The Car

I've seen "The Car" several times over the years. I am a big fan of horror movies and while this is not exactly a "classic" by any means, I still enjoyed it. The plot is basically a car which drives around a desert town killing everyone/anyone it can. In these types of movies, you tend to enjoy watching and choosing who becomes the victims. I found the acting to be a little trying at times. In fact, at times, very bad. I mean, having two actors scream at each other (in one scene) does not create tension, it creates confusion. I like James Brolin in this film and John Marley as well, even though he didn't have much to do.

The star of the movie is "The Car". What I did not enjoy about the film was as a viewer I did not know anything about the car. Where did it come from? Why was it there? Was it the devil? A demon? I wanted to know more about this killing machine. I found that by the end of the film I was still a little confused. Also, I think this movie was a rip-off of the TV thriller released back in 1974, "Killdozer". The tale about a killer bulldozer terrorizing a construction crew. Possibly one of the worst ever made TV movies. The Car was much, much better. I remember seeing "The Car" at the movies. I think it stayed for about a week. Needless to say, the movie was a bomb. However, that does not mean it was a bad movie. There aren't very many horror movies that are a big success at the movie theatre. I think they tend to be more successful on video.

It's a shame that this movie wasn't more successful because I was looking forward to a sequel. Who knows, maybe they'll release "The Car 2" or "Son of Car". All that being said, take my advice, rent this movie. Pull up a chair, put the lights on low, snuggle beside your favorite person (wife, etc.), grab some munchies and, no matter what you do, make sure you keep that remote in your hand at all times.

Sit back and enjoy!

I thought it was just going to be another B movie, but hey, this one actually turned out pretty good. The only parts I wasn't too keen on was the fact that the car literally just "shows up" out of seemingly nowhere, and you never find out what it really truly is, or why its there. The way the movie is layed out, it can leave you on the edge of your seat at times, which is rare with this kind of film usually. There are some times as well that leave you forming your own little theories on why certain events are taking place, for example, the car being unable to enter a graveyard. The reasoning for this is suggested, but never truly set in stone. Later on you notice the car is completely indestructible, its tires unbustable, glass unbreakable and completely unstoppable, which adds to the suspense. The ending, for me, was both a bit confusing, and very eye opening. I really liked this film, more than I thought I would.

While traveling through the desert nearby the small town of Santa Ynez on their bicycles to camp, two teenage bicyclers are murdered by a mysterious black car. Then the car hit-and-run a hitchhiker and the crime is witnessed by the local Amos Clements (R.G. Armstrong). Sheriff Everett (John Marley) puts his men in alert and plans road blocks in the area to arrest the murderer. Sooner he becomes a victim of the car and Sheriff Wade Parent (James Brolin) begins a hunting of the vehicle that is threatening his town and seems to be impossible to be located. When his beloved girlfriend and teacher Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd) challenges the driver in a cemetery, the car hunts her in her home and Wade realizes that he might be dealing with supernatural powers.

The cult "The Car" is a supernatural tale of a creepy car that apparently might be driven by the devil himself. The entertaining story is visibly inspired in "Duel" and is inconclusive, and the viewer never knows for sure whether the car is driven by a demoniac being or by a wicked skilled driver. The havoc caused by the car is never graphic and that is a good point since the story is supported by the performances and the choreography of the stunts in the car chase. Further, thirty-two years later this movie has not aged. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Carro, A Máquina do Diabo" ("The Car, The Machine of the Devil")

I think those who are slamming this film are missing the point. The dialog does tend to be dull, and the characters are often uninteresting, if not one-dimensional. There is no explanation for where the car came from, where it goes, and who or what it is.

Welcome to real life.

If you're looking for a well-thought-out story with highly-developed characters, and a movie where everything that happens is explained and wrapped up at the end, this is the wrong movie.

If you're looking for a movie that at times feels like a cross between a news report and a diary, this is the one.

The unpredictability of the car, the unexplainability of its actions, the normalcy of the people in the movie all make a rather unbelievable story, well... believable.

And I LOVED the ending. I wish they had made a "Car II: the devil takes Manhattan." :)

Blair Witch Project takes shaky camcorder scenes about a witch we never see and spends the entire show having the characters scream and cuss at each other. It is a hit.

The Car combines beautiful cinematography, a logical progression of events, and gets you involved trying to figure out how to stop this monster. It is ridiculed as "70s trash."

Rent this film, & you decide who is right!

The Car is a good example of how restraint in the horror genre can work. It honors the tradition of real suspense movies by hinting at more than it shows, and inferring more than it explains. From the cryptic opening quote by Anton Le Vey to the ending in which the two main characters disagree on whether this is really the end, this "demon car" film keeps asking more questions than it answers. For some, this will bring frustration, for others, it makes the movie that much more fascinating. The "body count" is a total of 10 people, with no explicit scenes. And there are no "anonymous" killings. Each victim is named and acknowledged as a real human being and a loss. This is a refreshing departure from gore-fests. I'd rate it a 7 1/2.