User Reviews

The Car is a good example of how restraint in the horror genre can work. It honors the tradition of real suspense movies by hinting at more than it shows, and inferring more than it explains. From the cryptic opening quote by Anton Le Vey to the ending in which the two main characters disagree on whether this is really the end, this "demon car" film keeps asking more questions than it answers. For some, this will bring frustration, for others, it makes the movie that much more fascinating. The "body count" is a total of 10 people, with no explicit scenes. And there are no "anonymous" killings. Each victim is named and acknowledged as a real human being and a loss. This is a refreshing departure from gore-fests. I'd rate it a 7 1/2.

What a flick. I just bought the widescreen edition and watched it to celebrate the new century. Let me briefly list a few of its many strong points, most of which are essential to the success of the 1970s "Killer Object/Animal" horror subgenre:

1. Colorful small-town (desert, Southwest-y) flavor. A parade or similar celebration (rodeo, picnic) should occur. 2. Quirky dialogue. 3. John Marley acting beligerent. 4. A Panicked Crowd Scene, with folks dashing for their lives as the demonic beast/machine/inanimate object heads their way. 5. A smart-alleck hippie who meets a horrible end.

Seriously, though-- this film isn't "scary" in the traditional sense, but its true power lies when you really start thinking about the car itself. Where did it come from? Is the Devil driving? And is it plaguing our major characters because of their sins? (i.e. Ronny Cox as an alcoholic falling off the wagon, James Brolin as a single parent trying to keep his daughters happy as he dates sexy Kathleen Lloyd.) What I'm saying is at its heart, this is a creepy, unsettling film with some really strange philosophical/religious questions at its core. And how many horror films can claim that? A solid 7/10.

I think those who are slamming this film are missing the point. The dialog does tend to be dull, and the characters are often uninteresting, if not one-dimensional. There is no explanation for where the car came from, where it goes, and who or what it is.

Welcome to real life.

If you're looking for a well-thought-out story with highly-developed characters, and a movie where everything that happens is explained and wrapped up at the end, this is the wrong movie.

If you're looking for a movie that at times feels like a cross between a news report and a diary, this is the one.

The unpredictability of the car, the unexplainability of its actions, the normalcy of the people in the movie all make a rather unbelievable story, well... believable.

And I LOVED the ending. I wish they had made a "Car II: the devil takes Manhattan." :)

Blair Witch Project takes shaky camcorder scenes about a witch we never see and spends the entire show having the characters scream and cuss at each other. It is a hit.

The Car combines beautiful cinematography, a logical progression of events, and gets you involved trying to figure out how to stop this monster. It is ridiculed as "70s trash."

Rent this film, & you decide who is right!

I thought it was just going to be another B movie, but hey, this one actually turned out pretty good. The only parts I wasn't too keen on was the fact that the car literally just "shows up" out of seemingly nowhere, and you never find out what it really truly is, or why its there. The way the movie is layed out, it can leave you on the edge of your seat at times, which is rare with this kind of film usually. There are some times as well that leave you forming your own little theories on why certain events are taking place, for example, the car being unable to enter a graveyard. The reasoning for this is suggested, but never truly set in stone. Later on you notice the car is completely indestructible, its tires unbustable, glass unbreakable and completely unstoppable, which adds to the suspense. The ending, for me, was both a bit confusing, and very eye opening. I really liked this film, more than I thought I would.

While traveling through the desert nearby the small town of Santa Ynez on their bicycles to camp, two teenage bicyclers are murdered by a mysterious black car. Then the car hit-and-run a hitchhiker and the crime is witnessed by the local Amos Clements (R.G. Armstrong). Sheriff Everett (John Marley) puts his men in alert and plans road blocks in the area to arrest the murderer. Sooner he becomes a victim of the car and Sheriff Wade Parent (James Brolin) begins a hunting of the vehicle that is threatening his town and seems to be impossible to be located. When his beloved girlfriend and teacher Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd) challenges the driver in a cemetery, the car hunts her in her home and Wade realizes that he might be dealing with supernatural powers.

The cult "The Car" is a supernatural tale of a creepy car that apparently might be driven by the devil himself. The entertaining story is visibly inspired in "Duel" and is inconclusive, and the viewer never knows for sure whether the car is driven by a demoniac being or by a wicked skilled driver. The havoc caused by the car is never graphic and that is a good point since the story is supported by the performances and the choreography of the stunts in the car chase. Further, thirty-two years later this movie has not aged. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Carro, A Máquina do Diabo" ("The Car, The Machine of the Devil")

Who would win in a battle between Christine and The Car?

I'm partial to Christine because she had more color and character, but The Car was savage.

Christine could fix any significant damage to herself, but The Car was virtually indestructible.

Even though I think The Car would win in a battle I still like Christine more. The Car was an indiscriminate killer that seemed like it wouldn't stop until it killed everyone in Utah. It was a fearsome automobile. One I'd like to be behind the wheel of but not in front of.

Anyone who sets aside time for a movie about a possessed car that runs people down knows they're not not going to get an Oscar winner. Still, THE CAR is a decent (though largely forgettable) little 1970s horror film.

THE CAR is reasonably paced with enough unique qualities that its intended audience won't be completely disappointed. A wry James Brolin stars as a small town sheriff leading the charge against the big ugly car as it mows down innocent cyclists, antagonizes school children and plows through homes. The characters are surprisingly developed, believable characters who react to this madness as (probably) you or I would. It's director Elliot Silverstein's willingness to take the story seriously, avoiding obvious opportunities for campiness, that makes the automobile (custom made for the film) a dynamic villain. That said, at no point is THE CAR particularly scary. Then again, how many horror films actually are?

What's interesting about THE CAR is that no one, not even the audience, knows where the vile vehicle came from. It simply shows up on an otherwise beautiful day. Some might see this as a cop out, but Silverstein, who cut his teeth on THE TWILIGHT ZONE, among other TV series, wisely understood one of the enduring rules of horror: some things are better left unexplained. The film's climax does reveal who was behind the wheel (if you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it), but the hows and whys of the situation remain up to our individual interpretations.

There's not a great deal of appeal in THE CAR to those outside its target audience of popcorn-munching horror buffs. But if you find the film's premise irresistible, you'll want to take THE CAR for a spin.

I was watching an episode of the animated sci-fi comedy "Futurama" on television and was laughing away at this episode about "The Curse Of The Were-Car" and sure enough....the car they had used was an animated version of that wonderful demon-possessed black sedan from 1977's The Car! Fond memories of that film flooded back to me....

Some critics dismissed The Car as a Jaws on wheels, and it was also lost in the wake of Star Wars' release pouncing any other films out at that time. The general audience was a bit befuddled by the more cerebral aspects of The Car and just weren't sure what they were watching. That's what makes this film one that has made a nice comeback on VHS/DVD for collectors who appreciated all the elements that made The Car unique.

While the film Christine was more of a commercial success, it was a much cruder telling of a story and didn't have a sense of wonderment that drew us into the fantasy. The Car was, as New York Press writer Jim Knipfel wrote, "If Ingmar Bergman had made a horror movie about a murderous automobile, he would have made The Car." The philosophical edge didn't turn the story into a joke, but rather gave some weight to a fantastic and desperate situation, balancing the dread and the actions of the townspeople.

The Car is visually stunning, the desert location is used in a very scenic way instead of vast empty spaces that usually are obvious for film economics. Here, the locations are all over, bridges, mountains, and yes, open spaces...all are used well and keep the beauty in contrast to the sinister element driving through and plowing people down. Excellent camera work keeps this one a notch above even more mainstream films.

I've always though that cars up through the 1970s had faces on them, mostly expressions of anger or sinister intentions. The most beautiful cars in the world could just be so frightening if you look right at them. This black sedan custom made for the film could just sit there and do nothing (well, it does sit on dark streets sometimes) and you'll get chills.

Combine the scenery with the deadly car and the various personalities of the characters, and you have something more profound than just a movie about a mysterious car running people down. These people have purposes, ideals, and obviously problems, and put those against the situation they're faced with...this film is chock full of substance. In a way, like an "art" film, it is true as Knipfel also noted that Ronnie Cox (the alcoholic deputy) is weeping a lot and is seen mostly in doorways and windows. James Brolin (the sheriff) does tend to stop and stare at walls as if to find answers, and Kathleen Lloyd (the school teacher) decides to get in a debate with the Car as it has them trapped in a strangely placed graveyard.

While you won't be terrified out of your seat, you will definitely feel some goose bumps and find yourself with a serious look on your face as you gaze at several scenes. Yes, there is something about this film that transcended the typical horror genre. I have a first printing of the paperback novelization by Dennis Shryack And Michael Butler (Dell Books, May 1977) and the book does go a bit deeper into the why's and how's and such of the Car and the mysticism involved. But the film does a fine job of entertaining, even if you want to say it's schlock, you can't deny it's much elevated above the other B-horror efforts of the time.

Many, many horror films like the pretty-teens-in-peril ones being manufactured ad nauseam are pretty much forgotten after the initial video rentals die down. Then there are films like The Car that have been sought after for years and celebrated when it arrived on VHS/DVD for the first time since its theatrical release in 1977. Films as unique as The Car have held their own because there was care put into their production, more thought to its intention, and a long-lasting affect on those who have understood it and appreciated it.

Sure, a horror film doesn't have to be full of "importance" to be a fun and scary experience, but when film makers take that chance to make something more unique, then good for them! Long live The Car!

Okay, I just throw in the towel, IMDb-wise. I could take reading only two pages of these insane "underrated classic" "this movie scared me as a kid" comments before I wanted to vomit on the ground. WHAT MOVIE ARE YOUR PEOPLE WATCHING? Because it certainly isn't The Car, one of the stupidest, poorest wastes of celluloid ever made. From James Brolin's inept performance, to Kathy Lloyd's ridiculous taunting of The Car, to Ronny Cox and R.G. Armstrong looking like they stepped in dog droppings, this thing lumbers along from one inane scene to another. The dialog is from hunger, and the direction is shockingly bad (I do like some of Mr. Silverstein's films - well, Cat Ballou anyway). I guess when people see a terrible film when they're six or something, reality never interferes with their fond memories - it's one thing to say "this movie scared me as a kid", it's entirely another to not have the smarts to say, "Well, I watched it recently and it really is a piece of crap." It is - sorry to have to say it - it's a piece of crap from start to finish.

If it wasn't for the fact that this site is a great reference point...I would just give up ever consulting IMDb again. 'The Car' is an exquisite, dark, modern B-Movie CLASSIC. The consensus of people that would rather give 2007's 'Transformers' a virtual 8/10 and this absolute peach a mere 5 has just about done it for me. I just give up. Honestly...I advise anyone with a half gram of sense to do the same. Does this review system actually represent the mainstream of movie goers? Or is it merely indicative of the moronic, populist, dumbed-down tripe that marks "great CGI" and "All-Star Casts". I'm beginning to feel more and more that its the latter. Increasingly, it seems there is a stockade consisting of all celebrity line-ups and patchy plots repaired by Mac Monkey Special effects, that effectively provide a barrier between us (the viewer) and any real talent.

"The Car" is a cool little movie that seems to have taken its inspiration from "Jaws", but replaced it with a car instead of a shark, and dusty desert roads instead of water. It's well filmed and the title vehicle looks great, with a believable aura of evil around it whenever it's on screen. The comparison with Jaws continues with the way scenes of innocent people are intercut with shots of the black shape in the distance gradually getting closer while they remain unaware of the danger they are in. All the acting is good and the characters are realistic

Although the car itself works as a menace, what doesn't work is how easily it is able to bump people off. Two cyclists stupidly try to out-pedal it in a straight forward line rather than slow down or veer off. When the car charges into a marching band rehearsal, all of the people run in a straight line directly down the road in front of it, with not one of them leaping off to the side where there are many obstacles, such as steps and concrete blocks that would protect them. There are many deaths but nothing stronger than you would see in a made-for-TV movie - which this could easily be if it wasn't for the wise, Panavision aspect ratio (which works well).

The car's stunts get more outrageous as the movie goes on, culminating in a pretty cool showdown. Although it's a little too long, it's enjoyable for most of the time.

A poor mans `Duel'

The Car is not a dreadful film, but in no way good. I couldn't help feeling that it was a very poor relation to Steven Spielbergs classic `Duel'. Throw in the mystery of a Twilight Zone episode and the ridiculiousness of the similar themed Killdozer. At least in Killdozer, it was explained very clearly how a strange force possessed the machine. In the Car, are we expected to believe that this machine has been running unmanned since time?, was it the work of a sinister force?, or was it driven by a midget, peeping unnoticed over the steering wheel?. The beauty of Duel was that the evil machine clearly did have a driver, although you never saw him, and that's what made it very tense and scary, something that this film is not in any way. `The Car' would have been far better if it was not played so seriously, with the addition of some black humour along the way.

The devil made me do it. Really. I bought this VHS the second I saw it. It kept me awake with nightmares as a child, and the library offered no help in locating it until I hit that nice vowel-starting auction site. In re-watching it, I realized that there are signs of the decade it was created (especially in the bell-bottoms, I couldn't stop laughing when I watched the kids in the band practice their parade because the fashion world has come back to them again!), but there are other nice things.

One of the main details that this movie has is no explanations are made. The Indian woman comments about the ill wind that came with the car when she gives testimony. The sheriff's deputy feels that the reason it can't go into the graveyard is due to the hallowed ground. (Btw, the graveyard scene is the one that freaked me out as a kid). Parent (Brolin) discovers there are no handles on the doors, and another witness says that there's no driver. This all adds up to a nasty scenerio. Much like the later movie Poltergeist, you have to wonder if the Indians are right--get out of town! (they fled to the Deep Country--smart cookies!)

I adore Kim Richards, and her sister Kyle is a darling in this film. As an adult, I couldn't help but think who would take care of them should something happen to Parent. I think this is a good sign in a movie--you really begin to identify with the characters when things like this come to you!

The comment at the beginning from Anton gives the whole movie's plot a good basis. I do recommend this as a stay-home, eat popcorn, and enjoy flick!

;)

**** out of *****

Yeah this movie is older than I am but I've loved it since I was probably too young to watch it and I still love it now.

How many movies actually mention morning breath? This one does. Is that a spoiler? Nah, happens near the beginning.

Recommended to anyone who likes 70s movies.

not because I think it is a perfect movie, but because of all the people who have severely underrated this movie. This is a very well crafted movie. No, its not the best acted movie, but for this type of movie, it is. You have to look at these movies in a relative manner. Its a movie about a mysterious car that goes around wreaking havoc. That is the story. A ridiculous premise but the makers pull it off. No small feat. The actors do a good job and I really enjoyed the direction, especially the long shots out in the desert. See this in widescreen, if possible. It adds a lot to the feel of the movie. James Brolin is very good as the hero and there are a lot of memorable scenes. No, its not a 10. More like an 8.5, but its far better than a 5 average.

An evil force from hell takes control of a 1971 Lincoln determined to murder anyone in it's path in this late 70's cult classic thriller - 'The Car'

The film begins with two young teens riding their bikes on a deserted road at top of some canyons in a sleepy town called Santa Ynez. All of a sudden, a large black car starts chasing them down killing both of them in the process. After that, it kills a random hitchhiker which prompts our main character (Chief Deputy Wade Parent) to investigate. We meet Wade, his two daughters from a previous marriage, and his new girlfriend Lauren which still doesn't have the approval from his young girls. After the sheriff is murdered by the vehicle, an eye witness claims that there was no driver in the car. With seemingly no one in the car, and bullets not affecting the vehicle, can Wade save Santa Ynez from pure evil?

I enjoyed 'The Car' quite a bit when I first saw it years ago, and still did to this day. At first I wasn't sure if there was a madman driving the thing, but pretty soon the viewer is made aware that there is an evil and supernatural power at play trying to kill anyone in it's path. We get some great POV shots from the front seat of the car when it's on the prowl, almost as if we are seeing through the eyes of the evil vehicle. It was very convincing as a menacing horror villain.

Some of the dialogue was bad, I think the weakest part of 'The Car' was it's script. Acting wise, we got a very strong performance from James Brolin as Wade and Kathleen Lloyd as Lauren. They really put in the effort and had an easy going chemistry as a couple on-screen. We also get the very young Kim and Kyle Richards who play Wade's daughters.

Overall, I recommend watching 'The Car' for it's non stop action packed moments. It never gets dull, the one downside is the dialogue which seemed to be an after thought to the efforts of rest of the film.

7/10.

Well bad movie lovers this is the movie for you. "The Car" is a "thriller" so mind bogglingly awful that it would have come off better being marketed as a comedy.

It's a Jaws ripoff about a mysterious black car that appears one day in a desert community and starts killing the townspeople. Policeman James Brolin (who is awful) is hot on the trail. It's funny to watch this car just appear, do its thing, and drive off. Where does it go? Where did it come from? Is there a driver? The script never addresses these issues. And the worst part is the script doesn't play fair. In some scenes the car appears to be supernatural as it disappears in front of our eyes. But in other scenes, such as when a woman throws a tree limb at it, the car appears hopelessly natural and real.

So if you want to watch a really bad thriller with some decent actors (including Ronny Cox and John Marley) embarrassing themselves then get some popcorn, sit back, relax, and prepare to either laugh your head off or be properly disgusted at the cheap product on the screen.