7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An English anthropologist has discovered a frozen monster in the frozen wastes of Manchuria which he believes may be the Missing Link. He brings the creature back to Europe aboard a trans-Siberian express, but during the trip the monster thaws out and starts to butcher the passengers one by one.
Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Telly Savalas, Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia TortosaHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 30% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Horror Express’ title and marquee stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing may lead some viewers to come to the property expecting a portmanteau a la Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, especially considering it, too, is set aboard a train, at least interstitially. But in fact Horror Express is a “straight through” narrative entry, and a rather odd one at that, combining at least hints of some horror elements (as might be expected from its leading players) with what might be termed almost a science fiction undercurrent. Perhaps due to the very fact that Horror Express is such a patently odd combo platter of different elements, it may not attain the kind of force (hammy and/or Hammer-y, as the case may be) that some of the better known horror efforts by either Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing are so well remembered for having provided, but the film is still kind of goofily fun in its own unassuming way.
Horror Express is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
Horror Express has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with mono audio.There are some fairly significant differences between the Arrow and Severin presentations, aside and apart from the compression issues Casey mentioned in his review of the Severin release (and which are thankfully not an affliction this release suffers from). As can be seen by comparing screenshots, the palette is considerably cooler looking on the Arrow release, but I always found the Severin release to look artificially boosted and kind of weirdly yellow-brown a lot of the time. Densities are somewhat variable here, as in fact is overall color temperature, but to my eyes, this is a much more natural and appealing presentation. There are some variances in clarity and grain structure as well, some of which I'm attributing to the difference in source elements outlined above, but on the whole there's an appealingly homogeneous look to the transfer, especially considering the fact that both a negative and interpositive were utilized. There are a few moments of chunky grain, some of which can be attributed to opticals, but these are passing and typically very brief moments.
The original 35mm camera negative element was scanned in 2K resolution at Video Mercury, Spain, while an additional 35mm interpositive element was scaneed at R3Store Studios for Reel 5, which has been lost from the negative. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored at R3Store Studios in London. The mono mix was remastered from the original mag reels at Deluxe Audio Services.
All materials for this restoration were made available by Ignite Films.
The Severin release only had lossy audio, and Arrow has upped the ante in that department as well by providing a serviceable LPCM mono mix in English (the Severin release did have a Spanish language track as well which is not included on this release). The film's dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly, and effects like the clitter clatter of the train and the like sound decent enough, if arguably a bit on the hollow side. As Casey mentioned in his review, and what I'm now thinking must be an inherent issue with the original mags, there's just a hint of clipping in some of the higher frequencies, noticeable in the main theme by John Cacavas, or some of the ambient environmental sounds like whistling wind. It's a minor distraction at worst, and may not even rise to the level of even being noticed by some listeners.
This edition ports over several of the supplements that Severin included on their release, as well as providing a few new bonus items. I've added an asterisk (*) to the supplements that were not on the previous Severin release.
Horror Express may either entrance or frustrate fans of either and/or both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, since while it kind of hints at a certain Hammer-esque ambience, it really is markedly different from most of the horror fare that became that studio's stock in trade (especially with these particular stars). The film has a kind of oddly bifurcated plot that is part murder mystery, part "alien possession" drama, and as such it never really even attempts to go for the blood and guts gusto that some horror fans may be expecting. Despite what was evidently a less than fulsome budget, this is rather handsomely mounted, and performances, while probably unavoidably on the silly and hyperbolic side at time, are generally extremely enjoyable. Arrow has markedly improved both the video and audio quality of the now long ago Severin release, though those who liked the look of the Severin version are cautioned to spend a little time parsing the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, since the color timing is noticeably different. That said, technical merits are generally solid, and as usual Arrow has provided some appealing supplements. Recommended.
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