Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Terror Express Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 4, 2022

Ferdinando Baldi's "Terror Express" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment and Code Red. The supplemental features on the disc is an archival program featuring interviews with actors actors Carlo de Mejo and Zora Kerova and screenwriter Luigi Montefiori as well as vintage trailer for the film. In English, not subtitled. Region-Free.

Terror Express and The Brute were conceived to deliver the exact same thrills during the exact same period, which was the late ‘70s. Both are exploitation films, but the former was directed by an Italian, Ferdinando Baldi, while the latter by a Brit, Gerry O’Hara, and they could not be any more different.

O’Hara’s film was completed in 1977 and follows closely an indescribably repulsive pervert who can’t stop abusing his wife because of the pleasure he experiences while he watches her suffer. He usually attacks her at night, in their posh country home, where no one can see or hear his wife crying and begging for mercy. The pervert happens to be a loving father and reputable businessman too, so during the day when he is amongst normal people, his dark side becomes unrecognizable. But the real reason why the pervert remains free and unpunished for his crimes is his wife’s convictions that he needs time and encouragement to overcome his ‘condition’ and become a normal man again. I can see you rolling your eyes now, and you should because I think that the excuse to allow him to be part of society is genuine baloney, too. However, instead of quickly moving away, O’Hara builds upon it and uses it to sell his film as a serious ‘kitchen sink’ drama. Quite predictably, the film then instantly evolves into an utterly pretentious, indescribably tasteless endurance test.

Baldi’s film came out in 1980 and has three times the amount of extreme material O’Hara’s film does, but it is vastly superior. How so? It is superior because it is sincere, meaning that it does not pretend to be anything else but a silly over-the-top exploitation film. Obviously, if you are allergic to all types of exploitation films this very important distinction won’t mean much to you, but it is the very reason why the excess in Baldi’s film works and is entertaining. For example, even before the passengers get on the crazy train, Baldi brings together the three future troublemakers and a girl that would soon turn out to be an expensive prostitute in a hilarious short scene that effectively reveals how his film will try to impress. And just to be absolutely sure that you get the message, Baldi then adds another hilarious short scene in which an impeccably dressed elderly businessman politely asks his docile young assistant to grab a few of his ‘favorite travel mags’ from a busy kiosk which moments later turn out to be the sleaziest porno mags that are sold at the train station. All of this happens in the first ten minutes and the exchanges are done in some really colorful English, so it is absolutely impossible to misjudge the identity and intent of Baldi’s film.

The rest of the excess from the ‘terror express’ is just classic extreme Italian mayhem, of the type that got Umberto Lenzi in a lot of trouble with the moralistic watchdogs and political commentators in his country. (Toward the end of his life, Lenzi appeared in quite a few programs, some of which are included on recent Blu-ray releases of his films, and explained in great detail how during the ‘70s and ‘80s there was a concerted effort to brand him ‘fascist’ precisely because he did not attach a proper social message to the mayhem in them so that their popularity can be used to condition their audience. In other words, because Lenzi did not conform and shot his films as he wanted, and did not attempt to do some politically correct social commentary as O’Hara does in his film, he became a dangerously subversive director. Of course, the great irony is that what Lenzi -- as well as the likes of Sergio Martino, Fernando Di Leo, and Enzo G. Castellari, amongst others -- portrayed in his films and frequently insisted accurately reflected reality but was dismissed as ‘exploitation’ material is now mainstream material and praised for its bold authenticity in award-winning TV shows like Gomorrah). The three troublemakers go berserk and have a bit of nasty fun with a couple of ladies, a detective and his prisoner make some strange discoveries, an old pervert with a really bad fetish decides to use the services of the traveling prostitute, and an attractive teenage girl becomes a rebel. There is plenty more that happens in between that eventually forces the three troublemakers to pull out their guns and use them, but it is all silly fireworks of the kind that Italian exploitation films from the period are now cherished for.

So, should you seek and see Baldi’s Terror Express? If you have previous experience with Italian exploitation films from the ‘70s and enjoy what they have to offer, then the answer is a definite yes. In Terror Express Baldi goes as far as he could have without getting in trouble with the law, but his film is actually pretty darn funny because it is utterly unbelievable. If you don’t have such experience, then the answer is a definite no. You are not prepared for it and will instantly misjudge its excess and sense of humor, which means that you are going to waste your time with it.

*This recent Blu-ray release from Dark Force Entertainment and Code Red features a pretty elaborate reconstruction of Terror Express. There is footage that comes from at least three different sources -- Italian, English, and German -- and given the presence of the longer explicit footage, which isn’t adult footage, it is probably fair to speculate that it is the longest version of it assembled for a legit home video release.

Terror Express Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Terror Express arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment and Code Red.

The release is sourced from an exclusive master that was prepared with content from multiple sources. I could identify at least three: English, Italian, and German. It has some rough spots and it is very easy to tell that it could have benefited from some serious restoration work, but the end product is good. Indeed, the visuals usually have decent or good organic qualities and on a large screen, the film looks like an aged film. Now, you should expect to see various small and bigger density fluctuations that affect delineation and depth, in some cases even clarity, but there is still a lot to like and appreciate. The master is graded pretty nicely too, though this is another area where ideally saturation and balance should be superior. (For what it's worth, I would much prefer to have this type of grading work than the one that some elaborate 4K and 2K masters are receiving overseas). Image stability is fine, but I need to make it clear that there are plenty of minor jumps and random shakiness. Some scratches, small marks, black spots, and other similar age-related imperfections can be observed as well. Lastly, there is room for some encoding optimizations, and this I think is the release's greatest weakness. On a double-layer disc, with proper optimizations, this film would have looked rather impressive in high-definition. All in all, given the reconstruction work that was needed to prepare the master, I think that the current presentation is fine because it has nice organic qualities, but I think that these projects, and all other films, need to be placed on a dual-layer disc and optimized as best as possible. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Terror Express Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. Even though you can turn on an off (some) subtitles via the remote control, there are no optional English subtitles on the disc.

The English is pretty rough, but this is to be expected because virtually all of the actors were overdubbed in English. Yes, most do utter their lines in English, but they were still overdubbed. Dynamic balance is pretty weak as well, but I would not say that it is disappointing. Clarity and sharpness fluctuate quite a lot. I heard various pops, minor hiss, and just plain flatness emerging all over the place. In other words, in an ideal word the English track would have greatly benefited from a proper remastering job. It still serves the film fine, but you need to see your expectations low. My score is 3.25/5.00.

Terror Express Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Terror Express. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Tails From the Rails - in this archival program, actors Carlo de Mejo and Zora Kerova and screenwriter Luigi Montefiori recall how he became involved with the production of Terror Express, and discuss their experiences with director Ferdinando Baldi, the tone and attitude of his film, the shooting of some of the more difficult scenes (including the rape scene), Some of Mrs. Kerova's comments are quite interesting because apparently she did not think that Baldi did anything right, even though he was a very kind man who always listened to the actors. The program was produced for Camera Obscura's 2009 DVD release of Terror Express. In Italian, with English subtitles. (25 min).

Terror Express Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Italians produced some of the best and some of the worst exploitation films. There are two types of exploitation films I enjoy and virtually all of them are Italian -- the visual stunners, like Tinto Brass' Salon Kitty, and the silly but hilarious ones, like the various Decameron copycats. The 'serious' exploitation films usually quickly bore me to tears, and the ones that pretend to be something else I quite simply cannot tolerate. Ferdinando Baldi's Terror Express isn't for those that are easily offended because it goes places a civilized mainstream film would never dare to explore, but it has a typical Italian sense of humor that works quite well for it. I enjoyed it because it is very loose in several different ways, which is very much a lost art these days, and because its original English track was pretty awful. This recent Blu-ray release offers an elaborate reconstruction of the film, which might be the longest legit English version of it to appear on the home video market. If you enjoy these types of older genre films, do not miss it. RECOMMENDED.