Terror Express

La ragazza del vagone letto pulls into the station as a sleazy slice of Italian exploitation cinema that is as lurid as it is claustrophobic. Director Ferdinando Baldi leans heavily on the confined setting of a night train, using the narrow corridors and dimly lit compartments to create a stifling sense of unease. The film's atmosphere is thick with tension, but it is often undercut by its relentless focus on erotic spectacle. Cinematographically, the movie is competent, if unremarkable. Baldi and his team make effective use of close-ups and shadowy lighting to heighten the erotic charge and the feeling of entrapment, but the overall visual style lacks the polish or inventiveness that might have elevated the material. The train setting is used to decent effect, with the camera lingering on the cramped spaces and fleeting glances between passengers, yet the film rarely escapes the visual monotony that comes with such a limited location.

The acting is a mixed bag. Silvia Dionisio stands out as the film's emotional anchor, bringing a vulnerability and complexity to her role that is missing from much of the supporting cast. She manages to convey both fear and resilience, even as the script gives her little to work with beyond the demands of the exploitation genre. Fiammetta Flamini, in a smaller but memorable role, is notable for her extended, gratuitous sex scene, which is shot with a certain boldness but ultimately feels more calculated than provocative. Werner Pochath brings a sweaty menace to his role as one of the thugs, though his performance sometimes veers into caricature. The rest of the ensemble, including Zora Kerova and Carlo De Mejo, fulfill their roles adequately but rarely rise above the film's pulp sensibilities. Dialogue is serviceable, peppered with double meanings and melodrama, but it often slips into cliché, reflecting the era's tendency toward sensationalism over substance.

The film's greatest weakness is its uneven pacing. Moments of suspense are frequently interrupted by lengthy erotic interludes, which, while central to the film's appeal, often feel gratuitous and detract from the narrative momentum. The soundtrack, a mix of moody melodies and seductive cues, sometimes overwhelms the action, further muddying the film's tone. Technical aspects like lighting and set design are handled with a certain professionalism, giving the production a veneer of quality despite its exploitative core.

In summary, La ragazza del vagone letto is a textbook example of late 1970s Italian genre fare: lurid, atmospheric, and occasionally effective, but ultimately hampered by its overindulgence in sleaze at the expense of genuine suspense or character development. Fans of the era's exploitation cinema may find it a guilty pleasure, but those seeking a taut thriller or psychological depth will likely be left cold.

This is a movie for people who don't find the infamous "Late Night Trains" sleazy enough for their taste. Actually though, this movie, while nowhere near as good, is a lot less disturbing than its more notorious cousin because it's just too ridiculous to take seriously. Silvia Dionisio plays the train prostitute. Why an overnight train really needs a prostitute I don't know, but she sure does a lot of business. There's also a criminal who is being transported by Interpol and ends up becoming the protagonist by default(perhaps this was inspired by the original "Assualt on Precinct 13"). The villains are three pathetic w*nkers who are far more annoying than scary. Anyone worth their salt could have beaten the hell out of these idiots and tossed them off the train with their flick-knives in their a***s, but these twits somehow manage to cow all the other passengers and have their way with them--usually sexually.

Sex is pretty much the name of the game here. Besides Dionisio doing what she does best, you have the equally infamous Zora Kerova as a passenger who willingly cheats on her boorish husband with one of the miscreants in the toilet but gets her comeuppance when one of the other guys barges in on them for some additional action (I guess the filmmakers saw "Straw Dogs" too). I don't know where they got the scene with the father who has incestuous designs on his own daughter and is forced to gamble with other male passengers for her virginity (I suppose this kind of sleaze could ONLY have come from Italy). He doesn't win, fortunately; the same sleaze bag who earlier raped Dionisio and Kerova gets the honors (you have to admire his stamina if nothing else). Still, like the rest of the movie of the movie, this scene would have been a lot more disturbing if the "virgin" in question wasn't being played by an actress who looks to be an aspiring porn starlet.

The violence and suspense on the other hand is almost nil. This is grade Z Italian sleaze in every sense of the word, but I guess if that is what you are looking for . . .

Directed by Fernando Baldi, this Italian train-bound thriller is pure exploitation, its plot clearly inspired by the success of infamous shocker Last House on the Left and its many imitators (most notably, Aldo Lado's Night Train Murders).

Like so many disaster movies of the '70s, the film begins by introducing us to various passengers destined for a most unpleasant journey, and the three despicable slime-balls responsible for their suffering: David (Werner Pochath), Ernie (Carlo De Mejo) and Phil (Fausto Lombardi). After an excruciatingly long establishing shot of the train leaving the station, the film gradually picks up speed, with the trio of dirt-bags making eyes at all of the hot women, and causing trouble for the conductor (Gino Milli), who makes extra cash by pimping out lovely hooker Juliet (Silvia Dionisio) to the passengers.

The sleaze starts when dissatisfied wife Anna (Zora Kerova, from Cannibal Ferox) allows Ernie to have sex with her in the washroom; the couple strip off and get down to business, but to Anna's surprise, they are joined by David, the men forcing her into a standing-up threesome (one riding up front, the other in the caboose?). Meanwhile, Phil tries to break into Juliet's cabin for a little fun of his own.

One of the passengers, a policeman escorting prisoner Peter (Gianluigi Chirizzi) to Germany, intervenes, but is overpowered by the thugs, who take his gun; Peter is released and his handcuffs used to constrain the copper.

Not sleazy enough for you so far? Well how about this then? Sexy teenager Evelyn (Fiammetta Flamini) is feeling hot, so her father (Roberto Caporali) suggests she gets naked, which she does, before slipping back under her bed covers. Dear dad then goes to visit Juliet, insisting that the hooker wears his daughter's nightdress and lets him call her Evelyn. That's right... dad's got a thing for his daughter! Naughty, naughty!

From here-on in, its continuous sex and general debauchery, until the train stops so that a wheel-tapper can inspect the train, at which point nice-guy convict Peter decides to play the hero and fight back. I was hoping for some satisfying violence to round off the film, the three extremely irritating baddies fully deserving of grisly and graphic demises, but Baldi really fumbles the ball here, his trio of obnoxious jerks killed off in really lame fashion: David is hit by a passing train (at least I think that's what happens; it's unclear and very dark), Ernie is pushed off the train while it is moving, and Phil is stabbed by Peter, the actual stabbing occurring off the edge of the screen.

There's enough depravity to keep most exploitation fans happy for the duration, but the ending needed to be much stronger to qualify the film as a classic of the genre. 5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Terror Express is another entry into the Last House on the Left sub-genre that emerged in the 70s. To its credit its one of the more enjoyable films full of sleazy characters and a top-notch cast. Look out for Zora Kerova's double entry scene, the weirdo father who secretly wants to make love to his daughter, and Carlo De Mejo in an almost hardcore sequence involving the said daughter. Jesus how could anyone ever describe this film as dull? Not for the easily offended for sure but definitely one for the collection of any Italian horror-sleaze merchant.

Another sadistic and ultra-sleazy late 70's/early 80's revenge movie?? Wes Craven sure launched a popular trend with his "Last House on the Left" Although "Terror Express" is more like a rip-off of other rip-offs, like "I Spit on your Grave" and especially "Night Train Murders". Storywise, this movie has absolutely nothing new to offer so the only thing left to do for director Ferdinando Baldi was to multiply the sleaze-factor by a thousand! This is actually just a soft core porn flick that gets a little bit rough near the ending. On the night train from Rome are three hopelessly imbecile loser running amok. They provoke the male travelers and sexually harass the females. Things get a little out of control and a traveling convict comes to the rescue of a prostitute who keeps being screwed around by the three. This is a very tame movie and there wasn't even enough budget to buy a couple bags of fake blood. This type of movies is generally infamous for the brutal rape sequences and the discriminating behavior towards women, but the sex in "Terror Express" isn't unsettling at all. On the contrary, these 'rapists' spend more time orally pleasuring their victims then getting some themselves! The music is great, the dialogs are unintentionally hilarious and the characters are the most ridiculous ones I ever beheld. The villains are wimps and the train-passengers are so motionless they look like part of the set. If you like your exploitation as sleazy as it gets, this is your film. However, your hunger for blood and controversy will definitely not be stilled. "Terror Express" should be in the porn-section of videostores.