Terror Train 2

Watched 2025 on Tubi in Australia; immediately after Terror Train, 2022.

This is the sequel to my previously reviewed "definitely average slasher horror film".

More of the same as before. A story starts to progress and there are glimmers of depth in the first third of the film. But whoops, there we go, back into the land of horror tropes we've seen before "people doing and saying things that anyone with a spoonful of sense in their brain would avoid."

There is less "who is the killer?" this time around; much more of "I hope they get it next". The ending is a slight twist, but it wasn't even enough to keep me particularly entertained. Decent enough production values. Acting again, hit & miss; most of the returning characters do well, but some are worse for this effort. So many missed opportunities for a stronger sequel, some really poor story choices and wooden acting; but having been produced at the same time as the first film, more of the same but with slightly less in-jokes.

Just as last time, Maybe one for big fans of the genre; but for me, a film aficionado and only daytime horror viewer, it gets a very average score of 5, no more.

(My rating system is 0= someone got paid to produce this? 10= flawless entertainment.)

In this version, our heroine boards the train only to find more murder and mayhem on the infamous Terror Train. In the first film, it was easy to figure out the killer's I. D. and motivation. I mean, you couldn't figure out who it was and why?

I give kudos to the scriptwriters for making the guessing game a wee bit harder to I. D the killer. I had the killer's I. D. pegged early on. This time, the red herrings made the guessing game difficult. Maybe the killer was this person? Maybe the other? After all, was said and done, I was right all along.

The one annoying thing was the inclusion of characters from the first film. They had nothing to offer to the plot but to remind you of their presence from the first film.

A high body count might make splatter hounds rejoice, but in the long run, this movie is slightly better than its predecessor.

Not bad but the only thing I couldn't buy was the killer in the sequel. Just too unbelievable for this character and the motive was absurd. I don't want to spoil it but I strongly believe a different killer with a non laughable motive would have made this better. Still believe the first remake was stronger. The sequel just not as good.

The acting is pretty decent. The Magician was a perfect cast for this role. Alana is also pretty good as well as the conductor. The rest of the cast is OK. Cinematographer did a good job as well and I believe the scenes are lit quite well. All in all, entertaining.

Still traumatized by the previous rampage, a survivor of a crazed killer is talked into going on a train ride commemorating the original massacre and get over the incident, but when it starts happening again finds herself forced to take action to save her friends and stop the mysterious killer.

This one turned into a generally fun if slightly problematic effort. One of the better features here is the fine work spent on integrating the events of the two films to feel like a genuine sequel. The main gist here involving her life coming apart dealing with her trauma affecting her surgical aspirations and turning into a paranoid psycho that can't be anything in the train without being reminded of the previous encounters is all incredibly fair and realistic. That carries over into the other setups involved here, with the exploits of the other survivors ranging quite reasonably from those still dealing but getting over the issue to using the experience to become a faux celebrity in an online community devoted to the incident. There's a lot to like here with these conflicting setups coming into play. As this is set up quite nicely, that turns the film into a stellar mystery about the nature of the killer committing the murders. Abandoning the concept of having the killer stalk anyone by going for the shocking ambush of the victim not believing the costumed person will hurt them before the killing blow, this one becomes a solid series of discussions and realizations about the killer's identity and purpose. This adds a layer of intrigue and suspense as the inability to really nail down a real definitive red herring which makes the stalking and ambushes here come off quite nicely. In addition to this, there's a lot to like here with the kills on display which are a bit more brutal than expected and have a fun component to them also being usually livestreamed to a disbelieving audience online, which all combine together for a lot to enjoy here. There are some drawbacks to be had with this one. One of the biggest issues holding this one back is the superficially obnoxious characters due solely to the specific setup featured here. Playing into the idea of the same train as before is already in bad taste, then to have the characters focus on trying to enhance their social media standings is even more by downplaying genuine emotional damage and distress. That people, supposedly being friends with each other are going through the issues they, to ignore this in favor of what they do here is incredibly shortsighted. Of course, there's also the whole issue of why anyone would want to partake in this setup to begin with considering the circumstances surrounding the whole incident that needs to be addressed, but otherwise, it's not so bad.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Terror Train 2 (2022) is currently available on Tubi and picks up after the last film with the survivors from the first Terror train. Alana, who was the hero from the first adventure, has received national attention but is also struggling mentally recovering from the event. Her friends and psychologist think getting on a train again to help recover from the past events is the logical next step. As she gets on the train, the horrors begin again. Is it all in her head or is she the target of another vicious serial killer?

This movie is directed by Philippe Gagnon (Terror Train, 2022) and stars Robyn Alomar (Utopia Falls), Nadine Bhabha (The Christmas Exchange), Nia Roam (Polar), Romy Weltman (Backstage), Tim Rozon (Lost Girl) and Daniel Gravelle (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark).

This movie was definitely rushed and feels like it in every way. The writing for the storyline doesn't know if it's a sequel or a remake. The dialogue, writing and acting is awful...somehow much worse than the first film despite the same director and many returning cast members. The kills and gore are very inconsistent, but there was one throat slash/stab that was excellent.

Overall, this movie is very bad and not worth your time. I would score this a 1/10 and strongly recommend skipping it.