Night Train
Year: 2009
Director: Brian King
Studio: E1 Entertainment
Stars: Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski and Steve Zahn
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 83 Mins
Every year, there are films that I question to the reasoning to why that film was released in the first place “Night Train” makes me question, why this film ever see the light of day.
The film is about, three people who discover a mysterious box after the person died in his cabin. They decide to open that box, only to discover a bunch of valuable diamonds. Instead of stopping the train, the three conspire to get rid of the body by throwing it into the river. But unknown to them, the box has mysterious powers which may end up in each of them turning on each other.
Going into this, I was thinking to myself that this can’t that bad of a film, with actors like Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski and Steve Zahn in it. Well, I wrong with that assumption, as its not bad, it’s plainly awful.
“Night Train” is complete mess that makes you wonder, why some of these films ever see the light of day. This film goes off the tracks, in the first ten minutes. Brian King’s direction was very tedious and lifeless. This film is his directorial debut and it shows how inexperienced he is. King is another writer that thinks that he can step behind the camera and direct. Sorry, his direction was like same direction job that Frank Miller did with “The Spirit” That job earned Miller the dishonor of worst film of 2008. There was nothing I liked about it this. Lets, start with the exterior backgrounds. I know that this film was shot on a low budget, but every exterior background looked like the same background that was used in “The Polar Express”. After a while, it became too distracting and painful to watch.
King’s direction of his actors was just horrible. There was no emotion to any of the film’s characters. I was surprised that the acting was horrible consider the likes like Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski and Steve Zahn in the cast. They’re all very talented actors and actresses but they were just dreadful to watch, as they weren’t invested in this project at all
The screenplay was just as dreadful, as the direction itself. I had no idea, what type of story this was. From the trailer it looked like a thriller, but instead this felt like a supernatural horror film. I had no idea what he was trying to go for. Also, the character development was non-existent. It was like, King just stuck any three characters that he can find and put them in a room with a mysterious man, who we known nothing about. King never cared about explaining the character or the box that everyone wants. He also didn’t care about any depth to anything in this film. Instead, he decides to rush into the action, in the film’s opening minutes. That made me very disinterested in King’s story and started this trainwreck of a film.
Night Train is a trainwreck of a film that never gets on track with its direction and story.
Review Rating: One Star
Film Arcade recently recived a copy of Night Train starring Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Saw) Leelee Sobieski (Joyride, 88 Mintues) and Steve Zahn (Sunshine Cleaning, A Perfect Getaway).
It's Christmas Eve… when a veteran conductor (Glover), a young pre-med student (Sobieski) and a struggling salesman (Zahn) discover a dead body onboard a night train, the three strangers find themselves on a collision course with destiny. Among the deceased man’s possessions is a mysterious box, which fascinates their attention. Upon looking inside, they see a treasure so valuable that the three conspire to hide the body and split the fortune themselves. This decision sets in motion a tense game of obsession and deceit, where greed betrays reason and morality gives way to temptation. With local authorities at every stop and an assortment of suspicious passengers along for the ride, can the three strangers overcome their fixation with the coveted box or will they delve even deeper into the trenches of depravity?
To enter this contest, send you email me to contest@filmarcade.net. Please include your name, address, with "Night Train" is the subject line. Contest is opened to US residents only. Contest ends, Wednesday July 8th.
