1983 - CHRISTINE, the possessed car horror film

Christine is an adaption of Stephen King's story of a classic car owned by a high school student which just happens to be possessed by an evil spirit or something.  The film is yet another variation of King's favorite theme possessed stuff.  In King's world, houses are possessed, dead pets are possessed, husbands are possessed, clowns are possessed etc.  John Carpenter was approached to direct this film and apparently it was just a job of work for him.  Not that he didn't bring his usual skill to the story but it sure seems like he didn't have much interest in it.

For a horror film nothing really happens for about an hour.  The viewer sits through a lot of plot about a nerd high school kid played by future director Keith Gordon who restores the possessed vintage  57 Plymouth.  The car then decides to go out on it's own to kill the mean high school shop boys who have been harassing him.   The nerd kid improbably gains confidence and starts dating the hot transfer student played by Alexandra Paul.  Alexandra Paul made a few movies but she is primarily remembered for running down a beach in a swimsuit in the TV series Baywatch.   I suppose it needs to be said that the mean high school shop boys don't exactly look like boys in this film, I would say they were probably pushing their early twenties.  Hollywood just can't get that high school age thing right in these teenager movies.

 

John Carpenter staged a few decent car kills particularity one where the car is on fire and chases one of the bad kids.  However the climax where a bulldozer battles Christine is anticlimactic.  It's just a scene where a bulldozer drives over the car for about ten minutes.

 

When you stop and think about it the premise of this film is a little lame.  It you want to make a film about the horrors of high school, just the basic situation of kids getting picked on by bullies should be enough to build a story around.   You don't need an evil vintage car to drive the point home.

The film was written by Bill Phillips, the running time is 110 minutes.