Review of TransSiberian (2008) by Janne F — 09 Oct 2009

This is the "new" film from director Brad Anderson, who did The Machinist and Session 9. I just watched Session 9, and this blows the shit out of that, and its almost as good as The Machinist; which is one of the best movies ever.

Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer star, and it was a weird contrast to see Woody Harrelson play a kind of boring, church-going train enthusiast after seeing him as the wild zombie killer in Zombieland.

They play a married couple taking a vacation on a train going from China (where they help poor children) to Siberia. They hear terrible tales of Russian police brutality and drug smuggling. So when their bunkmates appear, a sexy spainaird and his white girlfriend, you immediately suspect them of something.

There's a lot of foreshadowing in this, and I can't really tell you anything without ruining it, but it turns out to be a very tense, unpredictable movie. Russia is a very fucked up place, and Americans should never go there.

And you should never trust strangers on a train. But I sure wouldn't mind trying some of that great Russian vodka, which I've never had. But I've been weary of Russian vodka since I was a child, way before I started drinking, and I saw 1988's Leviathan, where an underwater station crew finds an old bottle of Russian vodka and it turns everyone into a sick, beastly monster.

That thing was fucked up! It had all these mouths, and tentacles, and fucking ate everyone! Ben Kingsley and Thomas Kretchman show up later as 2 Russian narcotics officers, and I can't say anything about them without spoiling the movie.

Just check it out, it's very excellent. And if you like some good sci-fi horror check out Leviathan. It was one of the first movies to be released at the same time as another one with the same concept, I think the other one was called Deep Star Six or something.

Sans Russian Vodka.