TERROR TRAIN (2022)

Matias Lucas and Robyn Alomar

TERROR TRAIN (2022). Director: Philippe Gagnon.

In this Tubi Original remake of the 1980 slasher film, some medical students maneuver a nerdy guy into bed with a corpse and he winds up in a mental institution. While this doesn't seem especially believable, the film then jumps forward three years to a Halloween party on a train. At first people believe the corpses the party-goers stumble over are fake, but finally Alanna (Robyn  Alomar) realizes that her friends are being slaughtered one by one. Does this have something to do with that practical joke from years before, or is something else behind the body count? Alana eventually finds herself in a desperate struggle against the true killer. 

Robyn Alomar and Tim Rozon as the Magician

I freely admit I enjoyed Terror Train, finding it well-acted, suspenseful, and fast-paced, with several exciting scenes. While there are some gruesome sequences, the movie is never vomitous, which is probably why some gore geeks didn't care for it, but the film works perfectly well without the grisly upchuck stuff. The young cast is enthusiastic, and I was particularly impressed with Matias Lucas as the somewhat nasty or misunderstood "Doc," who is charismatic and effective in his portrayal, although everyone is pretty decent. Robyn Alomar acquits herself nicely as the "final girl," so to speak, although she isn't the only survivor. I also liked Mary Walsh as the head conductor, Carne, and Nadine Bhabha as her younger assistant, Sadie. Followed by a sequel shot back to back. 

Verdict: Fun contemporary slasher flick. ***. 

THE EMBALMER

Pitiful victims of the Embalmer

THE EMBALMER (aka Il mostro di Venezia/The Monster of Venice/1965). Director: Dino Tavella.

In Venice an unknown figure in a scuba outfit is swimming the canals and popping out to grab innocent young women who are never seen again. In a sinister underground chamber this crazy embalms the women with his special formula -- to keep them beautiful forever -- and puts them on macabre display. In addition to the police, a reporter named Andrea (Luigi Martocci) investigates the crimes, and gets involved with Maureen (Maureen Brown), a brave woman who is the leader of an all-female tour group. Other characters include her elderly friend, Catherine (Paola Vaccari) and Catherine's nephew, Nicky (Elmo Caruso), an archeology professor. When Maureen investigates a passageway to the underground from a certain person's apartment, she finds herself in serious trouble. Will Andrea be able to save her? 

The Embalmer on the prowl

The Embalmer has a good and very macabre premise (later used in the film Amsterdamned), which is the movie's main strength, along with that great on-location Venetian atmosphere that serves the story so well. Dino Tavella's direction is generally uninspired and slow, with some sequences and takes going on much too long. Another problem is the musical score, which is effective in some spots and horribly overdone and overly bombastic in others. The killer in this wears a cowl and hood and a skull-like face mask, and not only swims the canals but prowls the dank underground recesses of Venice. In this dubbed version the heroine is called "Maureen," which is actually the name of the actress. Director Tavella and stars Martocci and Brown each did only two films apiece. 

Verdict: Despite its flaws, this is rather creepy and interesting, with a downbeat ending. ***. 

PARANOIA

Carroll Baker and Lou Castel

PARANOIA (aka Orgasmo/1969). Director: Umberto Lenzi. 

Kathryn (Carroll Baker), recently widowed, moves into her wealthy late husband's fabulous estate in Italy. Her only companion is the dyspeptic housekeeper, Teresa (Lilla Brignone), with occasional visits from family lawyer Brian (Tino Carraro), who wants to marry her. Into her life pops hunky Peter (Lou Castel), a comparatively penniless young man who moves in on Kathryn and eventually into her home. Then who should show up but his free-spirited sister, Eva (Colette Descombes), who seems to have a hankering for Kathryn. But is Eva really Peter's sister, or something more? It isn't long before Kathryn begins to regret ever meeting the couple. 

Baker, Castel, Descombes

Paranoia is an entertaining and well-acted suspense-thriller that presents some truly despicable villains even if their victim isn't entirely sympathetic. There's another twist at the end and a satisfying denouement. This is one of several films that Baker did for director Umberto Lenzi. (This is not to be confused with another Baker/Lenzi collaboration entitled Paranoia or A Quiet Place to Kill.) Lou Castel was a Columbian actor who appeared in a number of Italian/International productions. Like most of the other films Baker did with Lenzi, lesbianism or bisexuality figures in the plot. Most of the others remind one of Diabolique, but not Paranoia.

Verdict: Absorbing story with intriguing plot and some very good players. ***. 

HIDDEN WORLD

HIDDEN WORLD. William Schoell. 2025. Raven Tale Publishing.

My latest, brand new horror tome.

Veronica Altura had gathered together a team to explore a lost city buried deep in the bowels of the earth, keeping secret her desperate reasons for doing so, but they were woefully unprepared for what they would face ten miles below the surface of the Greek island: Rat-like creatures that struck with surprising swiftness; huge reptiles with jaws that could practically swallow a person whole; and—worst of all—cannibalistic giants with a taste for human flesh and a ferocious, terrible demeanor. And literally hovering above everything was the most frightening horror of all, a demonic presence that wanted to make sure that none of them left this world alive.

Now available on kindle at Amazon! (Paperback coming soon!)

AMUCK!

Barbara Bouchet and Farley Granger

AMUCK! (aka Alla ricerca del piacere/1972). Director: Silvio Amadio. 

Greta Franklin (Barbara Bouchet of Danger Route) is sent from a New York publishing house to Venice to be the new secretary for author Richard Stuart (Farley Granger of The Slasher ... is the Sex Maniac). His last secretary, Sally (Patrizia Viotti) disappeared, and Greta hides the fact that she not only knew Sally, but was her lover, and wants to find out what happened to her. The other people in the household include Richard's wife, Eleonora (Rosalba Neri), who drugs and makes love to Greta, and fisherman Rocco (Petar Martinovitch), who lives in a nearby cottage. Greta eventually begins a relationship with Richard, but his story of what actually happened to Sally may not be the complete truth. 

Rosalba Neri and Petar Martinovitch

Amuck! is an interesting, well-acted giallo film with an absorbing storyline and some memorable sequences, such as a suspenseful bit when Greta has to be rescued from quicksand by Commissioner Antonelli (Nino Segurini), and the sexy flashback sequence to the death of Sally. As in many giallo films, the women all seem to be predatory bisexuals, sleeping with and romancing men but coming on to other women with abandon -- all of this not for any edification of sexual lifestyles or orientations but to turn on some of the male viewers. Silvio Amadio also worked with Neri in Smile Before Death. 

Verdict: Intriguing Italian mystery with lots of naked breasts for those who like that sort of thing. ***.