7 Movies That Scared You Away From Ever Taking Public Transport Again

3. Subway - The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

There are few worse places to get trapped in than a graffiti-riddled subway car: and that's the basis of Joseph Sargent's 1974 release. A thrilling seventies novel brought to terrifying cinematic life, The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three is a heart-in-mouth venture into the depths of the New York City subway - a form of transport that thousands of New Yorkers and tourists use regularly every single day. Robert Shaw stars as Bernard Ryder - the leader of a gang of criminals who hijack the Pelham 123 subway service. Ryder leads the communications with transit officer Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau), demanding one million US dollars in one hour. Ryder promises Garber that for every minute past the hour that the money does not arrive, one passenger will die. Such was the power of the film that, for a time, trains were barred from leaving Pelham station at either 1:23 AM or PM to prevent panic rising among passengers. Although this restriction has since been lifted, there appears to be a degree of anxiousness remaining around the matter, with Pelham trains to this day often deployed just before or after the time of 1:23 and rarely on it.