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I wasn't entirely sure how a story about a killer car would be scary, or even entertaining, but the legend that is John Carpenter was able to transform this King story into an engaging tale about obsession and loss. Forget the killer car aspect, we all knew that wasn't going to be scary at all, but what is scary is how people are easily able to ignore or destroy the good things in life because of their obsession or addiction.
A 1958 Plymouth Fury is possessed by evil forces, don't ask me why or how, it appears to have happened right off the assembly line. It seems whoever is in possession of the car becomes entranced by the allure of Christine (the car). Arnold spots a dilapidated car behind a house and the owner quickly sells it to him and warns never to come back. Arnold works on the piece of junk, restoring it to the original beauty. But Christine has a mind of her own and starts taking out bullies that torment Arnold and tries to go after his girlfriend because she doesn't like the car. Can Dennis, Arnold's friend, save him in time or has Christine taken him too far away?
Arnold's obsession with Christine was to me the most interesting angle to this film. He changes as a person because of her. While he sees this as a positive, others tend to question it. He becomes more violent, quick tempered and defensive about his car. It begins to ruin relationships with his family, friends and his girlfriend. I wish Carpenter had spent more time developing the relationship between Arnold and Leigh. We don't see Arnold's attempts to 'woo' her, they basically show up together. We are then immediately thrown into a scene where she tells Arnold how much she dislikes the car. Yet we as an audience haven't had a chance to see his obsession with it yet, or how he acts around Leigh while with the car. So it comes a little out of left field and doesn't feel earned.
Likewise I wish we got to see more of Arnold's restoration job. I feel like the time and dedication put into the car would have had a bigger impact on the viewer if we saw the process and not just the end result. Since this was skipped over, we don't have a similar attachment to Christine like Arnold does. So when the bullies start their destruction of it, there is a disconnect.
Even with those and a few other missteps that usually accompany 80's horror films, Carpenter delivers a pure 80's horror picture and gives Christine a distinctive personality. The violent jealous girlfriend type who looks intimidating with their headlights shining directly at you in the dead of night. Precision driving, even while set aflame, there is no one who can hide from her. She is willing to destroy herself in an effort to get to you, she can just rebuild herself later, which Carpenter shows in one of the more famous sequences from the film. Christine works and is the better of the two films that revolve around King and homicidal vehicles.
Christine
I wasn't entirely sure how a story about a killer car would be scary, or even entertaining, but the legend that is John Carpenter was able to transform this King story into an engaging tale about obsession and loss. Forget the killer car aspect, we all knew that wasn't going to be scary at all, but what is scary is how people are easily able to ignore or destroy the good things in life because of their obsession or addiction.
A 1958 Plymouth Fury is possessed by evil forces, don't ask me why or how, it appears to have happened right off the assembly line. It seems whoever is in possession of the car becomes entranced by the allure of Christine (the car). Arnold spots a dilapidated car behind a house and the owner quickly sells it to him and warns never to come back. Arnold works on the piece of junk, restoring it to the original beauty. But Christine has a mind of her own and starts taking out bullies that torment Arnold and tries to go after his girlfriend because she doesn't like the car. Can Dennis, Arnold's friend, save him in time or has Christine taken him too far away?
Arnold's obsession with Christine was to me the most interesting angle to this film. He changes as a person because of her. While he sees this as a positive, others tend to question it. He becomes more violent, quick tempered and defensive about his car. It begins to ruin relationships with his family, friends and his girlfriend. I wish Carpenter had spent more time developing the relationship between Arnold and Leigh. We don't see Arnold's attempts to 'woo' her, they basically show up together. We are then immediately thrown into a scene where she tells Arnold how much she dislikes the car. Yet we as an audience haven't had a chance to see his obsession with it yet, or how he acts around Leigh while with the car. So it comes a little out of left field and doesn't feel earned.
Likewise I wish we got to see more of Arnold's restoration job. I feel like the time and dedication put into the car would have had a bigger impact on the viewer if we saw the process and not just the end result. Since this was skipped over, we don't have a similar attachment to Christine like Arnold does. So when the bullies start their destruction of it, there is a disconnect.
Even with those and a few other missteps that usually accompany 80's horror films, Carpenter delivers a pure 80's horror picture and gives Christine a distinctive personality. The violent jealous girlfriend type who looks intimidating with their headlights shining directly at you in the dead of night. Precision driving, even while set aflame, there is no one who can hide from her. She is willing to destroy herself in an effort to get to you, she can just rebuild herself later, which Carpenter shows in one of the more famous sequences from the film. Christine works and is the better of the two films that revolve around King and homicidal vehicles.