CHRISTINE. Directed by John Carpenter; written by Bill Phillips; produced by Richard Kobritz for Columgia. Starring Keith Gordon, John Stockwell and Alexandra Paul. Rated R (language).
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Everybody knows that teenage boys go crazy over their first car. In Christine, class nerd Arnie (Gordon) just takes that attachment a little too far. Or maybe it's the car that does the taking. At any rate, the result is a very kinky love/demonic possession story.
It sports some nice jump-out-of-your-seat suspense, a subtle, quirky sense of humor and a great many demolished vehicles.
The title role in Christine is played by a gorgeous red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury. And as all cars do, she has her little quirks.
Like Harold in The Big Chill, her radio only plays old rock and roll songs. And, boy! is she touchy. An assembly line worker drops some cigar ash on her seatcover and pays dearly for his littering. As for the bullies who vandalize her later....
Also, she can do her own body work. This results in quite a savings for Arnie. Christine gets burned to a crisp during one nocturnal escapade, squeezed to sub-compact size in another. But she comes up shining each time.
Christine has an intersting premise—that a car can be "born bad" and have the supernatural powers to express her evil nature. But happily the movie offers more than just a good scare.
Gordon does a great job with the role of Arnie. He is transformed by Christine from an awkward but likeable schmuck into a cool, callous cruiser. Eventually, he is literally driven to the far side of madness.
The supporting cast is also good, although Paul is a little too glamourous to be a believeable high school girl. But Gordon, aside from Christine herself, of course, is the one to watch. He's only 22 and should have lots of compelling performances ahead of him.
Much of the humor in Christine comes from its well-chosen soundtrack of oldies. Christine has a knack for putting on music ironically appropriate to the action. Her radio eventually becomes almost as spooky as her headlights. The use of music as a subtle gag device persists to the last scene of the film.
There are also some beautiful images in Christine. The play of lights on wet pavement is visually stunning and emotionally menacing as Christine stalks her first victim. The sequence where she pursues another while completely on fire is especially spectacular.
Several people meet with grisly ends, but the level of on-screen gore is minimal. I felt a little uneasy getting into my car after seeing Christine, but all the scares in this horror movie aren't terribly disturbing.
The suspense is well-played and Christine is quite frightening as you watch her, but I doubt if she will give any adults nightmares. It's just good clean fun (except for the language), very much in the old-fashioned horror movie vein. Without pressing too hard, you could find messages about the sexual side of our "love affair with the automobile," or about the danger of cherishing possessions at the price of personal relationships.
But the story and images come first in Christine. And, you don't have to think too hard to enjoy them.
December 14, 1983