John Carpenter used to be one of the greatest horror directors of all time. When he was in his hey day he brought us such films as The Thing, Halloween, They Live, The Fog, and In The Mouth of Madness. He also directed what I consider to be the best (and my personal favorite) adaptation of a Stephen King novel, Christine.
Christine is a love story about a boy and his car. Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon), a nerdy outcast, is the boy. Christine, a fiery red 1958 Plymouth Fury with a mind of her own, is the car. Slowly, Christine begins to possess Arnie, killing whoever gets between her and the boy. It doesn't take long before Arnie's girlfriend Leigh (Alexandra Paul) and Arnie's best friend Dennis (John Stockwell) begin to notice something is seriously wrong with Christine and they take matters into their own hands, hoping to destroy the devil's car and save Arnie before it's too late.
The way I could best describe Christine the car is in the terms as if she were a girl. She would be the insanely hot girl that you realize is a complete bitch and a psycho once you get to know her. She would be a great one night stand, but after you fuck her she wouldn't want to leave you and chances are if you did ditch her she would try to kill you. She is the clingy, jealous type. Christine does indeed talk in the film, speaking through songs played on her radio. She definitely has a mind of her own, and the ability to heavily influence her driver and his/her behavior. Christine easily emerges as her own character in the film.
Keith Gordon is great as Arnie, managing to play a nerd and a 50's style greaser perfectly. It is fun and scary to watch as Christine morphs him into the human version of herself. Once he is possessed him and Christine are one. Gordon pulls off the crazy blank eyed stare amazingly well. Arnie is a sympathetic character, but one that you find yourself very much afraid of by the time the end credits roll.
John Stockwell is perfectly cast as Dennis. He has an everyman quality to him, and he does feel like the kind of kid you knew in high school. He's popular with the ladies (but not overly popular), he plays football, and he's a great kid at heart, always stepping in to defend his friends. Dennis is Arnie's best friend in the film, and the beginning part of the film switches between Arnie's and Dennis' friendship and Arnie's and Christine's relationship. Dennis does disappear for a good chunk of the middle of the film, but he shows back up at the end. In a way, the main character of this film is actually Dennis since we do see events from his point of view quite often.
Alexandra Paul is great as Leigh, the new student that is brainy but also super flippin hot. Somehow, she winds up dating Arnie and grows to care very deeply about him despite his growing dislike of her. She is the first to notice that something is not right with Christine. Naturally, Christine does not approve of her being so close to Arnie and sees her as a threat, and we all know what Christine does with those who she sees as threats. Leigh isn't the most memorable character, but you do grow to love her by the end of the film and she does play an important part in the proceedings.
There are many memorable scenes in Christine, like the one where Christine chases after a bully while she is fully ablaze, and the one where she fixes herself in front of an astounded and clearly turned on Arnie. While these are great scenes, my favorite scene in the film has got to be the fantastic grand finale where Christine and a Caterpillar (as in the construction machine) go toe to toe. It's a scene that always leaves me cheering. The scene very much makes my inner geek happy, and whenever I see a CAT on the side of the road my thoughts always shoot right back to Christine.
While Christine is rated R, that is mainly because there is a lot of talk about banging early in the film. There is no nudity in the film, but there are naughty words and one scene of breast and crotch grabbing (not even bras are shown here). The killing scenes are also fairly non-bloody as well. I'd say Christine is a film you could show to young horror fans (like, 10 and over).
Christine is a film that is sadly overlooked these days. When most people think of great Stephen King adaptations, they usually think of The Shining or Misery...but for my money Christine is the best that there is, it's got a pretty good atmosphere, some great character development, great tension, and some pretty great scary parts too. Christine is a great, fun film that is sure to chill most and that any fan of John Carpenter, Stephen King, or good horror movies should not miss.
5/5 BETTER THAN SEX
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