NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS

A.k.a. L'ULTIMO TRENO DELLA NOTTE; DON'T RIDE ON LATE NIGHT TRAINS; LATE NIGHT TRAINS; LAST STOP ON THE NIGHT TRAIN; TORTURE TRAIN; VIOLENZA SULL'ULTIMO TRENO DELLA NOTTE

Two girl friends, Laura (Marina Berti, JESUS OF NAZARETH) and Margaret (Irene Miracle, INFERNO; MIDNIGHT EXPRESS) travel via train to spend the Christmas holidays with Laura's parents in Rome.

Unfortunately, a couple of Santa-beating, chain-smoking hoodlums hitch a free ride on the same train while fleeing from an irate rail station guard.

Once on the train, the girls talk about losing their virginity (one has, the other hasn't) and innocently flirt with the two dielinquent lads (one of whom is played by Flavio Bucci, blind pianist Daniel from SUSPIRIA).

Meanwhile, a'la LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, Laura's parents are busy at home preparing eagerly for their daughter's arrival. We see them organising dinner, buying her a scooter, liaising with Margaret's mother over train times, etc.

Back on the train, things get a little more uncomfortable as Blackie (Bucci) gets it on with a businesslike lady passenger (Macha Meril, DEEP RED) and locks himself in the toilet to give her a good seeing to.

A fight breaks out when the other hoodlum, Curly (Gianfranco De Grassi, THE CHURCH), is unable to produce his ticket for the onboard inspector. Laura and Margaret look on in horror as a knife is pulled out on the inspector, then decide among themselves to change trains at the earliest opportunity.

In a severe stroke of bad luck, the girls sneak off the busy train and board a far quieter one, only to discover that the terrible twins have followed suit - and brought the sexually unhinged Meril along for the ride.

A night of rape, torture, beating and deflowering-by-blade ensues, culminating in two senseless deaths.

The following morning our murderous trio vacate the train at precisely the platform where Laura's parents are awaiting her. And then, in a further not to Craven's milestone nasty, the girls' killers are taken in unwittingly by Laura's parents.

During an evening meal, Laura's mother begins to suspect all is not well with her new houseguests. One of them is clearly a junkie in need of a fix, ands appears to be wearing a gift that Laura had bought for her father ... sounding familiar?!?!

Yeah, the similarities to LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT are so painful that it's pointless to elaborate further on plot.

Still, Aldo Lado (WHO SAW HER DIE?) does a neat job of splitting his story into three acts, the mid-section being particularly intenese and, at times, unpleasant. The direction is slick yet patient enough to let the impending sense of unease burrow it's way under your skin slowly. All of which is aided tremendously by Ennio Morricone's haunting, harmonica-led score.

Lado benefits from a good cast too. The two girls make for great, believable victims. Meril, on the other hand, is so convincingly demented that you just want to punch her in the face. Bucci lets the side down a tad by constantly teetering on over-acting.

Picture-wise, Blue Underground must be commended for producing such a sterling print that has been given a crystal-clear anamorphic widescreen transfer. NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS has always looked overly dark and murky on video - here, it looks fantastic.

The English-dubbed audio is a slightly less impressive mono track. It's quiet on occasion, and inconsistgent at the start of the film (spoiling the hideous Demis Roussos track!). It's a hardly major distraction though and the audio soon settles into a passable medium.

The film can be accessed via twenty-one chapters.

Extras include two spoiler-laden trailers, a couple of radio spots, a poster/stills gallery including press-book materials among other things, and a fourteen minute interview with Lado.

The interview is most certainly the best extra. Lado seems to be a friendly old chap, and is refreshingly honest about his motives for making the film: a quick cash-in on Craven's film.

Fully uncut - of course - NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS is a sleazy meditation on violence, following Craven's superior classic right down to it's bleak moral statement that all violence is ugly and unrewarding, regardless of motive.

Not for all tastes but definitely worth a look. And Blue Underground continues to win my admiration with both their choice of titles, and the respect given to them.

Review by Stu Willis