Killer Cars

I decided to try and start my own little horror-fest, which will run up until the day I leave for another metal weekend in Portland, OR. It began yesterday with a movie that I felt compelled to watch after reading the novel of the same name. If you're guessing along the lines of a Stephen King novel, then step on up and claim your big ol' prize of absolutely nothing. The adaptation in question is one movie called Christine, and in case you have never either read the book or even bothered to take a peek at the picture above, the plot centers around a possessed car.

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the movie, I would like to say that some of the changes between the book and the movie drove me nuts, particularly the fact that the movie took place in California as opposed to Pennsylvania, as it was in the book, as well as some of the character deaths (more on that later). The main characters in the movie are Arnie Cunningham and Dennis Guilder, who are an inept nerd and star football player, respectively. Early on, we are also introduced to the school dickhead Buddy Repperton and his goon squad, namely Moochie Welch and Richie Trelawney. Even though Christine (and yes, she is a car, thanks for asking) is introduced in the beginning as slamming the car hood on some worker's hand and killing another that stepped foot inside her, the formal introduction doesn't take place until Arnie spots her all broken down and urges Dennis to stop so he can take a look and eventually buy her. Naturally, Dennis, Arnie's parents, and the local junk dealer Will Darnell are not pleased. However, Arnie somehow makes Christine almost good as new and eventually scores a date with new girl Leigh Cabot. However, something is amiss, as Christine seems to gain control of Arnie, which concerns Dennis and Leigh. Dennis gets taken out during a football game and gets holed up in the hospital for a good part of the movie and Leigh almost chokes to death in Christine at a drive-in movie. Buddy and company trash Christine as she is sitting in Darnell's garage, and Arnie swears revenge. Soon, one by one, those who get in the way of Arnie and Christine are cut down, and it is eventually up to Dennis and Leigh to stop Christine.

The good parts of the movie are Arnie and Buddy. Throughout the movie, we get to see the slow transformation of Arnie from the nerd who can't buy a date to someone who somehow scores a date with Leigh to eventually a monster who gets possessed by Christine, all while still looking like himself. Buddy is the classic 50's throwback greaser-type who fits the dickhead persona perfectly. I was disappointed that there wasn't much gore in the movie like there was in the movie. Two that bothered me in particular were the deaths of Buddy and Will Darnell. They didn't even show Buddy's death, as they cut from the scene just as an on fire Christine was about to run Buddy down, and Will Darnell just asphyxiated in the car as she came back into his garage and he stepped inside. Compared to the book, that's like having sex with Mariah Carey and passing out before you spunk inside of her. Overall, Christine is a pretty good horror movie, but those expecting gore will severely disappointed.