Night Train Murders

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The Last House on the Left was a morally bankrupt but highly profitable film about rape, murder, and revenge. The 1978 sequel, The New House on the Left, may even be more reprehensible than the original. Whereas the murder site of the first film was a remote house, the scene of the crime in the sequel is a train (thereby negating the title). This film includes more rapes, more murders, and more revenge than the original --and, undoubtedly, more cash lining the pockets of the producers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Features:
  • "Riding the Night Train": Interview with co-writer/director Aldo Lado
  • Theatrical trailers
  • Radio spots
  • Poster & still galleries

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Flavio Bucci - Blackie
       Macha Meril - Passeggera
       Gianfranco de Grassi - Curly
       Enrico Maria Salerno - Giulio Stradi
       Marina Berti - Laura Stradi
       Franco Fabrizi - Guardone
       Irene Miracle - Margaret Hoffenbach
       Dalila di Lazzaro - Ragazza Mora

• Director:

  Aldo Lado

• Producer:

  Evans Isle

• Screenwriter:

  Renato Izzo, Aldo Lado

• Screen Story:

  Roberto Infascelli, Ettore Sanzò

• Cinematographer:

  Gabor Pogany

• Composer (Music Score):

  Ennio Morricone

• Editor:

  Alberto Gallitti

• Production Designer:

  Franco Bottari

• Costume Designer:

  Franco Bottari

REVIEW:

• Despite its cash-in status, Night Train Murders is actually an effective and surprisingly skillful horror movie. The plot does rigorously follow the structure of Last House on the Left but adds a fresh stylistic spin with its claustrophobic train setting and some interesting, subversive "battle of the social classes" themes. The performances are also strong: Irene Miracle and Laura D'Angelo are believable and sympathetic as the naive teen victims, Macha Meril creates a frighteningly credible sociopath as the mysterious, manipulative Lady on the Train, and Enrico Maria Salerno handles the dark side of his upper-class doctor and father role with quiet skill. Best of all, director Aldo Lado helms the tale with a considerable amount of style, deftly deploying colored lighting and slick camerawork to enhance the unnerving mood (especially during the film's grueling middle section). All in all, Night Train Murders is an effective horror film that is artful enough to rise above its knock-off origins and is well worth the time for fans of European horror. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi