By Robert Seebach
Christine is a Science Fiction Horror film released in 1983 by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by John Carpenter and starring Keith Gordan, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, and Harry Dean Stanton. The screenplay was written by Bill Phillips and is based on the novel of the same name by author Stephen King. The novel was released earlier in April 1983, with the film to follow eight months later in December.
Christine is about an unpopular high school nerd, Arnie Cunningham, whose life does a complete one-eighty after purchasing a dilapidated 1958 Plymouth Fury. Arnie’s best friend, Dennis, tries to persuade Arnie from buying Christine, stating that it isn’t worth the money. Arnie doesn’t listen. He’s mesmerized. It’s love at first sight. Unlike Arnie, Dennis is a popular, good looking football player. How these two become best friends, we never find out. Arnie is harrassed and bullied by a group of switch blade toting classmates. Dennis is Arnie’s protector. Dennis is confident, and sought after by the opposite sex. Not to mention, he has a pretty bad ass 1968 Dodge Charger. In essence, Dennis is everything Arnie desires to be.
Christine, the name Arnie gives his pride and joy, seems to be possessed by an entity who becomes jealous when her owner focuses his attention on anyone other than her. Arnie’s overbearing parents are furious that he purchased a car without consulting them first and forbid him to park the car in the driveway.
Arnie rents space in a garage and begins fixing up Christine. As Arnie brings Christine back to her showroom glory, he begins to change. Arnie quickly goes from the self-conscious bullied outcast, to a hip, sharp tongued rebel who begins dating the beautiful “new girl” at school, Leigh. Dennis notices the change in Arnie and begins to link Arnie’s obsession with Christine with his sudden change in character. Arnie becomes arrogant and egotistic.
Dennis sustains an injury during a football game in which he was distracted by the site of Arnie and Leigh exiting Christine. Dennis is blindsided and winds up in hospital. There is no utility for this event other than to let the audience know that bad things happen around Christine.
The same group of classmates bully Arnie throughout the movie, (all of whom look to be in their 20s or 30s by the way). One night, these bullies break into the garage where Christine is stored, and vandalize her. Vandalize may be an understatement. Buddy and his lackies bash, dent, slash tires, rip upholestery, and bend chrome. Arnie is devastated. But he soon recovers as he watches Christine supernaturally repair itself. Arnie vows to seek revenge and Christine is all too eager to oblige Arnie is this pursuit.
I think we can all understand Arnie’s desire for revenge, not just for the trashing of his car, but for a lifetime of persecution. Arnie simply goes full tilt on revenge. It’s as if he has been infected with the evil with which Christine is possessed.
Shortly thereafter, the band of bullies start to turn up dead. One of the most stunning scenes is when Christine chases the head bully, Buddy. Christine crashes into Buddy’s car at a gas station and then hunts Buddy down like a killer in a slasher flick as Buddy runs down a dark street. Christine is on fire from the carnage at the gas station as she overtakes Buddy and runs him down. The red ’58 Plymouth Fury riding down the pitch dark street with flames ripping in the wind is a sight to see.
Detective Junkins begins investigating the deaths of Arnie’s antagonists. Dennis, Leigh, and Arnie’s parents all recognize the scary transformation of Arnie and the link between this transformation and Arnie’s obsession with Christine.
Let’s get back to what makes this film different than other revenge tales.
At the outset, Christine seems predictable. The audience is led to believe that they will be rooting for Arnie. Arnie will gain confidence and popularity with the help of Christine and enact revenge upon his bullies. Dennis will be the one who feels self conscious because his best friend no longer needs his guidance and help. Dennis will become jealous and there will be a split in the friendship. In the end, Arnie and Dennis will see the error of their ways and reconcile. Dennis and Leigh will help Arnie see how he has changed from the loyal, kind person they’ve always known him to be, to the vengeful, narcissist he’s turned in to. They will convince Arnie to give up Christine and move on. The end.
But that isn’t what happens. As I watched Christine recently, I began to notice something; there is no redemption with Arnie’s character, and there is no hero in the story. Not really. The audience is led to believe that Arnie will be the hero of the story, or that Dennis will be the hero because he will save his friend from self-destruction. Again, this does not happen.
Not only does this not happen, but evil wins. At the end of the film, Detective Rudolph Junkins tells Dennis and leigh that they are heroes, a label Dennis rejects on the grounds that they were unable to save Arnie. He’s right. He and Leigh are not heroes. There are no heroes in this film. Dennis and Leigh attempt to save Arnie by devising a plan to trap Christine in the garage and crush her with a tractor. They succeed, or so they believe. But Arnie is killed in the process.
Detective Junkins, Dennis and Leigh watch as Christine is crushed and compressed at the junkyard. At least they’ve put an end to Christine, they think. The final shot is a close up of the compressed cube of metal, formally a 1958 Plymouth Fury. A piece of chrome twists and moves ever so slightly, as if to grin. Christine lives!
This is a fun supernatural thriller. Any fan of John Carpenter’s other films will enjoy watching Christine. There are no real heroes in this film and no redemption for any of the characters, which is a departure from the usual structure of revenge tales. This, combined with the unexpected dark reality of Evil prevailing, make Christine a devilishly good ride.
Works cited
Christine. Dir. John Carpenter. Columbia Pictures, 1983. Film.