Nowadays, everyone has a beefed-up backstory for why they made a movie. “I wanted to explore trauma” or “I wanted to hold a mirror to society” or even “I wanted to sell 100 million brand-name cans of cola.” Bah. Real movies, like this 1972 venture starring schlock superstars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, start because a producer has a miniature train. In an interview with Fangoria’s Mike Hodges, director Eugenio Martin claims this movie about an alien creature on the Trans-Siberian railway originated because “the producer got ahold of this marvelous large scale model train … and he came up with the idea of writing up a script just so he would be able to use this prop.” Board this fine carriage at AFS Cinema station and see if the prop justifies the screenplay. – James Scott
Aug. 28 & 31
