Plot
Director John Carpenter returns to the suburban landscape he explored so chillingly in Halloween (1978) with this lean, stripped-down adaptation of the Stephen King best-seller about a haunted car with a devilishly bad attitude and the teen underdog who falls head-over-heels for her chrome-accented charms. Shortly after geeky, horn-rim-sporting Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) narrowly escapes a beating at the hands of shop-class bully Buddy Repperton (William Ostrander) on the first day of his senior year, he soon falls prey to a far more duplicitous villain in the form of a rusted-out 1958 Plymouth Fury nicknamed "Christine" by its crusty owner George LeBay (Roberts Blossom) -- who sells wide-eyed Arnie the old hulk despite the protests of best friend Dennis (John Stockwell) and the admonition of his domineering parents. As Arnie sets to the task of restoring Christine, his hobby grows into an obsession -- and the real power that hums beneath her hood begins to emerge, seemingly granting newfound coolness and sex appeal to the once-nerdy outcast, while simultaneously drawing away his very soul. A vengeful spirit, Christine lashes out violently at those who dare to stand between her and Arnie -- starting with Repperton and his gang, who completely trash the car, but are soon hunted down one by one and pulverized beneath the whitewalls of the miraculously-restored Fury. When Arnie's pretty, popular girlfriend Leigh (Alexandra Paul) begins to suspect she may soon be on the receiving end of automotive vengeance, she calls on Dennis for help... but a frightening midnight ride in Christine convinces Dennis that Arnie's only hope lies in destroying the demonic vehicle. ~ Cavett Binion, RoviReview
An agreeable (if not entirely frightening) adaptation of Stephen King's novel about an evil car, Christine has some nicely atmospheric sequences which somewhat compensate for its lack of horrific impact. The auto of the title, a cherry-red 1958 Plymouth Fury, takes on a personality of its own as a homicidally jealous female who is willing to kill to preserve the affections of its owner, a put-upon teenage nerd (Keith Gordon). The young cast is appealing enough, and director John Carpenter manages a few creepy scenes, but the story bogs down into yet another trite nerds & bullies drama whenever Christine is offscreen. It's still fun, but will probably appeal to casual viewers more than serious horror fans. ~ Robert Firsching, RoviCast
- Keith Gordon - Arnie Cunningham
- John Stockwell - Dennis Guilder
- Alexandra Paul - Leigh Cabot
- Robert Prosky - Will Darnell
- Harry Dean Stanton - Rudolph Junkins
- Christine Belford - Regina Cunningham
Credit
William Joseph Durrell, Jr. - Art Director, Barry Bernardi - Associate Producer, Karen Rea - Casting, Larry Franco - Co-producer, Darryl Levine - Costume Designer, Larry Franco - First Assistant Director, John Carpenter - Director, Marion Rothman - Editor, Mark Tarlov - Executive Producer, John Carpenter - Composer (Music Score), Alan Howarth - Composer (Music Score), John Loggia - Production Designer, Daniel Lomino - Production Designer, Robert Doudell - Production Designer, Donald M. Morgan - Cinematographer, Robert Doudell - Production Manager, Richard Kobritz - Producer, Cloudia - Set Designer, William Joseph Durrell, Jr. - Set Designer, Roy Arbogast - Special Effects, Steve Maslow - Sound/Sound Designer, Ted Duncan - Stunts, John Meier - Stunts, John-Clay Scott - Stunts, Dean Smith - Stunts, Jim Wilkey - Stunts, Walter Wyatt - Stunts, Tom Elliott - Stunts, Norman Howell - Stunts, Mike McGaughy - Stunts, Conrad Palmisano - Stunts, Kerry Rossall - Stunts, Ben R. Scott - Stunts, Donna Evans - Stunts, Roy Arbogast - Special Effects Supervisor, John Carpenter - Screenwriter, Stephen King - Screenwriter, Bill Phillips - Screenwriter, Stephen King - Book Author| Christine (1958 Film), Christina's House (1999 Film) | |
| Christine Cromwell: Easy Come, Easy Go (1989 Film), Christine Cromwell: In Vino Veritas (1990 Film) |
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
