Christine Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
She'll possess you. Then destroy you. She's death on wheels. She's...
Some Cars Are Born Bad.
Hell hath no Fury...like Christine.
How do you kill something that can't possibly be alive?
She was born bad. Plain and simple. Somewhere deep on a darkened assembly line. Christine. A '58 Plymouth Fury possessed by Hell. She's taken control of her teenage owner, Arnie. Her previous owner is not alive to warn him. And now she's steering straight for the one person in her way. Arnie's girlfriend, Leigh. The other woman.
Arnie Cunningham is a typical high school nerd who is picked on, overruled by his parents, and has very few friends. Until he meets Christine, a run-down 1958 Plymouth Fury and buys her. Arnie learns that Christine has a thing for him and devotes his time to restoring her to Mint Condition. But overtime, Arnie begins to change and becomes disconnected with reality and his friends. Arnie's girlfriend Leigh and best friend Dennis find out that Christine's previous owner cared about nothing else when he bought her and find out that Arnie is becoming just like him. The only way they can bring Arnie back to reality is to destroy Christine, But Arnie and Christine are ready to destroy them first and any one else who gets in their way.
| 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 |
| Roberts Blossom | George LeBay |
| William Ostrander | Buddy Repperton |
| David Spielberg | Mr. Casey |
| Malcolm Danare | Moochie Welch |
| Steven Tash | Richard Trelawney |
| Stuart Charno | Don Vandenberg |
| Kelly Preston | Roseanne |
| Marc Poppel | Chuck |
| Robert Darnell | Michael Cunningham |
| John Carpenter |
6.20 out of 10 (10493 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Crysler's Rule!! and So does this film!! Classic Carpenter!!!
posted on 22 Jun 2009OK, you may think I'm crazy for giving John Carpenter's 'Christine' a great score. However, any true film enthusiast should sit up and take note of 'Christine's' excellent direction, sound and acting. Here is a film with timeless qualities. The classic Crysler befriends the young fragile geek 'Arnie', turning him into a cool, slick and attractive partner; like his new love Christine. Watch this film again if you think that it's crap, cos you'll find a great mystery to life itself. The film score and film songs are great, the revenge scenes are classic, and overall it's definitely not a one watcher and deserves to be looked into.
A Very Good Movie
posted on 14 May 2009Christine, while it isn't one of the best King adaptations in the world, is still a very good film. When I heard it was a movie based on a Stephen King novel and directed by John Carpenter, a master of horror, I knew I was going to be at least mildly entertained. But I had heard people say that this movie was somewhat boring, so my expectations were kind of low. I was glad to find that it wasn't boring at all, and that it was in fact, like my one liner said, A Very Good Movie.We have a young man that goes by the name of Arnie. Arnie is young, skinny, wears big thick glasses, and is one of the only seniors in his school that does not have a car. His best friend is a popular jock, and as you can imagine, that probably lowers his self esteem somewhat to see someone that has it all every time he hangs out with his best friend. So anyway, one day he sees a great opportunity. The opportunity to get a classic car for a good price. He jumps on the deal, and now he has his very own car. But, the King style horror begins to kick in, when the car slowly begins to take over young Arnie's mind.One thing that really caught my eye, was the transformation from Good Arnie to Bad Arnie. It's incredible. You sit there and watch this young man change right in front of your eyes. It's absolutely crazy. Overall, Christine is a good film that all King fans and all Carpenter fans will enjoy.
One slick killing machine.
posted on 25 Feb 2009John Carpenter adapts Stephen King's novel with skillful precision. A high school kid becomes obsessive in his feelings for a very strange car he has bought. The car is given the name Christine and repays her owner's adoration by "taking care of" his enemies.It is fun watching Keith Gordon, owner of Christine, go from wimp to self proclaimed stud. Also in the cast are: John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Harry Dean Stanton and David Spielberg.It is super cool watching Christine repair her damaged parts. This is an underrated movie that deserves a repeat viewing.
You Can Run But You Can't Hide From Christine
posted on 22 Feb 2009When I was looking for a horror movie I saw this and read the back,the plot was O.K. so I rented.And the minute I stared seeing it to end, I have one word for this movie and its Wow.This movie kicked ass,once again two greatest horror people of all time making a good horror movie wrapped up in Christine.John Carpenter and Stephen King made another worthwhile movie to see,even not the killing parts.This had plenty of great acting and action,good suspense with the creepy song,and excellent killing on the bullies.This is almost like a similar story to Carrie,only this had more Action.They out did themselves with this movie,they were more popular+this movie scared the the s**t out of me when I saw and effects when it rebuild itself would recommend you to watch this movie before they will run out of Chistine DVD's and VHS's.
Fun Possessed Car Tale
posted on 10 Feb 2009This movie is a lot of fun especially towards the end. Quite watchable although it is a bit slow-moving at first so stick with it. A young man finally gets his own car for the first time but doesn't realize just how
attached to it he would become and how attached to him IT had become.
A car to die for
posted on 29 Jan 2009Never having seen this film, or having read Stephen King's novel, in which "Christine" is based on, we decided to take a chance. Needless to say, it paid big time because of the inspired direction by John Carpenter who also composed the background music for the movie. In fact, it was a surprise, perhaps, because of no preconceived ideas on our part.The film is not as much as a horror film, as it is a dark comedy that seems to suit the material Bill Phillips, its adapter, gives to the picture. There are some excellent visual effects that work well within the context of the narrative making the viewer not to lose interest at any given moment.The subject of the film is about a young man who is perceived as a weakling by his peers at school. In fact, just like with another Stephen King novel, "Carrie", Arnie Cunningham vows to take revenge in all the nasty things done to him by the bullies in school. In fact, we witness a transformation in Arnie as he becomes interested in restoring the 1957 car he bought second hand and seems to cause a lot of problems for some people who dare to cross Arnie.The film works because of the creepy performance by Keith Gordon, who as Arnie, brings life into the teen ager that goes from being a nerd, easily afraid of his tormentors, into the assured young man who knows about his powers once he is riding his red car. The rest of the cast is good interacting with Mr. Gordon. John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, the great Robert Prosky and Henry Dean Stanton, who doesn't have much to do in the film.This film will be appreciated by all fans of John Carpenter.
Remarkably brilliant
posted on 09 Dec 2008Again, when translation from book to film very rarely works it's hard to watch films after reading a great piece of work. Christine is no exception. Reading the book was a fantastic piece of writing but surprised that I was, the cut down size to viewing format actually worked.Cuts were made of course but that really didn't effect the film and the point of the film. The love triangle elements between Christine, Leigh and Arnie still strongly exists and you actually feel for the car especially towards the end. The soundtrack to the film is wonderfully selected and executed especially the part where Moochie gets killed. The car sits casually while playing a really cool track with fingers clicking. Then burst to life with fury. It gave the car real character. The actors were also chosen well which made the viewing more comfortable.John Carpenter I think hit home here. To make a car feel like it has real feeling without making it into a spirited monster is surely an achievement.To the book, this film is still a watered down version but a proud film it stands along a collection of horror films. I love it.
Good concept,, lousy directing
posted on 31 Oct 2008Everyone's seen this movie--a great concept, that of a car imbued with evil intent. Carpenter's direction is so (typically) lousy that it makes the movie a parody of itself. The people in the film rarely act even remotely as real people would under the circumstances (accounting for "suspension of disbelief" that is assumed to accept the premise)---the protagonists are often seen standing around waiting for Christine to do her thing, rather than reacting as any normal person would, and it becomes --- well, boring, because you wait with them. The camera lingers WAY too long on faces that are supposed to reflect horror, and you find yourself thinking "C'mon, get with it". This movie would be a good one for a course on how not to direct.
It's a possessed ZZ Tops!
posted on 28 Oct 2008It all started in Detroit in 1957. The car's bonnet mysteriously slammed on a worker's hand while he was checking the engine. And at 5 o' clock that afternoon, one of the worker's died in the car while listening to music.Later, two boys named Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell) and Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) who were both victims of verbal and physical bullying caught sight of an old red ZZ Tops and Arnie was the one to check it out. Arnie sure did fall in love with it. When they to it's owner named George LeBay (Roberts Blossom), he told them that the car's name was Christine. Le Bay told Arnie about it's bad history when his brother's daughter was chocked to death in the car5. But anyways, Arnie bought the car $250.When Arnie came home with the car, his parents Regina and Michael (Christine Belford and Robert Darnell) disagreed with Arnie keeping the car due to hearing about the previous owner who died in the car from carbon monoxide. But Arnie insisted on keeping the car. And on the 9th of October 1979, Arnie fixed his car with junk at and from Darnelle's Auto Wrecking. There was a similar attachment with LeBay's brother and Christine as there was with Arnie and Christine. And you should've seen how the car looked when it was complete. BEAUTIFUL! That night, Dennis went to go check out the car, and when he tried to open it, the radio went off, Dennis ran away and then, the radio stopped playing. Now, this was the time when we knew the car had a life of it's own! On the following day, when Arnie rocked up at a football match. Christine made Dennis injure himself. And on the 5th of November, Dennis was in hospital.That evening, Arnie's girlfriend Leigh Cabot (Alexandra Paul) told Arnie that she hated the car. And when Arnie went out of the car, Leigh began to choke in the car while the radio played and everywhere in the car shone a bright white light. And when Arnie left his car inside Darnelle's Auto Wrecking, his bully Buddy Repperton (William Ostrander) and his gang sneaked in and vandalized his car.The next day, Arnie was shocked to see what happened to his car. And that evening, Christine pulled herself back together. And Christine went after one of Buddy's mates who was involved with vandalizing her. He was Moochie Welch (Malcolm Danare). WOO! Moochie sure was spooked out! Christine chased Moochie into a junk yard and she mashed him into a dead end.On the 3rd of November, 1979. There were many complaints about Christine. And one evening, Christine followed Buddy about as he drove to a petrol station, she wrecked his car, and she caused a petrol explosion. She then chased him down the as she burnt with her headlights shining brightly. And, she ran him over and he burnt up. THAT'S RIGHT!! BURN IN HELL, FOOL!!!! When Christine came in, a guy who worked at the junkyard named Don Vandenberg (Stuart Charno) checked Christine out. Don foolishly got into the car, the door closed and it locked, the radio again turned on and the driver's seat which he was sitting on CRUSHED him! And the next morning, Christine was as good as new. WOW!!! Later on in the following evening, Dennis noticed that the car had done something to Arnie. He also saw that the car could steer by itself when Arnie let go of the steering wheel. Later, Dennis and Leigh set a trap for Christine at Darnelle's. He was going to crush her with a bulldozer. And SUDDENLY! Christine shot out from under from under a pile of garbage with her headlights shining their brightest! When Christine went for Leigh, she missed and began to ram the place down! And... SURPRIZE! Arnie was inside Christine. Christine again tried to run over Leigh, she crashed into a little joint of the place and Arnie died due to glass that got stuck inside his body. And finally, Dennis crushed Christine to kingdom come. And the next day, (Wow! I have said this phrase SO many times.) Christine had been compacted. And uh-oh! A song was heard playing from one of the builder's radio's. And, Christine began to form herself again.Christine had to have been one of the most interesting Stephen King films that I have ever seen due to having a possessed car, it effects the owner and those who are around him or her.And everyone knowing what sex the car is. That amused me when LeBay said that Christine smelt like pussy!And having a radio for a car's heart. This film was stunning, ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!
Enjoyable film from John Carpenter's glory days
posted on 25 Sep 2008Your first car, I'm sure many will agree, is one hell of a prideful deal for any scatterbrained, skirt chasin' teenager and it sure ain't hard to grow a little fixated on your new ride; maybe even evoke some kind of murderous mischief out of it. Especially if you happen to completely restore a 20 year-old beater that tends to eradicate all the wrong-doers in your life on it's own... "Christine", based on Stephen King's novel which I read way back in junior high, I think, tells the story of Arnie - a teen who isn't necessarily high up on the 'social ladder' - who comes across a scrappy rust-bucket, 1958 Plymouth Fury sitting in the overgrown yard of a dubious old man, whom he purchases the car from. Without receiving a glimmer of acceptance from his buddy and his parents, he fixes the thing up, good as new, and his whole personality undergoes an equally astounding transformation. He becomes far more suave and aggressive and when some school bullies trash Christine (the car's previously designated "name") he learns of it's long lingering "liveliness" as it proceeds to avenge itself... "Christine" definitely has the John Carpenter feel to it - mainly due to the musical score - yet it does noticeably lack the Debrah Hill/Carpenter writing (since it's a adaptation from a novel), but damned if the familiar Carpenter charm doesn't seep through. Just impressive sh*t all around... That malicious car was bad news from day one - right off the assembly line it kills a worker and wounds another. Plus how many victims did old LeBay mention, again? Arnie gradually going over the deep end is excellently played out and the entire movie is paced marvelously. Not a whole lot of gore and NO nudity, though the story is damn entertaining... Stephen King can make a killer out of anything, obviously, and this isn't one of his best concepts but it translates well on film and is very much character driven with oodles of suspense and good ol' fashion "reverse" effects. Not the absolute BEST King adaptation but Carpenter sells it perfectly, so give it a go!
Dee-troit don't make 'em like this anymore
posted on 13 Sep 2008If they did I wouldn't be required to get behind the wheel anymore and what a joy that would be. With this auto the owner's body repair bills would be zilch. I loved the flaming car scene; had be rolling in the floor. Actually, I'd love to own this car: I would be guaranteed never to be bothered by anyone....ever. Much better than the book and far superior to many of King's adaptations. Worth a look.
Mediocre King Transmission
posted on 04 Sep 2008Yet another adaptation of a chilling Stephen King novel and yet another mediocre result. Horror novels' most innovative scribe delivered the goods with this unusual tale of a demonically possessed car that permeates the soul of its owner and then proceeds to consume them from the inside out.The car in question is "Christine", a 1958 Plymouth Fury whose wrath is only surpassed by her jealousy. When young Arnie first sees her he is completely taken and must have her. Soon his obsessive, paranoid 'love' for her begins to destroy his life, though he doesn't know it.Director Carpernter does have the skill to create some tension and uses the menacing car to good effect. However Bill Phillips plot only enables Carpenter to shock us, never really getting under our skin as King's novel did.The special effects team have a great time crushing and burning Fury after Fury, but other technicians have little to do.Keith Gordon makes the most of the lead role as the nerdy Arnie who quickly becomes the disturbed owner of "Christine". Support cast, including John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul and Harry Dean Stanton have precious little to do, though Robert Prosky does a good job of being gross.Over all a disappointing spooker!Sunday, February 9, 1997 - Video
Terrific novel, above average movie
posted on 15 Jul 2008This was a good movie and the cast did a terrific job, especially Keith Gordon, Alexandra Paul and John Stockwell. My main complaint was the changes that didn't need to be made from novel to film. I realize things have to be shortened when making a film from a novel, but why was the movie based in California instead of Pennsylvania and why was Roland LeBay's brother made to look like an old bum in the film when he was a schoolteacher in the novel? Overall it was a good movie that could have been much better if it had paralleled the book more.
Killer Car.
posted on 03 Jul 2008This is a great adaption of a great book. The book, however, was more of a ghost story, while the movie keeps the focus on the killer car. I liked the movie alot. Buddy Reperton is one of the greatest jerks in horror movie history. He is a good bad guy, if he could be called that. And the evolution of Arnie from nerd to semi-greaser is fun to watch. Keith Gordon was also in the movie Back to School, and did a similar turn. The oldies soundtrack was good, if you're in to that sort of thing. A recomendation for any Stephen King, or John Carpenter fan.
Stephen King meets John Carpenter
posted on 24 Jun 2008A great author like Stephen King and a great director like John Carpenter should fit together like bread and butter, but something went wrong in the making of Christine. I am not saying the film is bad, but it is not the best. Carpenter and King have done better. The first half of the movie is excellent, but the second half is a bit repetitive and redundant. RATING = 7 of 10
Pretty Good
posted on 22 Apr 2008Being a huge Stephen King fan, I love his books and like the movie adaptations. Of course, none of them can really compare with the original works. Christine was the first Stephen King book I ever read, and still remains my favorite. The movie really did the book well. It didn't overdo the gore or anything. It was spooky, but also showed the deeper meaning of teenage obsession and the love story subplot. The acting was perfect. The only thing I didn't like was that there were a few main points that they left out that would have made the movie perfect. Other than that, I had no problem with it. Keith Gordon, I have to say, stole the show. He played an excellent Arnie, first being the wimpy nerd and then going to this complete bad ass greaser. I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants a good film, but isn't expecting too much out of it.
Hell hath no fury like a Fury scorned...
posted on 07 Apr 2008For my Smart Money, "Christine" is one of John Carpenter's most underrated efforts (up there with "Assault on Precinct 13"), and also one of his most effective. Even though its modest look and relative restraint in gore came as a result of "The Thing"'s box-office failure the previous year, and Carpenter has all but admitted his heart wasn't in the project, it ultimately turned out VERY well (if this is an effort from a sleepwalking Carpenter, he's better than most directors when they're awake). As someone who was knocked out by Rob Bottin's intricately gruesome FX work in "The Thing," but left cold by the shallow characters, "Christine" fills in the gaps of suspense and human story with ease. In retrospect, some of the absurd plot elements ("a haunted car," as Carpenter constantly reiterates) lends the film an odd humor that doesn't detract from things (and indeed, it was Stephen King's own infatuation with cars and rock music that inspired this story of obsession). Scenes are composed with great skill by Carpenter (making wonderful use of the widescreen image), and there are many striking images sprinkled throughout (the most incredible being the flaming Christine speeding after a villain). The excellent cast gives their all in making a potential B-movie premise glow with A-list polish: Keith Gordon's Arnie (the painfully square high-school senior who buys the titular vehicle), John Stockwell's Dennis (the resourceful jock and best friend), Alexandra Paul's Leigh (the earthy girlfriend who sparks Christine's jealousy), and Harry Dean Stanton's Junkins (the snooping P.I.) provide this tale with a lot of propulsive force. In a sense, "Christine" is a nice even ground between the zaniness of "Escape from New York" and the FX extremes of "The Thing," and exemplifies Carpenter's range as a director. A very underrated effort that is very much worth your time.
"If you want to fart you go out in the junk yard." Very silly Stephen King adaptation.
posted on 04 Apr 2008Christine starts in 'Detroit, 1957' where a brand new red Plymouth Fury rolls off the production line, as a mechanic works on it his fingers become trapped as the bonnet shuts on them & in another incident later on that day a man is found dead in the front... The film informs us that it's 'Rockbridge, California September 12 1978' & Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) is your average typical school nerd complete with dorky spectacles & who gets picked on by Buddy Repperton (William Ostrander) & his gang of mates. While driving home from school one day with his best friend Dennis (John Stockwell) he notices a beat up car for sale, a red Plymouth Fury. After talking with the cars owner George LeBay (Roberts Blossom) Arnie decide to buy it & fix it up himself at a do-it-yourself garage run by the overweight foul-mouthed Will Darnell (Robert Prosky). Within a few weeks the car which is now known as Christine is as good as new & Arnie has undergone a transformation, he is now confident, doesn't wear geeky glasses anymore & is dating Leigh Cabot (Alexandra Paul), one of the prettiest girls in school. Then Arnie changes even more, he becomes selfish, forgets about his old friends, he becomes aggressive & uncaring as Christine takes over his life. When Buddy & his gang smash Christine up Arnie & Christine set out for revenge...Directed by John Carpenter I really didn't think too much of Christine as a whole, although certain aspects show the idea had promise & potential. Christine was in fact based on a novel by Stephen King & was one of three King adaptations in '83, the other's were David Cronenberg's thriller The Dead Zone (1983) & Lewis Teague's rabid dog horror Cujo (1983), King was so popular at this point that the film Christine apparently went into production before the book Christine was published. The script was written by Bill Phillips & I have to admit right now that I have not read King's book that Christine is based upon, it's only been a few hours since I finished watching it & all I can think about is how silly a premise it is. I mean a possessed car that can rebuild itself? Quite why Christine is possessed & by whom or what I don't know as the film never explains this which is odd considering that in my opinion it's a pretty important aspect to the plot. Christine is a little on the slow side too with not much happening during the first half of the film while Buddy & his gang sometimes feel at odds with the rest of the film & only ever appear to either be antagonists or to be killed off as they otherwise get no screen time. Apart from Buddy & co. the character's in Christine are actually very well developed & surprisingly I found myself liking & caring for them from the beat upon nerd Arnie & the cool cop Rudolph Junkins (Harry Dean Stanton) to the funny foul-mouthed Darnell, some really good acting also helps. I was also pleasantly surprised to find an original film for a change & something just a bit different, I don't think I've seen another film quite like it anyway. Technically Christine is polished, with a supposed budget of about $9,700,000 it's certainly well made with some great special effects when Christine rebuilds herself & a cool ending scene with Christine against a Bulldozer. The cinematography is fine, the synthesiser type music reminds heavily of Halloween (1978) & the production design is nice enough. Director Carpenter creates some good sequences especially as a flame covered Christine hunts Buddy down chasing him & eventually running him over. There is no gore or violence really, a burning body & a broken slither of glass in someone's stomach, that's it. The acting is strong throughout which helps bring the character's to life. While Christine isn't exactly a brilliant film, it's slow & very silly, it entertained to an extent & at least it tries to be different & have strong character's. Hard to recommend but I think Christine has some merits that unfortunately are lost within & outweighed by it's negative aspects, worth a watch for King & horror fans alike but everyone else should probably give it a miss I'm afraid.
A Movie Any True Car Lover Can Appreciate
posted on 29 Jan 2008There are no words that can truly describe the power and passion of Christine.Anyone who owns an older car will be able to associate with the obsession that takes over nerdish Arnie's life when he restores Christine, the beautiful Plymouth Fury.John Carpenter's excellent directing brings the car to life to such a point where as you're watching, you become so entranced that you forget she isn't alive.The actors are well chosen for the roles they play, and give excellent performances. This, accompanied by excellent photography, special effects, timing and musical score make Christine a definite must-see movie.Please Note: The Australian TV edit cuts out some of the best scenes, so this movie is best seen on DVD or video.
Christine: She's a Killer
posted on 07 Jul 2009This is a magnificent movie on the theme of Demonic Possession.John Carpenter actually IMPROVES on Stephen King's horror story, wherein the car is driven by the ghost of a Vietnam vet. For Carpenter, Christine (a murderously beautiful '58 Plymouth Fury) is a sentient machine, an incarnation of the spirit of the Fifties - complete with a car radio which will only tune to Rock'n'Roll music - great music!Arnie Cunningham is an insecure but oddly gifted and sensitive kid who is gradually possessed by the car he loves - and actually thinks he can own.The scenes where Christine comes to life are utterly believable -- you will be awestruck by the perfection of the seemingly impossible.Anyone crazy enough to attack Christine has a terrible awakening coming. The scenes where the - Furious - car hunts people down are absolutely terrifying -- and completely believable.Ever since I saw "Christine" in 1983, my surroundings have resonated with eerie sharp metallic "clicks" just like those in "Christine." Others have noticed them too, and they can be tape-recorded (unlike hallucinations!). COGNITIVE HEALTH WARNING!!!"Christine" is one of the all-time great movies. Better than sex!Our gratitude goes to John Carpenter for his integrity. The crew wrecked 17 priceless Plymouth Furies in making the film (Christine is in fact a re-badged Plymouth Belvedere, I'm told).Tony Hollick (who usually drives a shadow silver-Gray 1987 Ford Capri 2.8i Injection Special named "Tru" (after "Tru Calling").www.Agora.demon.co.UK