This Streaming Horror Lost Gem is Based On the Same Story as John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’
I have a real fondness for Eugenio Martín’s Horror Express. It’s easily my favorite unofficial adaptation of the John W. Campbell novella Who Goes There? If the name of the tome sounds familiar, that’s likely because it is the inspiration for John Carpenter’s body horror classic The Thing.
Why do I say Horror Express is an ‘unofficial adaptation?’ It’s simple, dear reader. The core story is plainly inspired by Campbell’s novella. But the creators did not seek the rights to adapt it and more or less ran with the idea, hoping for the best. As it turns out, that strategy worked well enough. The adaptation stands as a thrilling endeavor with a strong cast and plenty of paranoid atmosphere.
The setup for Horror Express goes like this:
The time is 1906. Professor Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a British anthropologist, hops on the Trans-Siberian express with a frozen humanoid in tow. The professor believes the creature may be a noteworthy scientific breakthrough, the missing evolutionary link. A handful of passengers are captivated by the crate in which the frozen specimen is stored, thinking it contains something of great monetary value. Curiosity gets the better of several patrons and the revolutionary discovery quickly escapes from confinement. From there, the creature demonstrates an ability to shapeshift and switch between host bodies. Utterly perplexed, Saxton eventually teams up with his colleague and fellow passenger Doctor Wells (Peter Cushing) in an attempt to thwart the creature’s reign of terror.
How does Horror Express parallel Who Goes There?
Many of the core elements from Who Goes There? remain intact here, making it impossible to deny the connection. Like in Who Goes There? before it, the central antagonist in Horror Express is discovered in a frozen state, only to thaw and demonstrate shapeshifting abilities and a penchant for telepathy, allowing said creature to take different forms and possess various party members.
Additionally, one character even refers to the creature wreaking havoc on the train as “this thing from another planet.” I could be wrong, but that seems very much like a thinly veiled nod to The Thing from Another World, the 1951 adaptation of Campbell’s novella Who Goes There?
While it’s normally customary to credit the source material in an adaptation like this, there are a number of reasons why the filmmakers might not have wanted to do that. The most obvious reason pertains to budgetary constraints. The picture cost an estimated $300,000 to produce. With Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Telly Savalas all appearing, there likely wasn’t much left over to pay for licensing rights.
Additionally, the story changes enough details from the source novel that the producers may have believed they were in the clear. Seeing as there’s no evidence that the rights-holder ever filed suit, I guess they were right about that.
Horror Express does a lot with a little.
Speaking of monetary constraints, the film does occasionally betray its minuscule budget. The scenery outside the train windows looks like it’s scrolling by on a ream of construction paper while the car stays still. Not to mention, the effects are somewhat primitive. Moreover, some of the performances are a bit on the campy side. However, this is a low-budget horror film. So, one would be wise to keep that in mind when forming an opinion.
I think the film works remarkably well despite how inexpensive it was to make. If you watch the flick with an open mind and a willingness to look past the picture’s shortcomings, there is plenty to enjoy about Horror Express.
One element that works remarkably well is the air of uncertainty that permeates the picture. Screenwriters Arnaud d’Usseau and Julian Zimet have scripted a thrilling period piece filled to the brim with claustrophobic paranoia. The mystery behind the artifact’s origin is a large part of that. The eventual revelation regarding the true identity of the discovery is unsettling and leads to some harrowing setups.
The way the entity travels from passenger to passenger, infecting different travelers ensures there is never a dull moment. Though I think the picture would benefit from creating more mystery around which passenger is possessed at any given time, the way the film is set up is far from meritless. Although we know who is possessed, the protagonists do not. So, there’s a sense of unease knowing that Wells and Saxton are completely in the dark. That makes it especially unnerving when they have cause to interact with a character we know to be possessed.
Inspired casting makes the film a pleasure to watch.
It’s great to see Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing play opposite one another here. They were a dream team and reliably made magic together. Horror Express is no exception. They make for a charming investigative duo as they attempt to get to the bottom of the central mystery. Not to mention, Cushing is gifted with an absolutely exceptional line where he posits that neither he nor Lee could possibly be the monster by virtue of being British. He says it with an air of disdain as if the English are much too civilized to get caught up in anything so disreputable. Well played, sir.
Lee and Cushing aren’t the only standout cast members. Telly Savalas also pops up in a memorable turn as Captain Kazan. The Kojak actor stops in for a glorified cameo and kicks some serious ass while chewing up the scenery like a champ. His role is arguably a bit superfluous, but it’s still a pleasure to see a genre legend like Savalas share the screen with Cushing and Lee. Quite the dream team, indeed.
On the whole:
Horror Express is a thrilling iteration of the classic novella by which it was clearly inspired. The flick features a killer cast and does a lot with a little. If you are curious to experience Horror Express for yourself, you have options–lots of them. The film is currently available to stream via several different AVOD platforms. However, if you love physical media as much as I do, you may want to pick up the Severin Blu-ray release from a few years back. It appears to be out of print now. But you can still find it on multiple e-commerce sites. The transfer is crisp and it has some solid bonus content.
If you find yourself itching to hear me bloviate further about my appreciation for classic horror, look me up on Threads.
Categorized:Editorials
