All Aboard The “Terror Train!”
I generated this image using AI, and it has a moody, horrific vibe to it because it is, after all, “Shocktober” – so let’s climb aboard some scary movies with Jamie Lee Curtis!
First, a reminder for those younger horror fans:
When the first “Halloween” film was released in 1978, it made Jamie Lee Curtis a star – after all, she screamed her way into our hearts while also fighting back as an empowered young woman – something that most female characters didn’t do in a horror film: they just screamed and died!
William Shatner, Psycho Killer!
Here is some great trivia, provided by IMDB: Due to “Halloween”‘s shoestring budget, the prop department had to use the cheapest $2 mask that they could find in the costume store: a Star Trek (1966) William Shatner mask. They later spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes!
Shatner admitted that for years he had no idea his likeness was used for this film. It was only during an interview that someone mentioned his mask was being used. He has since stated that he is honored by this gesture!
Michael Myers is one of cinema’s great psychos, and what makes “Halloween” work so well is that you truly root for Jamie Lee to survive – a tribute to how well she acted in her movie debut – which IMDB says paid her $8,000 for starring in the film!
But after this, she was on a horror roller coaster, most notably in this great 80’s slasher:
Join Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis On The “Terror Train!”
“Terror Train” is a terrific, vicious slasher film from 1980, with some good scares and lots of blood…much of it on legendary Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis!
After the phenomenal success of “Halloween” in 1978, Curtis found herself starring in a number of slasher films, and quickly earned the title of reigning “Scream Queen”! Some films weren’t that good, but this one delivered the scares!
The plot of “Terror Train” is brilliant in its simplicity: A masked killer seeks revenge against six college kids who were responsible for a prank gone wrong three years earlier – and lucky for the killer – the kids are throwing a large New Year’s Eve costume party aboard a moving train!
This film is helped greatly by a truly creepy looking killer, and an ongoing sense of dread throughout. Check out the trailer:
According to the great movie website IMDB, Jamie Lee Curtis once said of her character in this film:
“There are certain things a heroine in a thriller has to be. She has to be vulnerable, so that the audience identifies with her and is rooting for her. But she also has to have an enormous inner strength to overcome the evil, or terror, that is pursuing her. I play the same kind of character as I did in other films. But Alana – the girl I play – is stronger and more defined”.
Bravo to Jamie Lee Curtis for finding more depth of character, even in straightforward horror films!
Curtis reprised her role in a number of “Halloween” sequels recently, but the original is the gold standard to be sure…and “Terror Train” makes for a fun double bill…and if you need a few more good scares this month, how about this?
It is, for me, the greatest horror film of all time – a shocker that is still as powerful today as when it was released in 1973 – click here for the secrets behind the “head spinning” making of “The Exorcist!”
OK, the month is just getting warmed up so here are four more great scary movies to savor:
Here are four other films that measure up to “Halloween” – check them all out here!
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Categories: 70's Cinema, Cult Movies, Exploitation films, Film Fight Club, Grindhouse, Halloween, Horror films, Movies, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
Hi John, I like Stephen King horror which isn’t OTT gory and has a clever and different storyline. I watched a few movies like Nightmare on Elms Street when I was younger, but they aren’t really for me.
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Understood – my wife is the same way and the new modern gore films are too much for me as well…
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Just that name, Modern Gore Films, makes me know such films are not for me, John.
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Films like “The Others” with Nicole Kidman would appeal to you…great storytelling and building suspense, not gory violence at all…it’s a beautiful film
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Yes, that does sound right up my street.
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😳
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I have yet to see ‘Terror Train’, but I enjoyed the original ‘Halloween’ film at the time. One I think often gets overlooked is ‘When A Stranger Calls’. (1979 original version) That’s a solid thriller with some nice original touches. “Have you checked the children?”
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes Pete that is a great one! It does, of course, take its “twist” from the classic 1976 shocker “Black Christmas” – what a perfect double bill that is!~. Thanks for sharing!
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Okay, I won’t be sleeping tonight. Or the rest of the week.
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HA! Well, it IS the month for a good scare or two!
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’tis the season! I love the shatner mask trivia here
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I am not much for horror, but might have to watch something this month
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Have you heard of the Nicole Kidman film “The Others?” More spooky than horror
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Have heard of it, but not seen it. Might do it if I get the urge to see a movie
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