Christine (1983)
Directed by John Carpenter
A killer evil car! Yes! How could you not love it? Oh and it is directed by John Fuckin Carpenter?! Yeah sign me up. Oh and it is based on a story written by Stephen King, ok you sold it already you can stop!
Christine is about a geeky teenager that buys a beat up old car, which begins to control his life and change his personality. Soon after the car starts killing people that pick on Arnie. The plot is simple, and that is why it is brilliant! The acting is also really great. Keith Gordon plays Arnie the main character, his range is on full display as he goes from shy goofy nerd to confident bad boy, then slowly spirals out of control. Alexandra Paul plays Leigh, Arnie’s girlfriend and my lord if she isn’t one of the most beautiful women from the 80s I’ve ever seen! John Stockwell plays Arnie’s friend Dennis, he gives a good performance as well, even if he spends most of the time in a hospital bed. Harry Dean Stanton plays Junkins the police detective. It was a great role for him, it seems most movies I’ve watched of his he plays a down on his luck alcoholic or something.
The special effects are great as well. There is an amazing scene where Christine is on fire and chasing down Arnie’s bully. What a visual and what a lasting image for this movie! Once Christine gets damaged, she just seems to reform and pop all the dents out, which is effective and believeable. I really can’t think of anything that is negative, it is just an all around fun movie.
If you haven’t seen this movie, you need to check it out. You can’t get much better than John Carpenter directing a Stephen King movie. The cast is great, the music is great, the visuals are striking and the pacing is pretty good for a movie almost 2 hours long. I give Christine an A.
