Jamie Lee Curtis continued her reign as Scream Queen with this tale of a
college prank gone wrong which results in carnage during a graduation
party on an old steam train.
I had seen all of Jamie Lee’s horror films except this one and finally,
after years of searching for it on video and a delayed DVD release, I
finally saw it on cable and to be honest, it didn’t really live up to my
expectations.
The premise is typical of the ‘s slasher genre, whereby an elaborate
prank goes wrong invariably scarring a fragile youngster’s mind, forcing
him to commit murder.
The originality creeps in when we discover that the film is set aboard a
steam train, which I felt could have been better capitalized upon as it
never really reaches it’s full creepy potential.
Adding further points for originality, the killer once finished stabbing,
slashing, throttling and bludgeoning his victims then changes into their
party costumes, causing all sorts of who’s who confusions.
The death scenes all appear to be heavily censored as they jump cut
terribly and the sound of the victim’s screams are frequently overdubbed
by the sound of the trains whistle.
The cast including Hart Bochner, Sandee Currie, Prince’s protege Vanity
and David Copperfield!! are all likeable enough but don’t really stand out
from the crowd.
Let’s face it. Someone saw easy money here and grabbed it with both
hands, as it is to ‘Halloween’ what ‘Soul Survivors’ is to ‘Scream’ i.e.
something that shows promise but ultimately disappoints the viewer.
By far the most disappointing aspect however is Jamie Lee Cutis’s big
chase scene. Whilst it perhaps looked like a highlight on paper it did
not transfer well to screen.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Not bad but I really did expect more. Perhaps if I hadn’t heard of it and
had stumbled across it by accident I would have appreciated it more.
