Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Devil's Express (1981)



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Summary:

A vengeful female apparition is making a point to terrorize various men perceived
responsible for her human demise.
One encounter is all it takes for her powerful curse to take hold,
and the end result is less then pleasant.
Being that it involves insects snuggling up with your internal organs.

Assistance of a voodoo priestess is sought by one of her victims.
She intervenes just in time, and the curse is caught soon enough to be stopped.
Only the man is told to abstain from alcohol and women, unless he wants to curse to return.

Frequent sightings of the apparition proceed the wedding nuptials
of the priestess's niece, Shirley. But, their wedded bliss is short lived.
What starts off as feigned devotion for Shirley, quickly dissipates
once her husband Ku is given access to Shirley's father's business dealings.
Then his true intentions reveal themselves.

News of his underhandedness even lead to Shirley's father's death by heart attack.
Sparking outrage amongst her remaining family members, each in search of revenge for their
patriarch. Even going so far as to request the aid of their auntie's supernatural abilities.

What the family does not know is that Ku has been recieving nightly visits
from a very unfriendly guest. Bringing gifts that no one wants to receive.

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Decision:

Aside from the gross out visuals of body cavities alive with insects and creepy crawlies.
Along with several notable instances of bug vomiting. This film with the help
of horrible dubbing, and really murky picture quality is reduced to mediocrity.
Which it is unfortunate considering that the night time scenes are alive with supernatural flavor.

Still it does not seem worth it to sit through 82 minutes of...blah, for the occasional
geek show scenery. In fact, those seem to be the only scenes that benefit from the films hazy visuals.

Those looking for obscure, weird Asian cinema might want to check this out.
I'm not so sure about anyone else :P

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Availability: My copy (from Video Asia) appears to be the be the easiest,
cheapest version to procure. Appearing in a double feature with a 90s Cat III film.
It is also available on it's own, but the Distribution company responsible for it's
release (Apprehensive Films) is know for putting out titles
that are unauthorized, with bad transfers. So really this is probably the best of the worst.

Price: 3-9$

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Screen Captures: (No copyright infringement intended.)