Night Train Murders 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Night Train Murders 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 9, 2025

Aldo Lado's "Night Train Murders" (1975) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with Aldo Lado; recent program with actress Macha Meril; new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger; vintage promotional materials; and a lot more. In English and Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Helltrain

College students Lisa (Laura D'Angelo) and Margaret (Irene Miracle, Midnight Express) board an overcrowded train to Verona to spend Christmas with the former’s family. Soon after, they are approached by two hooligans, Blackie (Flavio Bucci, Suspiria) and Curly (Gianfranco De Grassi, The Church), who begin teasing them. An older and very elegant woman (Macha Méril, Belle de jour, Deadly Circuit) also joins the group after Blackie forces her to have sex with him in the restroom.

The girls manage to get away from the hooligans when the train stops somewhere in the countryside because of a bomb scare. Then they promptly transfer to a different train, assuming it would get them to Verona on time for the Christmas celebrations.

The new train couldn’t be any more different -- it is dark, dirty, and cold, a relic from another time. But the girls are not intimidated, and after eating a few sandwiches purchased earlier, they decide to take a nap. This is where their trip evolves into a horrific nightmare. Blackie, Curly, and the elegant woman appear again and begin playing some really nasty games with them.

Without going into any specific details -- I assume that if you are reading this article you are probably not familiar with Aldo Lado’s Night Train Murders and are trying to determine whether it is worth viewing -- I would like to say that there is a good reason why this film was once banned as a 'video nasty' in the United Kingdom. Indeed, it is quite graphic and, more importantly, has an attitude that could easily encourage some genuinely bad behavior.

The script is very uneven. The entire second half makes little sense, and the character transformations that materialize there are utterly unbelievable. However, this is not surprising because it is obvious that all of the controversial sequences are intended to provoke specific reactions, not be part of a coherent, rational horror story.

As odd as it may sound, enjoying Night Train Murders is still possible. However, it absolutely must be approached with the right expectations. It has a good period atmosphere, and Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack makes a lot of the bad look uncharacteristically stylish. The acting is far from impressive, but it does not disappoint either. Bucci and Méril are better than everyone else, though there are a few scenes where even they appear uncharacteristically stiff.

The most shocking curveball is during the opening credits. Somehow, the producers of Night Train Murders were able to secure the right to use one of legendary Greek crooner Demis Roussos’ most beautiful songs, “A Flower’s All You Need.”

Lado worked with Hungarian cinematographer Gabor Pogany, who is probably best known for his contribution to Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women. There is no groundbreaking material, but some of the more atmospheric footage from the second train is very good.

Note: Lado was Bernardo Bertolucci’s assistant director on The Conformist and Maurizio Lucidi’s The Designated Victim. Other popular genre films he directed are Short Night of Glass Dolls, Who Saw Her Die?, and Woman Buried Alive.

Night Train Murders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

88 Films' release of Night Train Murders is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-B "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray disc and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-27 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #30-34 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces a new 4K makeover of Night Train Murders sourced from the original camera negative. In native 4K, it can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with HDR. Also, I spent quite a bit of time with the 1080p presentation of it on the Blu-ray.

I have a couple of different releases of Night Train Murders in my library, but only one of them is a Blu-ray release. It is this Region-B Blu-ray release, also produced by 88 Films, from 2015. It is the one I will be referencing in our review.

I have to state right away that the native 4K and 1080p presentations of the new 4K makeover are vastly superior to the previous presentation from the original Blu-ray release. For example, it is immediately obvious that the scanner noise that plagued the previous presentation is missing, and the visuals are not window-boxed. Now, the density levels of the visuals are outstanding, too. However, while I was revisiting the film in 4K, I was quite surprised that many of its darker areas had subpar detail, often leaving the impression that depth is problematic. In some areas, it almost looked like filtering adjustment may have been applied. But I did not see any, and there are all sorts of close-ups that reveal precisely the type of sharp, very consistent detail that a proper 4K makeover should produce. So, what is going on here? The original cinematography is responsible for virtually all of these anomalies. However, something is not quite right with the dynamic range of select visuals, and what is puzzling is that these visuals are from completely different parts of the film, lit and lensed differently, too. Color reproduction and balance looked fine on my system, but occasionally I would see the type of thick crushing that is present here. I cannot pinpoint the exact problem without knowing whether the OCN was in ideal condition, but this is not the only place with this anomaly. Grain is still present there, so I have to make it clear that even these areas have very attractive organic qualities. They just lack good detail. One more thing. I tested several different areas, many of them darker, with and without HDR and in 1080p. On my system, the most convincing visuals were from the native 4K presentation but with HDR turned off. If HDR is enabled, the anomaly that is highlighted above becomes quite prominent. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless, too.

Night Train Murders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English LPCM 2.0 and Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH (for the former) and English (for the latter) subtitles are provided.

The English track is the one that I prefer. However, before the Blu-ray era, I have viewed Night Train Murders with the Italian track, too. Both tracks are overdubbed, so they have native unevenness and even some small dynamic fluctuations that some viewers may find a bit odd now. I revisited the film with the English track. All exchanges were clear and easy to follow. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

Night Train Murders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Italian cinema experts Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger. As you can guess, the commentators share plenty of information about the production of Night Train Murders and its relationship with the censors, the casting choices and some key locations where footage from it was shot, Ennio Morricone's score, Aldo Lado's body of work, etc.

• Trailer One - original English-language trailer for Night Train Murders. Not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer Two - original Italian-language trailer for Night Train Murders. Not subtitled. (4 min).

• Stills Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for Night Train Murders. With music. (3 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Italian cinema experts Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger. As you can guess, the commentators share plenty of information about the production of Night Train Murders and its relationship with the censors, the casting choices and some key locations where footage from it was shot, Ennio Morricone's score, Aldo Lado's body of work, etc.

• Glass and Carriage Violence - in this recent program, Aldo Lado explains why he had to carefully balance his work (to pay bills and do the films he wanted to direct), the controversy that surrounded some of his 'bad' films (Woman Buried Alive) and how it helped elevate his profile, and the conception and production of Night Train Murders. There are some particularly interesting comments about Lado's legal troubles and how his films were treated differently in the North and South of Italy. The program was produced by Carcassa Horror Podcast. In Italian, with English subtitles. (22 min).

• A Lady Above Suspicion - in this recent program, actress Macha Meril explains how she was offered her part in Night Train Murders and why she agreed to do it even though Aldo Lado had a pretty bad reputation in Italy. After Lado defied her expectations, Meril was thrilled with her part and his working methods. Also, Meril has some very interesting comments about Italian genre films from the 1970s and how they reflected reality, and why Italian cinema was superior to French cinema. In English, not subtitled. (33 min).

• All About Lado: A Career Retrospective - in this recent program, Aldo Lado discusses the evolution of his career and directing style, as well as his close relationship with Ennio Morricone and some of his cult films, including Night Train Murders. In Italian, with English subtitles. (33 min).

• The Most Heinous of Crimes - a brief introduction to the Italian rape and revenge films, featuring Ruggero Deodato, Zora Kerova, and Corinne Clery. Narrated by critic Tory Howarth. In Italian and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (34 min).

• A Train of Thought - this new video essay was created by critic Mike Foster. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• On the Brink of Anarchy: The Coalescence of Sex and Power in Night Train Murders - this new video essay was created by critic Andy Marshall-Roberts. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Late Night Train Murders - in this program, critic Stephen Thrower discusses Night Train Murders. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).

• Strangers on a (Late Night) Train - in this archival program, actress Irene Miracle (Margaret) explains how she entered the film business after meeting Pier Paolo Pasolini and Michelangelo Antonioni, how she was offered her part in Night Train Murders, how she felt during the shooting of the disturbing rape scene, etc. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Further Adventures in Italy - Luigi Cozzi's La portiera nuda a.k.a. The Nude Porter (1976) was the second film actress Irene Miracle appeared in. In this bonus segment, Miracle discusses the shooting of a few of the sexy scenes in The Nude Porter and her work with Stella Adler. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer One - original English-language trailer for Night Train Murders. Not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer Two - original Italian-language trailer for Night Train Murders. Not subtitled. (4 min).

• Stills Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for Night Train Murders. With music. (3 min).

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet with writings on Night Train Murders and techncial credits.

• Card - collectible lobby card for Night Train Murders.

• Cover - reversibel cover with vintage Italian poster art for Night Train Murders.

Night Train Murders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is hilarious and sad to see some contemporary critics trying really hard to sell various genre films as misunderstood rebels that went to war with the reality in which they emerged from. The reason why so many of these genre films, the good and the bad, many of which happen to be Italian, will always be revisited is precisely because they were allergic to their reality and enthusiastically stepped out of it. They were conceived and directed with unprecedented freedom, which is what made them special. Some channeled politics, but everything they did was again reflective of this unprecedented freedom, not a particular set of views that they were willing to crash and burn for. The idea that just about every genre film was somehow a socially aware film is a fabrication of contemporary criticism, plenty of which is politically tainted. I had to mention this because Night Train Murders, regardless of whether it is profiled as a good or bad genre film, is worth seeing for one reason only -- it comes from a time when creativity in cinema was virtually unopposed. 88 Films' combo pack presents a new 4K makeover of Night Train Murders with a large selection of new and archival bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.