Christine

Starring: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton
Directed by: John Carpenter
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Drama
1983

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A teenager (Keith Gordon) begins a love affair with his car, Christine. However, as he spends more and more time obsessing over her, he also becomes more and more arrogant. His friends (John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul) begin to suspect the car is having a negative effect on him. When people who have crossed the car begin to die, the stakes become even higher.

Review:

Tim: Christine is an interesting adaptation of the Stephen King novel. The film works because it provides us with a fascinating idea- that a car can be evil, and impact its owner. I like when films make ordinary things frightening (for example, The Birds) and that is what happens here. We start to questions whether a car- something that is supposed to protect us and keep us safe- could turn on us and want us dead. The film does a good job of showcasing this element.

The film also features some very memorable scenes. The best parts of the movie are when Christine drives around, hunting down those who have done her wrong. These are the most fun scenes, and the ones that stick in our memories. The scene of Christine, covered in flames, driving down the highway is perhaps the most iconic moment of the film. I loved that aspect.

The cast of mostly unknowns give good performances. Keith Gordon wasn't excellent, but he made his transformation from mild mannered geek to destructive, unhinged man believable. That is exactly what was asked of him, and he delivered. I really enjoyed John Stockwell as his best friend. Stockwell gave a charismatic, enjoyable performance. He had a few very good moments, and represents one of the bright spots of the film. I thought Alexandra Paul was a bit bland. She didn't wow me with her performance. I really enjoyed Robert Prosky- he's such an entertaining, solid actor, and he gives a very good performance here. I wish he had a little more screen time, because he makes such good use of every second of his time. I liked seeing Harry Dean Stanton, but his role was so small that he didn't make much of an impact on the film.

I actually wished I would have liked this movie more. I was tracking with it for the first hour, and then it started to lose my interest. Besides the Christine attack scenes, it got harder and harder to stay focused. The film finally descends into silliness, and the climactic battle was just too absurd to be very good. The movie really needed a more effective conclusion. While a good story, you also have to question how effective a movie about a killer car is going to be. They certainly approached it in a good manner, but there's still some limitations inherent in the story.

Christine is a decent movie. It does enough to keep the audience interested, and there are some legitimately memorable moments. However, the longer the film goes on, the harder it is to support the story. We start questioning the realism and validity of the events of the film. The movie starts out strong, but eventually wears out its welcome. Its conclusion was one of the weaker moments of the film, as many of the stronger ones were used earlier on. I thought this horror film was different and mostly entertaining, but it still could have been better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cujo, Carrie, The Dead Zone