Posts : 6579 Join date : 2009-12-12 Age : 103 Location : Colorado
Subject: The Car (1977) Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:25 pm
1. Plot summary The movie is set around the small, fictional, Utah community of Santa Ynez, which is suddenly terrorized by a phantom black sedan that appears out of nowhere. The vehicle begins running people down starting with some bicyclists and then a French horn-playing hitchhiker. After the car kills off the town's Sheriff Everett (John Marley), it becomes the job of Captain Wade Parent (James Brolin), to stop the murderous driver.
The car enters town and begins running down the citizens, first attacking a marching band and terrorizing people at a carnival. It eventually chases a group of people into a graveyard, among them Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd), Wade's girlfriend. Curiously enough, the machine will not pass onto the consecrated ground as Lauren taunts it. The car destroys a wall supporting a cross and leaves. Police officers chase the automobile down highways throughout the desert, but it destroys several squad cars before injuring Wade and then mysteriously disappears.
The hunt for the car becomes a personal vendetta for Wade when the automobile stalks and eliminates Lauren by driving straight through her house. Wade concocts a plan to stop the horsepower-laden menace, but after discovering it waiting for him in his own garage, he is forced to carry out his plans post haste. He lures the car into a mountainous canyon area where his fellow officers have set a trap for the machine. There, a final confrontation settles the score, and a demonic shape appears in the smoke and fire of the explosion.
2. Main cast •James Brolin - Wade Parent •Kathleen Lloyd - Lauren •John Marley - Everett •R.G. Armstrong - Amos Clemens •John Rubinstein - John Morris •Kim Richards - Lynn Marie Parent •Kyle Richards - Debbie Parent •Doris Dowling - Bertha Clemens •Ronny Cox - Luke 3. Critical reception The film was panned by critics, citing poor dialogue and acting. The film received a 18% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel gave the film one star and his headline referred to this film as, "The Cinematic Turkey of 1977." [1]
4. Production The evil car in the film was a customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III designed by famed customizer George Barris, who also designed the "Munster Koach" from The Munsters and the original "Batmobile" used in the 1966 television series Batman.
There were six cars built in six weeks for the filming and all were destroyed during production. Supposedly, a seventh car was built later and displayed for a time at Universal Studios, but was eventually given back to Barris, who later sold it to a private collector in the 1980s.
The late Church of Satan leader Anton LaVey was given a "Technical Advisor" credit on the film. His quote: "Oh great brothers of the night who rideth upon the hot winds of hell, who dwelleth in the Devil's lair; move and appear," is given in the opening credits.
The film's main theme, heard predominantly throughout, is a reworked, orchestral version of Dies Irae.
Footage from this film is seen in the Knight Rider episode "Trust Doesn't Rust", shown at the end when "KARR" is destroyed by driving off a cliff, a glimpse of "The Car" is seen going over the cliff instead.
S.D. The Subhuman
Posts : 6538 Join date : 2009-11-16 Location : Los Angeles, CA
Subject: Re: The Car (1977) Mon Jun 07, 2010 10:56 pm
Remember this one fondly. Haven't seen it since sometime in the 90's. Good ole James Brolin and R.G. Armstrong...what would cheesy horror flicks do without actors like these?
Never knew about the Anton Levay connection or that it was the same designer as the batmobile. Pretty cool stuff.
This is one of those films that made it to television fairly quick, I seem to remember seeing it around 1979 or so. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world when I was 9, demonic cars...HELL YEAH! That's hip shit. Maybe Dracula is driving? Killer.
This is one of those films I've been considering watching again, think it's about time.
Akeldama Cagey Cretin
Posts : 6579 Join date : 2009-12-12 Age : 103 Location : Colorado
Subject: Re: The Car (1977) Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:31 pm
Yeah me too, I think it needs a remake, if they can remake all this other shit they can remake The Car.
S.D. The Subhuman
Posts : 6538 Join date : 2009-11-16 Location : Los Angeles, CA
Subject: Re: The Car (1977) Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:40 pm
The other movie that always pops into my head when I think of "The Car" is that anthology flick "NIGHTMARES" from the early 80's.
There's that episode where Lance Henrickson loses his faith, leaves the church...and then gets tormented by a Satanic pickup on the highway (with a swinging upside cross necklace on the rearview mirror). I seem to remember it bursting up out of the ground at one point...
Akeldama Cagey Cretin
Posts : 6579 Join date : 2009-12-12 Age : 103 Location : Colorado
Subject: Re: The Car (1977) Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:44 pm
Man I remember that too albeit vaguely, I gotta see if I can find that!
Fat Freddy Stormtrooper Of Pabst
Posts : 1300 Join date : 2009-11-18 Age : 53 Location : West Milford, NJ
Subject: Re: The Car (1977) Tue Oct 19, 2010 8:52 pm
Yeah, I remember this flick!! Saw it on TV when I was maybe 9 or 10, scared the poop out of me then but I'm sure it'd be pretty laughable now.
gershom
Posts : 1298 Join date : 2010-12-08
Subject: Re: The Car (1977) Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:29 am
I remember this movie, it was pretty damn cool back when, and a demon possessed car is totally cooler then a demon possessed house (Amityville also witt Brolin?) Also loved Christine also about a killer car story by Stephen King, directed by the great John Carpenter, that was cool too. I did like at the end of Car when the demon came out of the car in the explosion, I was like man sequel it'll go posses some other car, cool. This allso make me think of Maximum Overdrive, all so a Stephen King story, about vehicles coming alive and killing people, but not just cars but freaking semis and what ever, even a military jeep with a machine gun mounted on it that was pretty damn cool. I' m going to have to look into this Nightmares series you mentioned Detuned, I'm not sure if I remember this, but anything with Hendriksen in it I will watch no matter how stupid it is, being that he is one of my favorite actors, chances are he dies in this film, as he is good for dying in just about every movie he's been in. Anyways bottom line, "Cars" remake? totally should happen, maybe Disney will do it and we'll see Mater and McQueen running down people in an animated version, yelling "Get er' Done!"