Christine

I'm not particularly a fan of horror movies and I couldn't fix an ailing automobile if my life depended on it so the workings of cars don't fascinate me.....but this movie fascinated me. The '58 Plymouth Fury, alias "Christine," is absolutely gorgeous. What a piece of machinery!

This is a horror story but there are no ghosts or monsters nor is there any gore. A car is the star of the film, a very jealous and vengeful one at that. Man, that sounds silly but, if you're reading this you have probably watched the movie so no sense going into details. It's hard to describe the story in a paragraph without it sounding stupid....but it's not. Maybe the quickest way to explain it is that it is about a car that is alive, like a human, and you mess with it, you pay!

It is definitely one creepy, well-made, unique and always-entertaining film.

The car is a lot better than any of the people, sad to say. No, I didn't like any of the kids in this film (high schoolers who all look 30 years old!) and the language is a little too rough in spots, but that can be filtered out.

The car, the '50s music, the unique story, the satisfying revenge angle all make this very watchable.

This is a well made horror/Fantasy picture, John Carpenter directs and puts his talent even into the music score, which is classic Carpenter old school synth based vibe, among also the presence of many 1950's rock n roll classic tracks, to give you a vibe of the car 'Christine' Period of manufacture during the 1950's. Of course there are a few flaws here and there, but it's a addictive watch, with many modern horrors churned out in recent years which go straight to Netflix streaming service, this 1980's film has a high a look of high production value, especially when comparing it to so many modern digital movies from 2000 onwards. , I love the grain in the film and the non CGI, it has great special effects never the less. I think it stands up as one of Carpenters better features along with The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13. It's perhaps not quite as good, but still it seems to have aged well. Good fun, if you like a car based film with mind of its own.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before, but the 50s music was interesting in that most of it came from artists who suffered untimely, tragic deaths....Buddy Holly and Richie Valens of course were killed in a plane crash at the height of their careers...Johnny Ace ("Pledging My Love") died playing Russian Roulette with a pistol....Larry Williams ("Bony Maronie") was killed in 1980 by a gunshot wound to the head; he had been involved with drug dealing for years and it was thought to be a gang execution....I think Dion was still alive at the time this movie was made("I Wonder Why"); I'm not sure about the rest of the Belmonts....

Christine (1983)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

John Carpenter's adaptation of the Stephen King best seller about high school loser Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) who buys a 1957 Plymouth and soon his obsession leads to the car's possession of him. I love hearing Carpenter talk about his movies but for the life of me I've never understood why he's so down on this one here. Yes, the film's not really "scary" but at the same time I think it's one of the better possession movies out there and I think the film does a terrific job not only in the horror elements but it also works as a coming of age story because I'm sure most people can connect with either Arnie or those around him who see their friend falling apart due to an obsession. Carpenter really does a good job at building up the main characters here and I think this really helps the story once the possession does start. A lot of credit also has to go to the performances and especially that of Gordon who is really believable not only as the dork but also through the various stages that the character goes through. I thought it was very impressive that he could be so believable as this small loser but towards the end you could also fear the guy. John Stockwell adds great support as the friend and Alexandra Paul is also good as the girlfriend. We also get some wonderful character actors in small roles including Robert Prosky, Roberts Blossom and Harry Dean Stanton. Another major plus working for the film is the terrific soundtrack full of wonderful rock and roll oldies. The special effects are another winner as is the always reliable cinematography where Carpenter uses that 2.35:1 aspect ratio like no one else. CHRISTINE remains an underrated gem but it seems more and more people are coming to appreciate it for what it is. The film is so strong on so many levels that you can overlook the few flaws and still enjoy it.

Tense, thrilling, reeking of terror & delivering the goods in a gripping fashion, John Carpenter's Christine is far more engaging & nail-biting than it looks, and appears just as polished today as it did at its time of release. Another impressive yet under-appreciated gem from The Horror Master that's well worthy of its cult following.