A British anthropologist—played by Christopher Lee—finds a frozen prehistoric creature during an expedition in Manchuria in 1906 and brings it back to Europe on a train. Chaos erupts when the unsettling being escapes and begins attacking the passengers. Peter Cushing portrays a fellow researcher, while Telly Savalas delivers an over-the-top performance as a menacing Cossack officer near the end. This UK/Spanish production from 1972, “Horror Express,” isn’t officially a Hammer film, but it carries that familiar feel, and I'm fond of Hammer films. It’s kind of like a combination of "The Thing," "Murder On The Orient Express," “Ten Little Indians,” "Trog," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and several other Hammer movies featuring Lee and Cushing. The creature’s design clearly had an impact on Chris Claremont's Proteus—also known as Mutant X—in the X-Men comic seven years afterward. You may wonder why I included “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” in that comparison; John Cacavas’ score evokes that well-known Western theme, but it’s more unsettling and appropriate for a horror film of the early 1970s. Another thing to appreciate is the presence of two beautiful redheads: Helga Line, who was 39 during filming, and Silvia Tortosa, age 24, as a Countess. "Horror Express" was considered quite frightening when it was released. It might seem old-fashioned now, but at least the filmmakers treated the story with seriousness and didn't make it silly. I would rate it higher if not for the fact that the final section disappoints and feels slow. Until then, though, this is excellent Gothic horror from the early 70s. The film has a running time of 88 minutes and was filmed in Madrid, Spain. GRADE: B

Source on TMDB