Sam Panico Christine was not a film John Carpenter had planned on directing, as most of his films were personal projects, not just jobs. But after the poor reception that The Thing received, he needed a project that would jump-start his career. It may not be frightening. But sometimes, you need to make money to live on.Richard Kobritz, who produced Salem's Lot, was given some two unpublished manuscripts from King to consider for their next film adaptation. He chose this one over Cujo, as he felt that story was silly. One was "Christine" and the other was "Cujo." Korbitz chose Christine because he thought Cujo was too silly.This film was already in production as the book was being published. In its original prose form, it's made clear that the original owner of the car, Roland D. LeBay, is the one possessing it. But in the film, from day one, there's an evil force that powers this 1958 Plymouth Fury (a '57 and two other Plymouth models, the Belvedere and the Savoy, were also used to create the car).That malevolent spirit shows up on the assembly line, when Christine cuts a man's hand off and then kills another worker who dares to ash his cigar on her upholstery.Fast-forward 21 years and Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon, Dressed to Kill) has only one friend - Dennis (John Stockwell, who became a director and helmed Blue Crush, Turistas and Crazy/Beautiful, amongst others). His life gets better when he buys Christine for $250, an action that no one understands.Arnie not only restores the car, he restores himself. Tossing his glasses, he begins to become more arrogant and dresses like a 1950's greaser. That allows him to hook up with the new girl in town, Leigh.Dennis worries about Arnie, so he begins to study the dark past of his car - like how it killed its previous owner and his family. It tries to do the same to Leigh, jealous of anyone who gets close to its owner.After a fight with Arnie leads to him being expelled, Buddy Repperton and his gang completely destroy Christine. As Arnie watches, it comes back to life, repairing itself and hunts the gang down, one by one. There's an incredibly directed scene here where a flaming Christine (obviously this scene influenced the close of The Strangers: Prey at Night) chases Buddy to his death.The murders don't stop there, as Christine even kills Darnell (Robert Protsky, Grandpa Fred from Gremlins 2), the owner of the garage where Arnie fixed up the car. This leads state policeman Rudolph Junkins (Harry Dean Stanton, always a welcome face) to investigate Arnie.Dennis and Leigh try to save Arnie by luring Christine to Darnell's. They think it's just the car coming to battle them, but Arnie is behind the wheel as it crashes, sending him flying through the windshield to his death. They finally get the car into a crusher, but even as it's deposited into a junkyard as a cube, it's already reforming to the tune of "Bad to the Bone." If you look close enough, the singer of that song, George Thorogood, is working in the junkyard.There's a lot more that was jettisoned from the book, like how crooked Darnell was, the romance between Leigh and Dennis, Junkins getting killed by Christine and her coming back and hunting down the rest of the gang after she's crushed.There's just enough Carpenter (and a great score alongside frequent collaborator Alan Howarth) to make this movie worthwhile. It's not the best of his films. Nor the best King film. But it's an enjoyable enough way to pass ninesome oddodd minutes.

Zom-Lassic Without a doubt, Christine has got to be, next to Halloween of course,one of John Carpenter's best films. A movie about a teen falling in love with his car named Christine, which happens to be possessed by an unknown evil entity, proves to be a true horror masterpiece. Keith Gordon plays that teen, in an extremely strong, creepy performance, that is very memorable. John Stockwell as Gordon's best friend, and Alexandra Paul as Gordon's girlfriend, who sparks an intense jealous steak in Christine, are also excellent. In fact, in my opinion, the entire cast gives pretty good performances. Carpenter's direction is pitch perfect, done with ease and style, and a film that must be seen in its letterbox format, so you can truly appreciate each and every brilliant widescreen shot, absolutely amazing cinematography, I especially love the image of a completely engulfed in flames Christine speeding right behind one of Gordon's enemies, just beautiful. Also, Carpenter's score once again proves to be a major factor to the success of one of his movies, it's one factor that made Halloween so memorable, and Christine is no exception, it's a great score, every bit of music fits every scene perfectly, including the song "Bad To The Bone". Christine is suspenseful, gripping, and exciting. Filled with characters that are true to life, in ways, you can relate to them, especially Gordon's Arnie character. It's also interesting to see Arnie's transformation, from regular teen to an insane, obsessed psychopath. Furthermore, the visual effects are absolutely outstanding, seeing broken Christine, put itself back together again, is an amazing sight to watch. The revenge plot line in the movie...teen with killer car versus school bullies, may seem predictable, but who cares, it's always fun to watch jerks get what they deserve. By the way, it's also refreshing to see a horror movie be very effective, without showing too much blood. So, nevertheless, Christine maybe one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King novel, but in my opinion, It's one of the best John Carpenter movies of all time. Highly recommended.

chimera3 To this day, I both love and fear muscle cars because of the way that they were built. I guess my love and fear for them started after I first read this book (I was about 9 or 10) and then watched the movie. Whenever I see someone selling a muscle car (and that is usually a rare occurrence), I smile and then just walk away. You may never know the history behind those cars. As I said, they are meant to be revered and to be feared because while they are truly beautiful to look at, they are also dangerous to be near because they don't have seat belts and you would definitely be in a world of hurt if you ever got into an accident. They are also made of solid steel, not like fiberglass with today's cars.If a car like "Christine" were to be on the road today against our modern-day cars, it would be no contest. That is the beauty behind a good Stephen King story. You have to be very careful whom you encounter, whether it be an animate object (like a person or an animal) or an inanimate object (like a car or laundry machine). Without giving anything away, it is just that simple. When you have someone like King team up with John Carpenter for one of these stories, you have to really watch your step. Like with so many others, this one will definitely have you watch your back when you walk down the street and see a red muscle car that looks like Christine.

Sooner_88 I admit, I'm a John Carpenter fan. Always have, and always will enjoy his work and choices of projects(I taken an inspiration from him). This is no different. It's an 80's tent pole of that era. Throwback to the 50's, spice it up to 80's music, and you have a classic film.The actors themselves do a fine job and are very likable. Especially, the flawed and gullible Arnie Cunningham. And of course, you can't forget the amazing classic that is the 1958 Plymouth. What a beauty of a car(a dream car of mine even though I was born in 88'). Destroyed 18 times making me appreciate this movie even more for the fact that practical effects(another reason I love Carpenter's work) can never be forgotten. Sad, that among Stephen Kings adaptations that this is criminally overlooked, but only by the majority. And I'm happy to hear that this has cult following, that I'll happily join anyday. 8/10