Horror Express (1972)

Set in 1906, a European bound train on the Trans Siberian Railway coming from China is stalked by a centuries old alien who moves from body to body after killing its host. It's up to an anthropologist (Christopher Lee) and a doctor (Peter Cushing) to discover what passenger is hosting the alien creature and terminate it before it kills again. Directed by Eugenio Martin, this co-Spanish and American sci-fi and horror blend tantalizes us with an interesting premise that it never quite lives up to. I love movies set on trains so I was already partial to it but it's crudely made. It's always nice to see horror icons Cushing and Lee working together but the film too often borders on the ludicrous. For example, why would a Russian priest (Alberto De Mendoza) suddenly switch from a fanatical man of God to voluntarily serving "Satan"? Then there's Telly Savalas as a Russian soldier who doesn't enter the movie until the last half hour but his character seems superfluous. But it moves at a nice pace and it's never boring. With Silvia Tortosa, Julio Peria and George Rigaud.