Ghost Train: A little bit spooky, a little bit silly

Is it worth the watch?

If you like old, stagey black-and-white mysteries where everyone is constantly looking over their shoulder at nothing, you’ll dig this. It’s got that specific vibe where you can tell the whole thing was filmed on a set, but the shadows are so thick you almost don't care. If you need pacing that moves faster than a crawl, stay away. This is for people who enjoy heavy atmosphere over actual jumpscares. 👻

There’s this weird, specific energy to the way people act in Kísértetek vonata. It feels like a play that just happened to be filmed. You have these seven characters trapped in a room, and the dialogue is just endless exposition about a train wreck that happened two decades ago. I found myself counting the buttons on their coats just to keep focused.

The storm outside is pure melodrama. The wind noise is cranked up so high it sounds like someone shaking a giant sheet of tin behind the camera. It’s charming, honestly. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Bells, though maybe a little less intense.

Odd moments that stuck

• The way the actors stare into the distance when they're supposed to be hearing a 'ghost' train. It's very dramatic.
• The station master character is clearly hiding something, but he does it by just standing in corners looking sweaty.
• The lighting. Someone really loved that one flickering lantern effect.

There is this one shot where a character walks across the platform, and the floorboards don't even creak. It totally took me out of it for a second. You’re building up this terrifying phantom train, and then the sound design just goes quiet at the wrong moment. Oops.

It doesn't have the punch of a modern thriller, obviously. It’s not trying to be Air Tight or anything that’s actually trying to keep your heart rate up. It’s just a cozy-creepy story. It feels like something you'd watch on a rainy Tuesday while eating soup.

Is it great? Probably not. Is it a fun way to kill an hour if you like vintage cinema? Sure. Just don't go in expecting the train to actually show up in a way that makes sense. It’s more about the idea of the train than the train itself.

Maybe it’s just me, but I found the ending to be a bit of a shrug. They spend so long setting up the mystery that the payoff feels like it happens in about thirty seconds. I guess that’s just how they did it back then.