I have vivid childhood memories of "Horror Express." When I watched the film as a young 'un, I was vaguely traumatized by its imagery of dead people with white, blank, blood-leaking eyes. Creepy stuff, for a kid.

Now that I'm an adult, with plenty of gory movies under my belt, I've largely gotten over my childhood dread of this odd little film. And yet, "Horror Express" still packs a scary punch for me during its best scenes. The train setting is both romantic and claustrophobic, and the monster is effective in both its human and creature forms.

The script blends science fiction and horror to interesting effect, suggesting that the monster is some kind of "unholy" alien. I've seen a lot of horror/sci-fi hybrid stories on TV (in Kolchak, The X-Files, Doctor Who, etc.), but not too many in the movies - so "Horror Express" is fairly unique in its blending of genres for the silver screen.

This movie is also noteworthy for its first-rate genre cast. Of course, horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are on hand (unusually, Lee has more dialog than Cushing - the reverse is usually true). But the really noteworthy piece of casting is Telly "Kojak" Savalas as a loud, bossy Cossack captain. To be honest, I think his glorified cameo is a little outrageous, and temporarily threatens to derail the film (pun entirely intended, I'm afraid), but ultimately he doesn't distract too much from the other, better-established characters.

Of course this is no masterpiece, but fans of what I call "good little horror films" should enjoy it immensely. It's got good ideas, scares, gore, eye candy, and cool actors - what more do you need, right?

The English title is a little dubious, and the Spanish title is little better. The production values leave a lot to be desired; some scenes are bathed in so much primary color you might think this could be a Dario Argento film if not for the lack of sharpness in the photography, and even beyond that the picture is often a bit fuzzy and the audio a little muddled.

Yet beyond those minor setbacks on the surface, 'Horror express' is a solid movie. One need not watch for long to gather that this is based on a story we've seen adapted elsewhere, yet it takes that basic concept in a little bit of a different direction, to rather great success. Even if the audience figures out the nature of the creature before the characters do, it doesn't detract from the fun of watching the mystery, horror, and bloodshed unfold.

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are fantastic, as always, and I can't fault the rest of the cast at all. Though the audience can guess at the core, there are a few unexpected turns in the narrative that help propel this train to its final destination.

There's not too much to say here--the flaws are noticeable, but minor in the grand scheme of things. This is a good, fun horror film within Lee & Cushing's vast collective filmography. For the fact that it's in the public domain, there's no reason not to check it out if you have 90 minutes to spare.