Tales from the Darkside (TV Series) The Last Car (1986) User Reviews

The best one so far

[Bored_Dragon · 8/10 · 17 June 2018]

So far, this is the best episode of the second season. It is very disturbing, developing the story and building an eerie atmosphere slowly and gradually, which is quite a success considering duration of just 20 minutes. I had serious case of goosebumps.

8/10

Creepy Tales from the Darkside episode.

[poolandrews · 8/10 · 13 April 2008]

Tales from the Darkside: The Last Car starts as a young woman named Stacey (Begoña Plaza) waits for the train to take her home for Thanks Giving, after waiting for what felt like months the train pulls into the station & Stacey boards the last car. Once inside Stacey is puzzled to see only three other people despite every other car being jam packed. Stacey quickly finds out that this isn't your usual train car, it never stops, it's always pitch black outside like night never ends & there seems to be some mysterious conspiracy to stop her from leaving the car... ever...

Episode 19 from season 2 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during Fenruary 1986, directed by John Strysik The Last Car is considered one of the very best episodes from this somewhat hit and miss series & it's a generalisation that I would find difficult to argue with since it is one of the very best episodes from this series. The script by Michael McDowell has an intriguing concept & a basic premise which draws you in & hooks you. Lots of strange little bizarre events take place which really keeps the viewer guessing & wanting to know more, it can get pretty creepy & eerie at times which is great since a lot of Tales from the Darkside episodes seem to revolve around light hearted fantasies. Then there's the terrific ending which doesn't necessarily answer every question or resolve every mystery event but is suitably grim & I think it's obvious the whole episode is a metaphor for death. At only twenty odd minutes it's short & it's very watchable, it doesn't drag or lose momentum & doesn't become repetitive like many episode of this series do. One of the best stories from this series & probably the stand out episode from a largely lacklustre season two.

Again the Tales from the Darkside production team show what can be done with only two sets & five actor's, these things show what can be done with a limited budget & some imagination. Not every episode works like I have said but when they are successful like The Last Car it is very effective. There's also a good creepy horror supernatural atmosphere to this episode as well which is also something you can't say about every Tales from the Darkside episode. There's a touch of gore here as someone is shot & we see the bullet holes appear & there are several rotten skeletal type corpses seen. The acting is solid from a small cast.

The Last Car is a great Tales from the Darkside episode, it's creepy, it's horror based, it has a good story which intrigues & there's even a little bit of gore here as well. Probably the single best episode from season two & one of the best episodes from the entire series.

Most terrifying episode!

[neal66 · 9/10 · 19 April 2017]

This is by far the scariest episode of this entire series. I've seen it twice and both times it made my blood run cold! You got a young woman trapped on the train of the dead with no exit! Tales from the Darkside was the scariest story anthology show to ever grace TV and this episode is best example. Other chilling episodes 1. Geezerstacks 2. TrickR Treat 3. Halloween Candy 4. Season of Belief 5. Circus

Definitely One of the Best Episodes of Tales of the Darkside

[sheenarocks · 10/10 · 5 June 2008]

This show haunted me for 20-plus years. I honestly could not remember what series featured this haunting episode warning one to NEVER SIT IN THE LAST CAR!! At the time, I was traveling on Amtrak up and down the Pacific Coast and after viewing this episode, refused to sit in the last car. Very reminiscent of a classic Thomas Disch story with barely a beginning and never an ending.

After 20 years of trying to find this episode, I finally watched it again this morning. Still haunting, frightening, eerie... An episode that answers few questions: Why was the last car almost empty while the rest of the cars on the train were full? Why would the conductor not come back until another passenger entered the last car? Was the girl traveling home for the Thanksgiving holidays dead? Incredible... Definitely one of the best episodes of this actually very interesting series. A true heir to the Twilight Zone.

The tunnel.

[TOMNEL · 10/10 · 2 August 2006]

A young girl gets on a train where everybody seems to know her, and where she can't go to any other cars. Once they reach a tunnel she sees what they actually are. This entire episode is a metaphor for death. The ending confused me a little but the gore effects look nice and the episode is well directed and I'd say this is in my top 5 episodes. There is also some dark humor in the episode that really adds to it. It's subtle but it's there. The end is almost like an M. Night Shyamalan film. I thought for at least 20 minutes after I watched it. Try to find it!!

My rating: Perfect episode. 21 mins. TV PG V

Well Thought Through, Still Spooky!

[jmh-34 · 9/10 · 3 August 2009]

I just saw this episode and it's one of the best! I live less than half a mile from Cranston (the city where the girl was supposed to get off at). Today the "dark countryside" setting mentioned is mostly all city (the route the train took is real). The only tunnel I know of would be on the spur route into Cranston itself (no longer in use), but it's very short.

I just saw this episode and it's one of the best! I live less than half a mile from Cranston (the city where the girl was supposed to get off at). Today the "dark countryside" setting mentioned is mostly all city (the route the train took is real). The only tunnel I know of would be on the spur route into Cranston itself (no longer in use), but it's very short.

"Tunnel, tunnel, tunnel." Superior episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 16 January 2014]

Young gal Stacey (a fine and appealing performance by the pretty Begonya Plaza) discovers that she's experiencing the hellish ride of her life after she boards the last car of a train that's populated by strange folks who behave in an odd and unsettling manner. Director John Strysik relates the fascinatingly bizarre story at a brisk pace and does a bang-up job of crafting a supremely spooky atmosphere that has the surreal anything-can-happen unnerving logic of a vivid nightmare. Michael McDowell's shrewd script at first cleverly conceals information prior to culminating in one doozy of a surprising downbeat twist ending. Moreover, there are also nice touches of inspired black humor sprinkled throughout. The excellent acting by the super cast helps a lot: Plaza makes for a strong and sympathetic lead, with sturdy support from Mary Carver as sweet elderly woman Mrs. Crane, Louis Goss as a flaky old man with a box full of sandwiches, Scooter Stevens as an obnoxious little boy whose outfits keep changing, and Bert Williams as a sinister train conductor. Gideon Porath's stylish cinematography offers several strikingly weird and horrific images. One of the definite highlights of the second season.

Superior scares

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 16 September 2015]

An expertly grim episode of the TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE TV show, THE LAST CAR is one of the highlights of the second season thanks to a decent script and an actual emphasis on full-blooded adult horror. It's another single location piece in which a small group of characters are trapped together on a train carriage hurtling through the countryside at night, and there's a twist in the tale which 99% of viewers will guess in the first few seconds.

Despite the predictability of the storyline, this is exemplary entertainment with the emphasis throughout on dread and foreboding; no cheesy rubber monsters here or dumb comedy, just suspense that never lets up. When it hits, that ending is as grim as you could wish for and a real delight for this horror fan.

Creepy fate, but could be worse for Stacy....

[jpowell180 · 8/10 · 22 November 2016]

In The Last Car, we see Stacy, a college student headed home for Thanksgiving break, visions of ham, turkey, family and boyfriend in her head, eager to get underway. She impatiently awaits her train, which finally (after what she described as feeling like it took "months") arrives, and she counts herself lucky to get a seat in the nearly empty "Last Car", after having to stand on previous trips due to the lack of seats.

She soon finds out, however, that all is not as it seems on the Last Car; a kind elderly lady comments how strange Stacy's "bracelet" is (hint: it's her watch), and a young boy keeps changing outfits (camouflage, football player, etc) without physically changing; a middle-aged man also has a box of sandwiches which is seemingly never-ending, including her request for some hummus. The real terror happens, however, when the train goes through tunnels - which the other three occupants of the Last Car clearly dread, but have resigned themselves to accept. In a Tunnel, dreamlike (in the nightmare sense) strangeness occurs; often horrifying strangeness. It becomes clear by the context of the episode that Stacy, along with her fellow passengers, is dead; how this happened is not explained, nor is she at first aware of it. That said, others have mentioned that they are in some form of Hell - but is that really the case? I debate this based upon the fact that the passengers show love and kindness to one another - not something that one will ever find in Hell. There are comforts offered - the man with his infinite sandwich box, always eager to offer something - and also the elderly lady, who knits a shawl to comfort Stacy, who complains how she finds it cold in the tunnels. So, not quite Hell, but definitely after death, in a place of long periods of tedium, followed by regular frightening passages through the Tunnels - but also a place with warmth and compassion between the short periods of horror. Many people have it worse on Earth.

Tales from the Darkside - The Last Car

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 1 September 2013]

Her destination was Cranston—the home for the holidays trip, with boyfriend hopefully waiting—but Stacey (Begoña Plaza) chooses the last car on the train, and her trip just might be derailed. Night never ends, the only three passengers have odd behavioral issues (the obnoxious kid dresses in various outfits (cowboy, spaceman, soldier) always firing a toy gun, the old lady sewing a shawl seems resolute, indifferent, and oblivious to where the train goes or its destination (coldly reacting to Stacey's eventual frustrations and interest in getting off the train, or at least out of the "last car"), an old man dosing on and off, with a shoe box that contains sandwiches he always offers to Stacey, often telling the kid to "shhh..."), and the trip seems to have extended over a lot longer period of time than Stacey was anticipating. While I think the audience who watches this show will have figured out what "the last car" is really about, I commend those who built this through its number of weird touches (the little boy shoots his toy gun in anger at the old man after a game of 'go fishing' doesn't satisfy him and real bullets seem to kill him, the conductor eventually shows up and his looks are ghoulish enough with a smile that elicits a sinister vibe (as if he knows that Stacey has now become a new member of the last car club, concealing it from her), the "tunnel", a topic always on the lips of all the characters but remaining ambiguous to a confused Stacey (she keeps looking and requesting answers but never receives them), that seems to be a specific signpost feared because of what can happen when the train travels into it (the old lady is seen having what seems like an epileptic fit with her eyes going back in their sockets)) before the finale with the skeletons adds a final eerie touch that compliments all that occurs over the course of the episode. I liked Plaza's performance in the episode. At first, she's jovial and excited about a train car mostly emptied, preparing to meet her man at home, but with the trip lasting on and on, no end in sight (no Cranston), Stacey becomes increasingly puzzled and irritated. Wouldn't any of us? And as the trip continues, Stacey worsens with no one telling her anything (and no one seeming to understand her frustration), until she finally sees for herself during a trip through the "tunnel…tunnel…tunnel…" why this is all happening. I think the episode succeeds because it doesn't fork over easy answers to what it going on, instead opting to remain mysterious and aloof, the conclusion giving us a little something but never quite providing a full, definitive explanation for all the oddball occurrences throughout.

my favorite episode so far

[framptonhollis · 9/10 · 16 September 2017]

I've been watching and rewatching some Tales of the Darkside episodes recently and so far this one takes the cake in terms of scares, surprises, and even laughs. If you were to know anything about my taste in film and television, it's that I'm a sucker for surrealism and black comedy, and this great tale of absurdist confusion juggles both of these qualities with skill, even if that skill is rather imperfect. It's a very Lynchian episode, which isn't something I'd really expect from Tales from the Darkside. Oftentimes an episode of the show is really weird, but it almost never really dwells in the realm of the truly surreal; however, this episode subverts any and all expectations most viewers will have. It reminds me a lot of (the original) Twin Peaks, and, coming from me, this is a compliment of the highest order. Of course, this little horror short does not hold a candle to Lynch's work, but then again, NOTHING I've ever seen is able to do so. So, props to this episode for not only having the guts to go totally ballistic with its oddball humor and spine tingling weirdness! I hope I see more episodes which mirror this one in the near future, although I doubt any will come close to being this excellent and entertaining!

Top Tier Episode

[scoobyboobruh · 7/10 · 31 January 2022]

In a show with way more horrible episodes than there should be, this one manages to be simple yet effective. It's fairly repetitive, but each time said event take places, you are legitimately curious and cautious at the same time at what will happen next.

Creepy and Disappointing

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 25 April 2022]

The college student Stacey comes to a small train station to travel home for Thanksgiving, and notes a different train schedule. She buys a two-way ticket and embarks on the last car of the train. She notes that there are only three passengers in the car despite the others cars being crowded. The passengers are an old lady named Mrs. Crane, an old man and a restless boy, and they are all afraid of the tunnels. Stacey decides to move to another car and finds that the communicating door is closed. When the conductor arrives, he returns an one-way ticket to Stacey and does not allow her to move to another car. What is happening in the last car?

"The Last Car" is a creepy episode of "Tales from the Darkside" unfortunately with a disappointing conclusion. Apparently Stacey has died but the story does not have the necessary closure of the plot. With a few minutes more showing what has happened to Stacey before her embarkation would have made "The Last Car" a top-notch episode. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil) "The Last Car"

A train ride to hell!

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 9 March 2011]

Just recently watched this TFTD episode and it's titled "The Last Car" rightfully. I believe it was from 1986 season two. Anyway it's plot involves a young woman who's going home somewhere in the northeastern U.S. for the Thanksgiving holiday. Only from the get go this train seems different and strange, it starts late then when she boards the people seem so stiff and strange. From the quite old man to the odd little boy to the cold old lady this train has some odd passengers and strangely this track doesn't make any stops! This episode builds up well with suspense as little by little this young lady sees that this train is a train of no escape a death train of bags and bones! Overall good episode with suspense that gradually builds up before it frightens in the end as the end reality is grim it's a track trip of no escape!

Maybe the best episode of this series.

[shellytwade · 10/10 · 26 January 2022]

This episode really works. You can enjoy it on a simpler level of just being a creepy tale set on a train but at the same time there's a lot of subtext going on, where if you wanted to dive in deeper you could. Very well could be the best episode of the entire series. At least a top 5 contender.

My most memorable episode

[tampaaries · 10/10 · 6 May 2022]

This was the best Tales from the darkside episode. Very creepy and my most memorable episode from the whole series. Unfortunately I cant find this episode on YouTube, would be nice to look at it again after 30 years.