Devil's Express Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Devil's Express Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 27, 2021

“Devil’s Express” is a 1976 release that attempts to be a martial arts extravaganza, a police procedural, and a horror movie. These are not three subgenres that coexist peacefully, and director Barry Rosen is not the guy to pull off such a tonal challenge. “Devil’s Express” throws everything at the viewer with hope that something sticks, looking to dazzle with bursts of violence and a murder mystery involving a supernatural serial killer. The picture simply doesn’t work, but Rosen is determined to at least put something together, struggling with basic storytelling competency and editorial finesse in his quest to contribute to filmmaking trends of the era.

In ancient China, a demonic spirt was buried in a cave, tamed by the presence of a special amulet. In New York City, 1976, martial arts instructor Luke (Warhawk Tanzania) is getting ready for a trip to Hong Kong, going on a spiritual quest to best fulfill the needs of his students, bringing pal Rodan (Wilfredo Roldan) with him. Bored by the soulful searching in the middle of nowhere, Rodan wanders off the path, discovering the demon burial site, secretly pocketing the amulet. His theft permits the evil spirit to return to power, following the men as they make their way back to America, taking up residence in the subway system, where it lures innocents to kill. On the case is Detective Cris (Larry Fleischman) and his new partner, with the twosome stumped over what is slaughtering New Yorkers. Luke, sensing something wrong with Rodan’s behavior, decides to join the investigation, ready to take on the ultimate evil with his martial arts mastery.

“Devil’s Express” is credited to five screenwriters, which is a fact to remember while watching the feature. Even with all those minds working on the effort, there’s still no real story. The picture gets off on the right foot with an opening sequence in 200 B.C. China that details the capture and burial of the demonic spirit. Well, burial isn’t exactly the right word, as the ancient masters of martial arts pretty much leave the box in an open cave, exposing it to the outside world, which is what happens when Luke and Rodan travel East to fill their cups of chi. The force of evil is soon released, resulting in the possession of a man that the production visualizes by painting white eyes on his eyelids, filming the actor blindly stumbling around NYC streets. It’s not exactly a villainous introduction that inspires faith in the filmmakers, but “Devil’s Express” has a lot more subpar creative ideas to come.

“Devil’s Express” wanders around for its first act, moving from the evil spirit to Luke’s domestic life with his girlfriend. It also pays attention to Rodan’s criminal ways, failing to live up to martial arts honor by dealing drugs on the side, which gets him in deep with Asian gangsters, or somebody. It’s not clear what’s going on. Such a development gives Rosen a chance to stage the first of a few alley encounters with stunt men, with “Devil’s Express” doing what it can to stay on budget, finding corners of the city to shoot in, doing a no-permit dance that creates an interesting time capsule showcase for mid-‘70s New York City. That’s fun to see.

What’s frustrating about “Devil’s Express” is its inability to maintain focus on anything for the duration of the picture. The writing establishes Luke as the lead character, a master butt-kicker in the big city, but he’s also missing for 25 minutes of screen time, with the writing suddenly turning its attention to the cops on the case, tracking their investigative skills as they find mangled bodies in the subway system. Without warning, “Devil’s Express” is now a weekly cop show starring actors acutely aware their only job is make sure they nail every scene in a single take. And then, once viewers settle into detective mode, Luke suddenly returns, ready to take on the supernatural force using his physical might and the power of disco gold overalls.

If the endeavor weren’t so dull, it would be hilarious to watch Rosen chase whims instead of overseeing some type of cohesive narrative. However, genuine laughs do arrive late in the movie, during a scene where Luke consults an old Chinese man for insight into the amulet’s power. The makeup work on this performer is just terrible (it’s dried out, almost crumbling off his face), highlighting how much of a quickie “Devil’s Express” is.

Devil's Express Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Listed as a "2K Scan of the Original Negatives," "Devil's Express" comes to Blu-ray with an AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. The feature isn't exactly concerned with cinematographic precision, but the viewing experience is satisfactory, securing urban distances as tours of New York City are included. Facial surfaces are lightly textured, and makeup efforts are adequately explored (exposing hilarious professional limitations at times). Colors carry bright period hues, including costuming, with Luke's gold overalls presenting a distinct look. A colder palette is reserved for street visits, highlighting concrete and brick, while greenery is acceptable during "Hong Kong" trips. Delineation is passable. Source has some brief color fluctuations, speckling, and scratches.

Devil's Express Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't built to overwhelm, keeping the low-budget production to basic sonic needs. Dialogue exchanges are mostly intelligible, but heavy accents and traffic conditions occasionally threaten line readings (the disc doesn't have subtitles to help viewers out). Scoring isn't distinct, but the funk music presented provides simple support with slightly muddier instrumentation. Hiss is present throughout the listening event, and pops are periodic.

Devil's Express Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Trailer (:31, SD) is included.

Devil's Express Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The viewing experience for "Devil's Express" is meant to encourage some level of mockery, with the grindhouse aesthetic of the production open for appreciation. That's all well and good, but pacing is much too deadly to inspire a rousing sit. Rosen gets in a few decent moments (the showdown between Luke and evil has some snap), but he's clearly flailing here, barely piecing together a sellable movie.