Film Details:

Directed by John Carpenter (The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, Prince of Darkness)

Written by
Stephen King (novel) (I don't need to tell you who Stephen King is, do I? )
Bill Phillips (Physical Evidence)

Starring
Keith Gordon (Back to School, Legend of Billie Jean)
John Stockwell (Top Gun, Breast Men)
Alexandra Paul ("Baywatch")
Harry Dean Stanton (Cool Hand Luke, Alien, Repo Man)

Review: by Melissa (e-mail your faithful reviewer)

This is the sort of film that you can watch and wind up with a lot of questions, like:

Remember Keith Gordon? What the hell happened to his career?

Remember when John Carpenter used to make kick-ass movies like Christine? Why does he only make sucky movies now?

How many cars did they kill for this movie?

How can I get the opportunity to do that with a bulldozer?

Yeah, this is a fun little horror flick. Hell hath no fury like 1958 Plymouth Fury in an (old) Carpenter film.

The plot: Bullied Nerd buys haunted Plymouth Fury. Nerd fixes up Plymouth Fury. Plymouth Fury demonically possesses Nerd. Nerd gets better wardrobe, worse attitude. Nerd/Fury seek vengence.

Things roll downhill from there.

It sounds like the cheesiest of cheesy horror movies, but Carpenter and the cast play their cards with the utmost seriousness, and it works. Keith Gordon is a gem in this movie: his transformation from Nerd to Vengence-Boy is tragic, creepy, and empowering at the same time. He portrays a story that is both a dream and a nightmare at the same time.

And past that, the film is full of cool movie destruction, like flaming cars, explosions, and sledgehammers connecting with windshields. It's not quite xXx, but man, I don't think the cars in xXx were demonically possessed. If the cars in xXx were self-repairing, posessed by demons, and set on fire, I would have liked it a lot more.

There we go. We need Vin Diesel to make Christine II. The Fast and the (Plymouth) Fury(ous).

Okay, maybe not. There's a reason why I'm a web minion and not a producer.

But I digress. Christine is far better than many of King's film adaptations, and goes really well with cheap beer and pizza. It would be the perfect drive-in movie, if only anyone had drive-ins anymore...

DVD Details:

Widescreen
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Talent Galleries

This puppy needs a new release. The transfer is a bit substandard (sometimes the car looks pink instead of cherry red), and the extras suck. I mean extra. I mean talent gallery. Ugh.

Further Information:

Internet Movie Database (which is better than a talent gallery any day)

Bonus Item:

Don, my companion in movie-reviewing crime, took it upon himself to answer the questions above. For your reading pleasure, here is his missive on the movie. Anything in italics is quoted from above:

Remember Keith Gordon? What the hell happened to his career?

He directs now. He directed Waking the Dead, which was good, as well as Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, which was great.  He also wrote and directed A Midnight Clear, which was also great.

Remember when John Carpenter used to make kick-ass movies like Christine? Why does he only make sucky movies now?

A question no one can answer.

How many cars did they kill for this movie?

25 used total, 13-16 smashed.  Sources vary.

How can I get the opportunity to do that with a bulldozer?

I know a guy in Texas, but I haven't talked to him in forever.

Yeah, this is a fun little horror flick. Hell hath no fury like 1958 Plymouth Fury in an (old) Carpenter film.

Unless it's in a King novel.
   
The plot: Bullied Nerd buys haunted Plymouth Fury. Nerd fixes up Plymouth Fury. Plymouth Fury demonically possesses Nerd. Nerd gets better wardrobe, worse attitude. Nerd/Fury seek vengence.

Things roll downhill from there.

 Actually they drive horribly fast and crush things.

...It's not quite xXx, but man, I don't think the cars in xXx were demonically possessed. If the cars in xXx were self-repairing, posessed by demons, and set on fire, I would have liked it a lot more.

Me, too.

But I digress. Christine is far better than many of King's film adaptations, and goes really well with cheap beer and pizza. It would be the perfect drive-in movie, if only anyone had drive-ins anymore...

Any of King's supernatural adaptations anyway... though "Desperation"and "The Talisman" are up to bat next.  Could be groovy.

In Brief

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