Shadow Zone: The Undead Express (1996 TV Movie) User Reviews

Low-Paced Good Vampire Story

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 18 March 2006]

In New York, the teenager Zach (Chauncey Leopardi) is a compulsive liar since his parents divorced, and he has sessions with a psychologist. His best friends are the teenagers Gabe (Natanya Ross) and J.T. (Tony T. Johnson), and he is a fan of horror movies. When Zach gets lost in an old access to the subway, he meets the vampire Valentine (Ron Silver), who protects him against other vampires in a train, and they become friends. Gabe and J.T. do not believe on Zach, and he returns to the abandonment station to prove that the undead do exist.

"Shadow Zone: The Undead Express" is a low-paced good vampire story. The screenplay and characters are well developed. With more action and humor, this movie could be excellent, but anyway it does not disappoint. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Zona das Sombras: O Expresso dos Mortos-Vivos" ("Shadow Zone: The Undead Express")

Tedious but not worthless

[angelynx · 4/10 · 18 May 1999]

Glacially paced TVM in which kid discovers the existence of a vampire colony living in the New York subway. So much accompanying plot business that it begins to feel like an "After-School Special" - kid hero Zach comes from broken home, is neglected by workaholic mom, habitually tells lies about his great adventures (so, of course, no one believes him when he's finally telling the truth). Happy ending not only reunites Zach's separated parents but causes him to swear off lying for good *yawn*. Only thing that saves it from being formula teen adventure is the sympathetic and dignified performance of Ron Silver as master vampire Valentine Cutter, who has never lost his humanity. The only moments in which the film lurches up from its rut and achieves real beauty are those in which Valentine shows Zach the treasures of his subterranean world. For these scenes (which even coax some acting ability and charm out of the irritating Leopardi as Zach) - and for the terrific twist ending, which should give any viewer real respect for Valentine's nobility - I'm willing to cut it a little slack. But only a little...

Response to slayrrr666

[beavercartoon · 6/10 · 31 December 2013]

~Contains Spoilers~

This is a slow-paced vampire movie with little gore and relatively few scares, intended to appeal to a pre-teen audience (as it was adapted from a YA novel.) However some viewers are missing the point. Valentine, the lead vampire, did NOT have complete control of his humanity at the beginning. That was part of a gambit to gain Zach's trust. He claimed to only drink rat blood, yet admitted that he turned all the vamps on the subway car. They would never have obeyed him if he hadn't bitten them in the first place. But by biting so many people, his hold on the group starts to weaken as they all resist Valentine's influence. Valentine's back story was important as he mentions building part of the subway (explains his knowledge of the rails) and having a young son (explains his attachment to Zach.) Valentine was still going to use Zach but then the chase scene happened. They track Sims, the rebellious stockbroker vampire to a graveyard. Sims suggests hiding in the crypts and waiting for the next night to attack New York, but Valentine notices the grave belonged to his son (the headstone implies that the boy grew up to fight and die in a world war) and decides to return to the underground. He forces Sims to return as well. Thus, the "bloodless scene" was important because it changed the vampire's motivation. He still plays as if he wanted to invade NYC with his group, even using one of Zach's friends as a hostage. Yet his final speech to Zach is a "thank you" for killing off ALL the vampires as Valentine no longer wanted immortality, because he realized his son had died long protecting the city and country he loved. The vampire Valentine is obviously the strong point of the movie. Zach unfortunately is far less interesting and likable. He comes across as an ingrate, not appreciating his family or friends. His mother might work long hours but she does apologize and cook him breakfast, and the father may be gruff but was genuinely concerned when his son talked about meeting a strange man on the subway. Zach's friends are much more endearing. Gabe (the girl) is an excellent photographer who worries about their grade on a school project. She is also dyslexic and deeply hurt when Zach accuses her of using him to write the report because she "can't read". JT (the black boy) is shown to be a bit nervous in the subway, but very loyal. While he doubts Zach's honesty (since Zach has a habit of lying) he does go online to check rumors about vampires on the off chance Zach might be telling the truth. JT also displays the most concern when Gabe is kidnapped. The movie is decent overall with a great deal of attention paid to the NYC scenery and backdrops but is dragged down by slow pacing and a bratty, predictable male lead. I was also disappointed that Zach's love of horror movies did not help him save the day. He survived due to a combination of luck, Valentine's protection, and the sun weakening then killing the vampires.

First of a Never Made Series

[frjoe2000 · 26 July 2004]

This movie first appeared on cable television and is a story based on a series of books by J. R. Black. The actual author was Roy Sallows, the J.R. Black was a pen-name for the series. The books themselves were written by several authors, all under the fake Black name to make them more eerie for the kids. By having many authors, it also made it easier to rush out several titles within a short time. There were quite a few of these juvenile level paperbacks and they were planned as competition against the then popular Goosebumps series, which also found dramatic adaptation, albeit on commercial television. However, the Undead Express was the only film made based on the Shadow Zone series. It is obviously from the goul's commentary, that there were supposed to be other adaptations, but none were ever made. Hopes that the series would take off failed to materialize and the principals lost interest.

Those without premium cable would not have seen it and it has been difficult to come by as a recording. I had to purchase a used copy as I could not find a new one available, particularly in the DVD format. It is a kid film, but some of us like horror movies without nudity, sexually explicit scenes, and vulgar language. The physical corruption of the dying vampires is a bit gross, but I suspect that kids who like such films will find it rather cool.

Wish I could rate it 0 stars.

[thomas-korn · 1/10 · 18 June 2022]

The "vampires" rules are inconsistent at best. Not sure how any of them actually get human blood as they all seem to isolate themselves from humanity. A few can be seen in broad daylight without a burn.. some burn with the teeniest beam of sunlight.

The "story" is so flimsy, I couldn't bother paying attention enough if there was one as the writing, acting and directing was so awful, I didn't care for anyone on screen. Ron Silver has done some fantastic acting in his career.. this is where he's having his assistant phone in his performance for him.

Avoid this drivel at all costs.

Quite mediocre but still watchable

[slayrrr666 · 7/10 · 31 July 2009]

"Shadow Zone: The Undead Express" is a decent if not entirely spectacular vampire affair.

**SPOILERS**

Living in New York, Zach, (Chauncey Leopardi) is constantly complaining to friends Gabe, (Natanya Ross) and J.T., (Tony T. Johnson) about the tiresome situation involving his divorced parents. While exploring the city, he runs across Valentine Cutter, (Ron Silver) a strange man who lives beneath the city streets on a subway, and when he tells others about him, no one believes him. Determined to know more about the stranger, it's eventually learned that he's a vampire who doesn't partake in drinking human blood, yet still no one believes him. Soon afterwards, he gets wind of a dangerous plot with his family of vampires using his friends as bait so they can escape from the sewers, and must get along with an increasingly-untrustworthy friend to get them out.

The Good News: There was some good stuff here from time-to-time. One of the best parts is the fact that there's a series of rather well-done vampire encounters which are quite fun. One of the better parts is the first one within the crumbling walls of the subway station, where the combination of the unknown situation meshes well with the creepy location where the encounter is made and when it showcases the vampire in the sunlight finally melting down it's rather fun and enjoyable for these several good reasons. A later scene inside a ruined cathedral-type subway station is just as good, for the grand atmosphere given off by the location meshes well with the action performed, which is perhaps the first instance where it's obvious that this is a vampire due to the stunts involved, and due to the advancement it does to the story, this scene works nicely. Another encounters, including the early scenes of him wandering around their world where he is subjected to their conditions and way-of-life, to a rather fun brawl in a cemetery and the shots of the vampires being turned, are all rather nice and definitely worthwhile. The best part of the film, though, is the concept of their railway car and how it affects the world around them, which is quite clever and somehow manages to work in this kind of film due to the rating it has, and the scenes on-board it, which includes the spectacular segment where the fact that they're vampires is revealed, is such a part of that it's enough for this film to be watchable. The atmosphere of the situation, the creepiness of the vampires themselves and the fact that the revelation is spoken of with barely any change in inflection despite how the words are being spoken is what makes it work, and because of how well it spells out the action in the film, this here is a great part of the film. The last plus here is the fun and fantastic finale, which is incredibly over-the-top and really enjoyable. From the way it twists the entire storyline to the action that plays out in the course of the proceedings, and that it gives us a full-on series of multiple vampire disintegrations is really great. These elements here manage to make the film enjoyable.

The Bad News: There was a couple of rather noticeable flaws to this one. One of the main ones is a problem that is thankfully erased later on in the film but is still prevalent in the beginning stages, that the vampire cult are built into rather non-frightening entities. Since the group is made out into the type that prefers rat blood to human, there really shouldn't be much to be feared from them and this is played out as such during the film. Ever since the announcement is made that the vampire lead intends on protecting him from the other members of the clan, there's really no need to ever really find this one scary because, by virtue of the dialog, there's no need to ever place him in danger again as he will always come to the rescue, a fact which is shown a couple times to reinforce the situation, and these scenes are just completely non-scary in tone and appearance because of the conditions the film forces itself into. As such, the middle segment of this one is somewhat dull because it won't really let itself go all-out for it's own cause. There's also a questionable section here where one of the vampires escapes into the streets and must be tracked down, but since the entire segment is over in five minutes, features no body count and doesn't add anything to the film, it's inclusion is a little strange. The last flaw to this one is the fact that the film is book-ended by a completely unneeded horror-host that just comes off as cheesy instead of scary, cracking lame one-liners and bad puns about death and dying, and it didn't need to be there. These here are the film's flaws..

The Final Verdict: Not all that spectacular, but definitely worthy of some watchability due to some rather good points being present to balance the flaws. Really only recommended to those who enjoyed the book or these lighter-styled horror films, while those that prefer more active vampire efforts should heed caution.

Rated PG-13: Violence, some Language and children in danger

Ron Silver shines as Valentine

[lotsafun · 10/10 · 11 October 2004]

The other reviewers have done an excellent job of summing this TV movie up. This is an okay TV movie aimed at kids who like scary stories. Those who say it seems like and After School Special are correct. It's fair for the most part but what really makes this something unique is Ron Silver's performance. Silver is fantastic! He brings real pathos and darkness to his role as the vampire Valentine. I rented this thinking it was a more adult oriented horror film. I was a bit taken back when it turned out to be a children's movie. I continued to watch it and Silver as Valentine was such a compelling character that I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Silver really brings things to life each time he's on the screen and he has become one of this horror fans favorite cinematic vampires.