Christine
Rated: R
Brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz
Synopsis: “She was born in Detroit . . . On an automobile assembly line. But she is no ordinary automobile. Deep within her chassis lives an unholy presence. She is Christine-a red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury whose unique standard equipment includes an evil, indestructible vengeance that will destroy anyone in her way. She seduces 17-year-old Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gorden) who becomes consumed with passion for her sleek, rounded, chrome-laden body. She demands his complete and unquestioned devotion and when outsiders seek to interfere, they become the victims of Christine’s horrifying wrath.”
Review: You know how a guy gets when he finally buys his first car? That look of pure joy, of unconditional love. How quick the guy is to protect his beloved. How angry he gets when anyone puts a smudge on it, let alone a dent! Based off of Stephen King’s best selling book, Christine is a whole new and crazy take on a boy’s love for his car.
In true Stephen King fashion, the movie is filled with boy teen angst and the obscene talk boys seem to master by the time they are able to speak. Never one to shy away from the hard truth of what adolescence is really like, Stephen King with the help of screenwriter Bill Phillips, explores just that with a unique and chilling twist.
Christine, the car, by far stole the spotlight in the movie. Not only did I fall in love with the car itself (soooo GORGEOUS!) but also with her personality. Through the radio, using various classic old tunes, is how Christine speaks to Arnie and to anyone who tries to get in the way of her relationship with Arnie. The classic tunes fit perfectly and I especially loved the opening number (which also ended the movie) “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers. One of my all time favorite songs!
Keith Gordan plays the nerdy, soft spoken, side kick to Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell) well. You end up feeling sorry for him: he gets picked on at school all the time, his mother is an all out witch, and he’s never had a real girlfriend. But upon meeting Christine everything changes. Arnie turns into the all out bad boy: hair sleeked back, no longer wearing the nerd glasses, dressing in tight jeans and fitted T-shirts. Arnie lands the hottest babe in the school as his girlfriend, and an arrogant attitude to boot. Keith Gordan did a great job switching from the total nerd to the bad boy who is possessed by a car.
I could have done without the cussing and vulgar talk about sex but then again this movie is more geared toward guys than girls. I still enjoyed this movie though! Has always been one of my favorite Stephen King movies. Only Stephen King can take something as simple as a man loving his car and turn into a chilling, twisted, thriller.
If you’re a guy, I guarantee you will love this movie! If you’re a girl, depending if you can handle jumping into a man’s world, will depend on whether or not you will like this movie. As a girl myself, I have seen this movie a couple of times and still love watching it!
Any true Stephen King fans out there will have a lot of fun watching this movie!
Running Time: 110 minutes
Director: John Carpenter
Rating: 9/10 stars
