Christine (1983)

To this day, I both love and fear muscle cars because of the way that they were built. I guess my love and fear for them started after I first read this book (I was about 9 or 10) and then watched the movie. Whenever I see someone selling a muscle car (and that is usually a rare occurrence), I smile and then just walk away. You may never know the history behind those cars. As I said, they are meant to be revered and to be feared because while they are truly beautiful to look at, they are also dangerous to be near because they don't have seat belts and you would definitely be in a world of hurt if you ever got into an accident. They are also made of solid steel, not like fiberglass with today's cars.If a car like "Christine" were to be on the road today against our modern-day cars, it would be no contest. That is the beauty behind a good Stephen King story. You have to be very careful whom you encounter, whether it be an animate object (like a person or an animal) or an inanimate object (like a car or laundry machine). Without giving anything away, it is just that simple. When you have someone like King team up with John Carpenter for one of these stories, you have to really watch your step. Like with so many others, this one will definitely have you watch your back when you walk down the street and see a red muscle car that looks like Christine.

Introducing its sinister intentions within the opening scene, keeping its ominous vibe alive for the entirety of its runtime, and unleashing absolute terror when the occasion calls for it, Christine is a masterly directed horror from John Carpenter that makes excellent use of genre elements to build suspense, and is far more engaging & nail-biting than it looks.Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, the story of Christine centres on a vintage 1957 Plymouth Fury with a mind of its own that's found in a used, battered & dilapidated condition by an awkward, introverted & nerdy teenager who eventually buys it. As he spends more time at the local garage, repairing his car all by himself, his whole personality begins to change.Directed by John Carpenter, the evil nature of the automobile is established in the opening scene only after which the story jumps 20 years ahead where the main plot surfaces. Despite sounding ridiculous on paper, the story manages to be surprisingly effective as Carpenter relies on mystery surrounding the vehicle as well as the overall eerie ambiance to deliver the chills, and succeeds.Every time the camera focuses on its violent vintage vehicle, a sense of apprehension builds up in that particular moment and the mayhem caused by it only amplifies the film's uncanny tone n feel. Camera-work is smooth & efficacious, the build-up isn't forced, pacing is steady, and the tension is palpable. Carpenter also contributes with a thrilling score which, along with incorporated songs, infuses flavours of its own.Coming to the performances, the cast consists of Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky & Harry Dean Stanton, and they all chip in with wonderful inputs. Gordon delivers the most interesting performance of all, and finely articulates the change his character undergoes as plot progresses. Stockwell is in as his best friend & provides good support, Prosky almost steals all his moments, while Paul ably plays her part.On an overall scale, Christine is a welcome entry in the killer car subgenre of horror, and is another impressive yet under-appreciated gem from John Carpenter that, just like most of his films, enjoys a cult classic status today. It's tense, it's thrilling, it reeks of terror, and it delivers the goods in a gripping & entertaining fashion. In short, showing zero signs of wreckage, Christine appears just as polished today as it did at its time of release. Definitely recommended.

For me, Carpenter is the best horror director ever : his « Halloween », « prince of darkness » « fog » were really impressive and produced fear ! here, he adapts a novel from the King of horror paperbacks, and strangely, the movie isn't scary ! But an haunted killing car is not very suited to terror and as King devised it, it' rather about the dramatic fate of a nerd in the 80s. and for that, the movie is really good, all the more than every spot is filled with a cool face : the girlfriend will do « Baywatch », the detective is Lynch family, the garage owner will do « Mrs Doubtfire », « broadcast news », « gremlins 2 », a thug « ghost-busters » and finally, the nerd who played in « Jaws 2 » is for my eyes the look alike of young Spielberg ! In all cases, he did an amazing job going from nerd to hero to menace. Unfortunately, Carpenter follows King and if at that time, his novels were amazing, they were highly heart-wrenching as he get rid of innocents heroes ! This Arnie could be Carrie mirror and i'm totally sad to see him die as he was not bad ! It was just the car who did it ! My DVD has the commentary from Carpenter and Arnie, nearly 30 minutes of cut scenes and a full making-off ! So this movie is an excellent recommendation that the 80s were definitely the best years for cinema !

One of the most intriguing coming-of-age stories in cinema, and this tends to be overlooked, both as a Stephen King story and horror film, in place of the more sensationalized frolic and mayhem of works such as 'The Shining', 'Carrie', 'Misery' and 'The Shawshank Redemption', which is a crying shame, because: a) John Carpenter is probably the finest director (at least Top 3) ever involved with King adaptations; and b) it perfectly conceptualizes, like earlier short experimental films by the likes of Kenneth Anger, the downright uncomfortable sleaziness and fetishism that has existed, mainly in America, between men and their cars.Keith Gordon does some really fine acting here (as he did previously for Brian De Palma in 'Dressed to Kill') as all possible dynamics along the range from nerd to psycho. It's impressive that, while growing up in film, he obviously learned some of the tricks of the trade from such cinematic greats (at least of American film of the past 50 years) and ended up becoming a decent film helmer himself.9/10 for me; Grade A Carpenter. It simply isn't top-tier for me, of his oeuvre, because I know he, like Sir Alfred Hitchcock, De Palma and other greats, is capable of cinematic perfection (Halloween, The Thing, etc.).