog. Ugh!
|
|
|
|
Blue
Underground's DVD is a very good presentation
of the film. The gorgeous lighting in many scenes
is finally shown off to great effect. After years
of only being able to see this movie via crappy
bootlegs it's nice to see the care taken by the
filmmakers in an almost blemish free print, with
a very clear Mono soundtrack. The English dub
track given here is pretty well done giving good
shading to the acting. The image is 1.85:1 widescreen
and anamorphically enhanced. BU has included a
Poster & Stills gallery, radio spots (using the
film's various alternate titles), and theatrical
trailers. The big extra included is a 15 minute
interview with the movie's director, Aldo Lado
(Short Night
of Glass Dolls).
A great interviewee, Lado relates the ideas behind
the characters and what they symbolized for him
in the story. He makes it clear that he was commenting
on society's class distinctions and the way that
the upper class commits crime without having to
face consequences. Once again Lado seems to have
been able to use a thriller to talk about his
anger at the older (wealthy) population using
the younger (poor) as tools. Did someone say auteur?
The director also goes into detail about what
inspired the more sadistic moments in the film
but is frustratingly silent about several questions
I had... Why set the story at Christmas? What
is the significance of the voyeur's relationship
with Lisa's father? Is the father cheating on
his wife and does him being a doctor factor into
the social message in any particular way? I have
to give Lado credit for taking the producers requirements
(rip-off hit film) and crafting something classier
than the blueprint. It's a fine accomplishment
even if it's never going to be as well remembered
as Last House. 12/22/04
|
UPDATE
Blue Underground released a remastered Blu-ray
edition in January 2012.
|
HOME
| REVIEWS
| TOP
|
