Before King's sweet Christine, there was the CAR! Released in theaters in 1977, I didn't get a chance to witness the terror of mechanized evil until around 1979 or so when it aired on NBC. I was about seven and had until that point never seen a horror movie, so I guess you could say The Car got my horror flick cherry... and I LOVED IT!
It was the first time I remember being scared and actually liking it. What a creepy thrill it was to watch the Car from hell run down hapless bicyclists, drive through a house to make a kill and chase terrified women and kids with demonic glee. It was freakin' awesome!
The storyline goes like this: A small desert town in California becomes the killing ground of a mysterious black car that runs down, runs over and runs through its victims, leaving a trail of mangled bodies in its wake. Enter lawman Wade Parent played by James Brolin. Even as Wade is trying to track down the killer car, it's stalking his family and friends and making road kill out of the town's good citizens. Imagine his horror when he learns that... there's no driving the car! "Is it a phantom, a demon, or the devil himself?" (I can still remember the announcer saying that.)
What is lurking behind that amber tinted windshield?! It's hell on wheels, baby!
Finally Wade and his posse lure the Car into a canyon with Wade as the bait, and the ensuing battle culminates in an explosive showdown of man vs. (demonically possessed) machine.
I have to say that old Lincoln Mark III with Satan as its wheel man still holds a special (and darkly evil) place in my heart. Even after seeing that "other" killer car movie, The Car will always be The killer car, at least in my book.
So, if ya get a chance, and think you'd like to experience a favorite childhood memory of HoRRor-FieD's mad mistress, moi, then check out The Car. It's a helluva ride.
Cheers ~
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