Metal Monster

Joanna Cassidy stars as Laura, a loving mother who drives a school bus. A sick, twisted psychopath is driving around in a 1974 Dodge Charger and abducting and at times killing young girls in the small town she lives in. They are also terrorizing poor Laura until they are matched in a showdown car chase that could have been great, but teeters toward completely boring.

Directed by Christopher Cain and written by Alan B. McElroy. I was expecting Cain to breathe some life into this film other than the extreme over use of slow motion. As well as the whole idea of an evil car running around and chasing people down by 1990 was no where near fresh or original with the likes of Steven Spielberg's DUEL, Stephen King or John Carpenter's CHRISTINE or even THE HEARSE. All are better films, but if you have never seen those films this might work better, but I would suggest watching those films instead. In addition the ending is a complete WTF moment that completely derails the film.

I loved "Wheels Of Terror" I saw it back in 1990 on television and then recently saw it for sale on ebay and bought a copy......I liked it but I think some of the movie is wasted on slow motion scenes...I would recommend this movie to anyone. Joanna Cassidy is awesome.....the drama and the plot seemed kinda corny before I watched it ya know how could the bus keep up with that fast dodge charger...everything is explained...I am writing a scrip for "Wheels Of Terror II Burn Rubber" which is my own creation I am going to try my hardest to make that movie a reality and maybe it would bring "Wheels Of Terror" back to television or even put it in theaters but I doubt it. I left a message for the sequel I am putting together on the message board.....please give me in put on it. Wheels Of Terror on a scale on 1-10...1 is bad 10 is good......I would give it a 7 it is a favorite of mine.

Wheels of Terror is one of those movies that has a mixed theme of horror, mystery, and suspense. It is about a 1974 Dodge Charger (it is said by a police officer during the movie about the year of the car, but how he could have known that without seeing it is a mystery) that terrorizes an Arizona community. The grill of the car was customized for the movie to give it a satanic look. There are several clues throughout the movie that tells the viewer that nobody is driving the car, however nobody comes right out and says for sure. There also are no clue on where this car came from or how it became evil.

The main plot surrounds a mother and daughter who have just moved to Arizona from L.A. to be away from the city to start a new life in the country. Most of the main events of the story surround the car stalking young girls, which lead up to the final chase scene between the mother driving the mini bus and the car which kidnapped her daughter. The chase scene lasts a good half hour.

The acting in this movie is rather poor. You will ask yourself "how can anyone be so dumb?" Before the daughter is kidnapped by the car, there was at least two scenes where the car was about six feet away from her and she was completely blind to it. How can you not see a car that is right in front of your face that is about to run you down? The makers of this movie used a bit too much of the slow motion technique during the final chase scene to add more of a dramatic approach to what was actually happening. The movie is actually very good despite what some of the other critics may think, it is definitely worth seeing a few times. The suspense and mystery really make it worth while.

This movie is very similar to the 1977 movie, "The Car". The difference between this movie and "Wheels of Terror" is that "The Car" will run down anybody in it's way and is more ruthless. The movie is more violent than "Wheels of Terror". Another short story similar to "Wheels of Terror" is from one of the segments of the 1983 movie, "Nightmares". The segment is entitled "The Benediction", which is about a satanic driverless truck that terorizes a priest that is traveling across a desert. Unfortunately the segment is less than a half hour long, but is very creepy and suspenseful.

I saw this movie at 2 AM late one night in 1997. At first I only kept watching because there was nothing else on, and it looked a little slow for my tastes. As the movie went on, I was drawn into the drama of the girls being kidnapped... but the moment that Laura pulled up to her house, saw the infamous black car moving toward her daughter, and I suddenly remembered the mechanic at the beginning of the movie mentioning that all he had to repair the bus with was a racing engine and transmission, I was glued to my seat. The pacing of the movie was perfect, even when introduced to that sudden twist and chase scene. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes either social dramas or car chases.

Pretty dull thriller. The director chooses an "arty" approach with lots of slow-motion sequences, "poetic" music and minimal dialogue, and it doesn't work. The characters have no personality, the script is virtually non-existent and the suspense is deflated by the fact that the "evil" car's driver (or the evil car itself) has plenty of opportunities to get away from the heroine who chases him, but keeps returning to do battle with her as if he has some scores to settle (we never find out what they might be). While you're watching this movie, don't be surprised if your mind starts going elsewhere, like into thinking what's for dinner or the next day's chores. (*1/2)