A Horror Film Blog

This Australian film is on Shudder, but it isn't exactly a horror film - look elsewhere if you want gore or shocks. It is, however, a very well made film and Quentin Tarantino's championing has helped get it some much deserved attention.   The plot does revolve around the search for a serial killer - kind of - and there are some well crafted suspense sequences, so if you need justification for its inclusion here, there's that. It's a semi-comic thriller built on three great performances - Stacey Keach as the trucker Quid; a hound credited as 'Killer' as his 'dingo' companion; and his truck as ... his truck. All roads lead to Rome, but what road diverted Jamie Lee Curtis to Australia in 1981? It's worth taking a moment to consider how Stacey Keach manages to be brilliant in many remarkable films (this one; Fat City; The Heart is a Lonely Hunter) but inexplicably hasn't enjoyed the success of lesser actors. More intensity, Stacey! While we are on t...

Jamie Lee Curtis gets to rest on her post Halloween laurels in a fun slasher film directed with far more skill and panache than you would expects kill.  Even in 1980, no-one would have mistaken this a a groundbreaking, genre-redefining film but it is still enjoyable. This is definitely one of the better examples of post Halloween / Friday the 13th tongue-in-cheek slasher silliness.  While the frankly dull Prom Night might be the one that everyone reveres, this cheerfully gory little film should enjoy a far more prominent place in the slasher cannon. Rather than imitating Black Christmas / Halloween / Friday the 13th and throwing a dart at a calendar and using whatever date it lands on as the 'justification' for someone murdering a bunch of co-eds / cheerleaders / babysitters / camp counsellors, this time they decide to shake things up by Putting It On A Train. FACT - everything is better on a train.  Sex is better on a train.  Food is better on a train.  Murder...