This week in Jack-o’-Lantern Press, we’ve been honing in on that which isn’t what it appears to be — clowns who aren’t so comical and man’s best friend who’s instead a fatal fiend. Today, movie reviewer Dan Cook investigates one cool car … or is this red beauty a killer, too?
CHRISTINE (1983)
DVD collection
“Halloween” meets “Herbie” in “Christine,” John Carpenter’s thrilling 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s hot-headed novel about a boy and his car. Filmed and distributed just eight months following the book’s publication, this strange yet highly entertaining sci-fi shocker may have been released in the same year as other popular King-inspired pictures such as Lewis Teague’s “Cujo” and David Cronenberg’s “The Dead Zone.” However, thanks to its terrific performances, stellar direction, hypnotic score and time-bending special effects that still impress to this day, “Christine” manages to drive its way to the head of the pack.
Keith Gordon is excellent in the leading role of Arnie Cunningham, a nebbish high-school student whose life irrevocably changes when he impulsively buys a wrecked Plymouth Fury whose twisted chassis houses an entity that, unbeknownst to him, holds an obsessive power over its unsuspecting owner as well as a murderous jealousy over those around him.
While it may not be the best of his written works, Stephen King’s original book still has a weirdness and unpredictability to it that makes it, like most of his stuff, compulsive reading, and the film, for the most part, does a very good job of maintaining its odd yet ferocious charm. Thankfully streamlining the bulky novel by omitting it’s more outlandish subplots and overt paranormal reasonings, Bill Phillip’s memorable screenplay manages to adapt King’s near 600-page novel into a 100-minute picture without losing any of the twisted fun that made the original story both a popular and controversial literary hit.
The performances, as mentioned earlier, are great — especially that of Keith Gordon who brings a believable naivety to the increasingly unlikeable character of Arnie. Just as convincing as a wide-eyed sociopath as he is a nerdy outcast who regularly falls foul of the local bullies, Gordon completely excels here and, in the process, delivers one of the very performances to be found in any John Carpenter film. Meanwhile, John Stockwell is very good in the role of Arnie’s best friend Dennis while the usually avuncular pairing of Roberts Blossom and Robert Prosky are uncharacteristically vulgar as the previous owner of Christine and a tobacco-chewing mechanic respectively.
However, the real star of the show is, of course, Christine and my, what an impressive machine she is. Ostensibly a mad slasher on four wheels, she is a dazzling yet deadly beast of burden, and Carpenter does a stellar job of making her both visually appealing and threatening — anthropomorphising the car in such a way that she becomes just as much of a character as the unlucky humans caught in her piercing headlights. The stunt driving is, of course, impressive, and the numerous nighttime chase sequences are suitably heart-pounding — one of which features the image of Christine chasing after her next victim while engulfed in flames, easily one of the greatest shots in any ‘80s horror film. But it is when she miraculously repairs herself after taking otherwise irreparable damage, a moment of pure cinema magic masterfully conjured by the combination of incredible visual effects by Roy Arbogast and seamless reverse photography, that the car really cements its place in the rogues gallery of 1980s villains.
Like the titular vehicle, “Christine” is not without its flaws. The ending is a bit rushed and some of the deaths are disappointingly less spectacular than those written about in the book. However, this is still a thrilling and highly enjoyable petrol-fuelled adrenaline rush that sees Carpenter at the height of his powers both as a director and composer of horror.
Dan Cook is a movie reviewer on Letterboxd, and he also posts his reviews on Facebook. He’s a self-proclaimed film fanatic, avid reader and retro gamer who lives in Dudley, England, with his wife, Sam, and their two daughters.
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