Highway to Heck: Part 3 - 'Christine' (1983)

When it comes to car-themed horror movies there's really only one that stands out as the definitive... uh... well, car-themed horror movie (at least for me).

It is, of course: 'Christine', John Carpenter's adaptation of the novel by, you guessed it, Stephen King.

Both King and Carpenter are known for being 'horror masters' so when you bring the two of them together there's probably going to be a lot to like. Well... at least in theory.

(from: Giphy)

Before I go any further though I feel like I need to add a disclaimer:

I am biased.

I love 'Christine'. It was the first Stephen King book I ever read, I read it at the right time (as an impressionable sixteen-year-old) and I loved all of it.

Not to mention it's been a while since I've gone back to read it, so those nostalgia goggles are stuck on tight.

But, I'm enough of a grown-up to admit that it's not perfect, and neither is the movie.

By 1982 Stephen King adaptations had proven to be massive hits ('Carrie' and 'The Shining'  for example), They were so popular the film adaptation of 'Christine' had entered production before the book was even published.

At its core, 'Christine' is about love and the destructive nature of obsession.

I mean, the book was a guaranteed success so the movie was bound to be one as well, right?

After that kind of phrasing you probably won't be surprised to find out that the 'Christine' film was something of a disappointment on its release.

It underperformed at the box office. With a budget of $10 million, 'Christine''s total worldwide gross was roughly $21 million.

Which is a shame because there's a lot to like about it.

At its core, 'Christine' is about love and the destructive nature of obsession. The prologue of the book describes the story as being a love triangle between two people and a car (which sounded weird to me until I started spending time with enthusiasts).

The story follows Arnie Cunningham, a high school student who, after buying Christine, a busted up '58 Plymouth Fury, becomes obsessed with the car, alienating his friends and family. Things get worse when Arnie's bullies start turning up dead...

If you guessed 'killer car' then you'd be... well it depends. The book and the movie treat the cause of Christine's evil a bit differently. What matters is that the evil car is evil and it's scarier than you might think.

(from: Giphy)

Some of the scenes of Christine stalking her prey are genuinely creepy in a 'what would you do if it was you' kind of way.

I mean, you obviously can't outrun a car so your only option is hide, but where do you go? How long do you stay there? Can it be swayed with an offering of premium fuel or expensive air freshener?

All of those scenes are helped along by the soundtrack. It's a blend of John Carpenter's creepy synth work and classic rock music and it fits the tone of the movie nicely.

In fact, Carpenter has recently taken to recording updated versions of some of his classic themes, even adding in new music, occasionally pairing them with video clips he's directed himself, 'Christine' included.

But the most important part of the movie is, of course, the cars.

The obvious star of the movie is Christine herself, a 1958 Plymouth Fury.

Well... mostly.

A few of the cars that were 'cast' as 'Christine' were actually Plymouth Belvederes and Savoys. This is because Furys were much harder to find (which is kind of funny since the book and movie made the model famous).

What's interesting about Christine is that her colour scheme was never available for the Fury. If we were looking for absolute realism, the bright red and white paint job that is now immediately associated with that specific car should instead be a completely different colour. A colour called 'buckskin beige'.

True horror, right?

The movie has some good, tense chase scenes. Some of them with Christine stalking her prey as they try and escape on foot (while inexplicably making sure to stay on a road or paved surface):

And one scene which will likely bring a tear to the eye of anyone particularly enamoured with the '67 Chevy Camaro.

According to GoodBadFlicks (which has a full breakdown of interesting factoids about the movie) Christine's windows were blacked out for most of the movie, because the audience wasn't supposed to know whether it was Christine or Arnie doing the killing.

Because of this, the stunt co-ordinator Terry Leonard (who also drove the cars) had to drive a stunt car with blacked out windows, basically forcing him to drive blind.

This added extra challenge to the aforementioned 'gas station scene' because Leonard was also buried under layers of fireproof gear and an oxygen mask, while blind in a car that was on fire.

For your scary movie night 'Christine' can be either an opener or a closer. It's THE evil car movie and it walks the line nicely between 'teen slasher' and coming of age drama.

Plus, horror movies are all about being scared and if you think a story about someone being so obsessed with their car that they're driven to extreme lengths to defend it is all pretend, well, you need to spend a bit more time reading internet comments.

What's your escape plan for when you're chased by an evil car? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Read more Highway to Heck:

Part 1 here

Part 2 here