Many a horror film has been born with the focus of terror being a possessed inanimate object. With the 2014 piece “Annabelle,” the terror comes from a doll. The 2013 piece “Oculus” highlights a mirror. And in the 1983 John Carpenter tale “Christine,” horror comes in the form of a vintage automobile.
Based on a 1983 novel by master horror writer Stephen King, “Christine” is a standard horror movie, consisting of weak though capable plot, a handful of terrifying and original scary scenes, and some gruesome though not over the top with gore deaths.
The movie opens in a Detroit auto factory as the construction of a typical batch of cars is completed. The titular vehicle is a 1958 Plymouth Belvedere and in perfect horror fashion, no explanation is ever provided for the mayhem that is about to ensue at the hands…or should I say wheels of the vehicle.
The present day is twenty years later as two teenagers prepare for the first day of their senior year in high school. Arnold “Arnie” Cunningham (Keith Gordon) is a bookworm nerd with one best friend, Dennis (John Stockwell) a confident and athletic Alpha Male.
Though seemingly complete opposites, the friendship comes across as genuine. Dennis announces a goal for the year – to get Arnie laid. Arnie rebuffs in a timid way. The conversation is legit. The scene fooled me into believing that Dennis was to be the central character in the story.
In reality, it’s Arnie who discovers the dilapidated and barely roadworthy Christine for sale in a junky front lawn. Arnie purchases the car intent only on having a classic vehicle as a means of transportation. As a backstory reveals the tragedies beholding Christine’s previous owners, Arnie begins an irrevocable and frightening transformation himself.
Keith Gordon and John Stockwell are two solid actors that succeed in pulling off the roles of high school students and friends Arnie and Dennis. Though each actor was just 22 years old at the time, its tough to believe they have both done little else since in the way of leading roles in the three decades since “Christine.”
The secondary cast is what makes the film shine. My favorite character belongs to actor Robert Provsky. His portrayal of cantankerous and thoroughly rural garage owner Mr. Darnell is an image of absolute perfection. The subtle resentment he shows for the upper middle class teenagers and the constant chomping on a wad of tobacco is flat out brilliance.
Likewise, school bully Buddy (William Ostrander) is fabulous as the tormentor of Arnie. Though his curly mullet and leather jacket make him look more like a 40 year old biker than a high school student, Ostrander has a face that just oozes evil. An early sequence where Buddy pulls a switchblade knife on Arnie is terrifying in a way only Stephen King could conjure – and very reminiscent of the character Ace Merrill, a bully in another King story “Stand By Me.”
Before going on to star in the television series Baywatch, Alexandra Paul would make her film debut as “hottest girl in the school” Leigh Cabot – the apple of every senior’s eye. Rounding it out is veteran actor Roberts Blossum. Well known for his role as the creepy next door neighbor in “Home Alone,” Blossum provides an equally unnerving character in George LeBay, the man who sells Christine to Arnie and fails to disclose the sinister truth about the car.
What I love about “Christine” is the ambiance of the terror scenes. When something frightening is about to happen courtesy of the car, the radio mysteriously blasts on – always playing a 50’s rock song – which is such a perfect element to the scares. On a side note, the soundtrack is something to immediately download. The very idea of a car stalking someone on its own at night adds chills like none other.
My biggest complaint from the movie is the change in Arnie. I imagine its explored more meticulously in the novel as writing always trumps the big screen in terms of depth and affordability of detail. In the movie, it seems as though Arnie transforms in a matter of seconds.
One scene he is the typical nerd he has always been, in the next he’s a rebellious stud that cares more about his car than he does his girlfriend. Succinctness is great in a movie, but a little more development would have been nice.
“Christine” is a good solid horror movie with appropriate scares and a perfect void of nonsensical gore. The movie is a good watch, and you may find yourself searching for the book after seeing it too.
by – Matt Christopher
