Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Stephen Abell This is Italy's version of Wes Craven's The Last House On The Left, though I have to say I prefer this film. For the main reason is there's no annoying music on this film. Also, it's more throughout and deeper in psychological content. The principles are the same, here you have two girls on their way out to the country for the Christmas holidays. While on the train they meet the two thugs, who have previously mugged a street Santa. Their attack is unbeknown to the girls so they are friendly with the two men. Though as the train travels further they become more wary of the pair and the blonde woman the men have met. When the train is stopped for a bomb search the girls hop off the train to board another. It's not until they're on the move that the girls realise the trio had hopped trains too. From here on in things get nasty, violent, and cruel.It's these scenes that are the hardest to watch as they lead to the girl's deaths. However, this isn't where the movie stops It's the second half which treads on the unbelievable. The evil trio is picked up by the girl's parents. Who, when they realise what's happened, take their revenge. It's the coincidence of the group meeting that stretches the boundaries of reality.That said, that incident is the only issue I have with the film.It's Macha Meril as the lady on the train that gives this film a nasty and depraved edge. In the beginning, she appears to be a reserved nymphomaniac. Though when they start to torture and rape the girls she's the one who's controlling the thugs, even though she's only known them for a matter of hours. She is definitely twisted and coldly calculating. She stole the show.Even though you know what's going to happen and you probably know how the film will end, the director Aldo Lado does a fantastic job of weaving a subtle and disturbing story into a watchable film with believable characters. It's nice that he doesn't go the exploitation route, especially in the torture sequences. The reality of the scenes really strengthens the film.I cannot say I really enjoyed this film as some of the scenes are disturbing, both visually and psychologically. It is, however, truly watchable and does emote emotions. It is a film that I may watch again... though not for some time.

Cinema_Fan To be fair to director Aldo Lado, he may have taken the scenario for L'ultimo treno della notte from Wes Craven's The Last House On The Left, but, Mr. Craven may not be as innocent too. The Last House On The Left idea originates from the 1960 film by Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007) Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring), so nobody here is perfect, unless you're Ingmar Bergman. Either way, the subject matter here, as with the previous films, makes for disturbing viewing. Director Aldo Lado has produced a film that gives off a sense of the human condition at its lowest, and depraved, if somewhat hedonistic, form, depending on whose viewpoint you take. While a simple format, two young, if somewhat virginal in life's ways, are travelling across Europe, and are joined, reluctantly, by three strangers, one nameless middle-class nymphomaniac woman and two brutish lower-class thugs. What makes this an interesting case is the fact that the depravities hold no bounds across the class barrier, occupying this train compartment is a mixed bag of the class system. What else counts for a plus here is not the fact that it is the two alpha-males who are in control but the petite, slim, attractive sexual deviant, the unnamed Lady On The Train, that is holding the reins, and the fate, of these two young girls. The men, from backgrounds that can only be best described as lacking in style and sophistication, seem to be controlled by the higher intelligent, manipulative worldly woman, it is only the common bond of power and lust that binds these classes together, worlds apart yet both the same in their amoral attitudes. This is a dark world that Margaret and Lisa have inadvertently stumbled upon and with chilling atmospheric lighting by cinematographer Gábor Pogány (1915 – 1999) and the added combination of composer Ennio Morricone's (b. 1928) eerie harmonica underscore, seen in the opposite vain as the character "Harmonica" from Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). This time, the sounds of the distant harmonica bring not justifiable revenge but fear and anxieties in these extreme conditions of claustrophobia, revulsion and narcissistic pleasure. It is the ironies that fill the screen here, too, giving a sense of helplessness toward the two unfortunate victims as the narrative jumps from train compartment to dinner party, and back, in which the expectant parents are holding, whilst waiting for their fledglings to arrive. This setting is a middle-class affair and it is here that we are witness to the proceedings of its surroundings and the opinions of the discussion of violence that begets violence. So much so in fact that the director's work here may consist of little violence, a large part of the film is bringing the characters together and seeing, individually, their respective lives, roles and traits before the twain meet. It is in the manner of the subject matter that on its 1976 cinema release, in the United Kingdom, the then British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) deemed fit to ban its release altogether and its legacy then cemented in stone during its video (VHS) banning during the 1980s thus forever cursed a video nasty. This, of course, does the film little justice, as the team of Lado, Pogány and Morricone etc have brought us a film that consists of character building, its not in a rush to get to the end of the line and we see who exactly is who and we learn a little more of each of them as the film, too, rides on. Then, added with this, we have a mood of lighting, music, fine edits and interesting camera work bringing a fine movie together. The turning point of L'ultimo treno Della notte is not just the despicable, indifferent manner in which the symbols of innocents are exploited but also in which the ironies of middle class principles clash in so opposing contradictions. Setting the piece well in advance we already understand the theories of the middle class, and their attitude toward violence, but it isn't until they are truly tested that we also see that even amongst the confines of bourgeois society the walls of conformity and constraint can so readily and needfully come tumbling down. Even to the point of believing, of wanting to believe, the innocent cries for her life of a desperate Lady On The Train when confronted with the vengeful, now killer, father. Violence has begot violence and is, as always, a classless and faceless entity; this is the true massage of L'ultimo treno della notte and it is done with extreme charm and style which in the end, brings the message home, at heart, the human soul is open to uncertainties and is most capable when needs be.

tonymurphylee Ingmar Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING has been hailed one of the most controversial foreign films of the 60s. Not surprisingly, the 1972 remake of THE VIRGIN SPRING, titled THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and directed by Wes Craven, is considered one of the most controversial horror films of the 70s. If anyone were to have guessed that the film would have been remade and rehashed so much, perhaps one wouldn't have been so quick to jump on the idea of it being a taboo horror film. In truth, the Wes Craven classic does not hold up well today. It's cheap look, it's inappropriate sense of style of music, and it's pacing come off more strongly as camp.None the less, the film is undeniably influential. It's influence can be seen in everything from family films such as HOME ALONE in which the main characters make a mockery of thugs in a variety of gruesome traps, to Grindhouse style shock films such as I DRINK YOUR BLOOD and CAGED TERROR. It has been remade three times; In 2009 it was fully adapted as THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, which garnered mixed critical acclaim. In 2005 it was remade in as a cheap low budget student film by wrestler David DeFalco called CHAOS. However, most importantly it was remade by in 1975, only three years after the original, in an Italian version known as NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS, or, as it was known in the US, THE NEW LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS follows the same basic set-up as THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. Two girls are kidnapped by thugs, tortured, raped, and then brutally murdered. The setting this time is in Italy, and the plot follows two girls on a series of train rides to one of their parents's house. The film starts off much like a film about two innocent tourists. The girls get on the train and have a series of little adventures, not entirely innocent, but playfully naive and without much fear. However, as their train rides continue, things don't go as planned. Two thugs sneak on board and begin to harass the girls, as well as another female passenger who soon decides to join them on their night of debauchery and mayhem after one of them rapes her.When the two girls find themselves fearing for their lives and uncomfortable, they take advantage of a somewhat convenient bomb-threat and sneak onboard another train that will get them to their destination about half an hour early. They get on-board only to find that the train is, mostly, deserted and seemingly without lights or electricity. They take a nap in one of the compartments and then wake up later on in the night to have dinner by candlelight. However, during their dinner they soon discover that the thugs, along with their female friend, have sneaked on-board and the two girls find themselves trapped in a horrible nightmare of torture, rape, humiliation, and heartless cruelty.When the deeds are done the terror still continues. Even after the bodies are violated and disposed of there is still such incredible suspense in it's unfolding of events. When the parents show up to pick the girls up and find the two thugs and the girl at the train station instead, we can feel the slowly building paranoia as the characters realize who they are each dealing with. As the parents come to find out what happened, we truly can feel their sorrow as they realize that they will never see their daughter alive again. Then the revenge aspect comes into play and it is even more shocking than we anticipated. It is not shocking in a gratuitous gorefest kind of sense, but rather it is shocking in that it is obvious that the father who performs these killings is unprepared and inexperienced in such matters. The terror comes from the fact that he is a normal man who is doing something he has never wanted to do. As a result the film is not only horrifying as hell, but it is also an emotional roller coaster ride.This is one of the most effective horror films I have ever seen. The realism of the situations presented here comes off so authentic and suspenseful that it's practically a guarantee that most viewers' stomachs will be in knots. The film is relentless in it's horror and the way the victims' lives are toyed with. The audience is toyed with as well in several moments of what I could pretty much describe as false hope. The film will likely take an emotional tole on viewers who aren't prepared. This film is far more disturbing than THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT due to the unfolding tension. There are no moments of forced dark comedy or cheap style. The film pulls no punches in depicting the last hours of the lives of these two innocent girls. The character of Curly is also far more terrifying than the character of Krug in the original in that he comes across as so simple-minded and yet so screwed up in a realistic way. This is an absolute must-see for all horror fans. This film is a masterpiece, and I'm glad that a modern day version of THE VIRGIN SPRING has finally been told in a proper and effective way.

Bjorn (ODDBear) Two young girls travel by train at Christmas time, little knowing it will be a ride filled with horror.Aldo Lado's Night Train Murders is at times very difficult to digest. As with most Italian movies of this period, the film takes a while to get started, with many fill up scenes that aren't of much interest but once it gets going the film makes a strong impact. The scene where the two girls get molested is a pretty tough viewing experience. Lado stretches the scene to almost unbearable length, displaying such inhuman and immoral tendencies you can't help but be disgusted. The final violent confrontation between the distraught father and the violators becomes not only justifiable but wholly satisfactory.The film's intercutting between the normal goings on in the lives of the father and mother of one of the girls and what's happening to them on board the train makes a strong impact as well. Lado is purposely trying his best to make the events even more unbearable and sad and it works very well. The script is also philosophical to some extent, displaying grounded ideas about the human nature and it's incapability of letting go of some it's animal instincts and it's refusal to be controlled. An immoral and inhuman tendency cannot be distinguished easily and it's visual display here comes from the socialite who's actually the worst of the violators while the two punks are more visible just by how they look and act (not to mention the one who becomes involved but is also the most "moral" one as he contributes to the end justice).While not an intellectual powerhouse the film does boast some very strong visuals and hugely effective scenes of the worst mankind has to offer. It makes an impact, but it's not very enjoyable to watch.