10 Hidden Gem '80s Slasher Horror Movies

6. Terror Train

Terror Train 1980
20th Century Fox

Sticking with the theme of bullied young adults seeking revenge down the line for something horrible that happened to them, that 'horrible' doesn't get more twisted than what happened to Kenny Hampson in the early goings of Terror Train.

Arriving at the very start of the decade, this 1980 picture positions Kenny as your standard 'nerd' who is the butt of people's jokes. Much like Marty of Slaughter High, it's again a pretty lady utilised to lull poor Kenny in. That pretty lady is the legendary Jamie Lee Curtis, who is convinced to take Kenny to a bedroom on the promise of sex. When the lights go off and Kenny gets into bed with Curtis' Alana, he actually discovers he's cosied up to a corpse the kids have stolen from the medical department.

Rightly traumatised by this encounter, Kenny spends the next three years locked up in a psychiatric hospital before resurfacing to target his tormentors during a costume party they're holding on a train on New Year's Eve.

Part of the fun of Terror Train is the wide variety of costumes at play throughout the film's train ride, with Kenny taking on several different guises before he finally confronts Alana during the movie's finale. Sure, Terror Train is very much a product of its time, but that's kind of the point if you're looking for those underappreciated slashers of the '80s.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.