Arnie Cunningham is a lonely and "nerdy" teenager who is shunned by everyone in high school except his only friend Dennis, a jock. This changes, however, when Arnie buys an old Plymouth Fury car called "Christine" for 250 $: he fixes it and suddenly gains enough self-esteem to gain a girlfriend, Leigh. The car is haunted, however, and kills all of Arnie's bullies by squashing or running over them. After "Christine" kills even Arnie, Dennis and Leigh manage to destroy it by running it over with a bulldozer.
One of John Carpenter's lesser films, "Christine" is a boring blend of high school drama about outsiders and a revenge horror flick featuring a cursed car, proving once again that Stephen King - whose eponymous novel provided the story - is one of the most popular horror authors of the 20th century, but not necessarily one of the best. The sole idea in which even the unpopular Arnie can gain self-esteem and confidence when he becomes an extroverted personality thanks to the car is interesting (even giving a few observations about obsession that can consume someones whole life), but unfortunately poorly executed, with bland dialogues, stiff situations and lukewarm charge without spark. The story becomes more intense once the car starts killing people, but it takes too long until we get there, some three quarters of a film. Still, small crumbs of pleasure are the scene where the crushed "Christine" reassembles itself as well as the finale featuring a duel with a bulldozer, whereas Harry Dean Stanton has another opulent performance as the unorthodox police inspector.
Grade:+
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