Night Train Murders / L'ultimo treno della notte (1975)

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Night Train Murders / L'ultimo treno della notte (1975)

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"It's the night before Christmas. Margaret and Lisa are going home for the holidays. But don't bother to wish them Merry Christmas. Their future isn't going that far." So says the narrator of the trailer for the US theatrical release of NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS under the title LAST STOP ON THE NIGHT TRAIN, a direct translation of the original Italian title that reveals the film's inspiration from the success of Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972). The film was also reissued as DON'T RIDE ON LATE NIGHT TRAINS possibly to tie in with the series of horror titles staring with DON'T in the late seventies and early eighties (DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW, DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE, DON'T GO IN THE WOODS, DON'T GO NEAR THE PARK, DON'T OPEN THE DOOR, DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT).

Despite these associations, NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS is a stylish cash-in which has its share of brutality but also a superior sense of dread and anticipation over its American counterpart due to the typically professional direction of Aldo Lado (SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS). The film also has some retrospective association with the work of Dario Argento due to the presence of past and future Argento stars Miracle (INFERNO's doomed poetess), Bucci (SUSPIRIA's blind pianist), Dalila Di Lazzaro (PHENOMENA's stern headmistress), as well as standout performances by the more seasoned Enrico Maria Salerno (BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE's chief inspector), and a superbly icy and disturbing performance by Meril (DEEP RED's doomed medium).

After some rather ordinary German location shots, seasoned Italian cinematographer Gabor Pogany makes masterful use of Christmas lights, candles, and less convincing but effective saturated blue moonlight in the comforting home of Lisa's parents as they host a dinner party with guests musing on the causes of the world's ills and the claustrophobic train compartment. Ennio Morricone's score is dominated by Curly's harmonica in a way that recalls its use in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, this time as a harbinger of encroaching fear. In contrast, Demis Roussos' lilting, cloying "A Flower's All You Need" when used over the opening titles makes them seem to go on forever and gets rather annoying though its strangely affecting when it appears again over the end credits freeze frame.

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Night Train Murders / L'ultimo treno della notte (1975)

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