31 Nights of Halloween Horror part 31 - The Car



Congratulations!  We've made it.  31 film in 31 days.  Here is a run down of what we watched:

1. The Devil's Candy
2. Cannibal Ferox aka Make Them Die Slowly
3. The Revenge of Frankenstein
4. Tentacles
5. Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker
6. The Innkeepers
7. Dream Home
8. The Hatred
9. Francesca
10. Mardi Gras Massacre
11. Mill of the Stone Women
12. The House at the End of Time
13. Don't Hang Up
14. Prevenge
15. Funny Games
16. The Ruins
17. Graduation Day
18. Evil
19. Rogue
20. Leatherface
21. Zombies: The Beginning
22. Raw
23. Pyscho II
24. The Blackcoat's Daughter
25. Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary
26. The Monster
27. Evil Ed
28. Train to Busan
29. Willow Creek
30. The Uninvited
31. The Car.

Of these 31 films, I have only seen three of them before.  So that is a pretty good run of watching some new movies I have never seen.  It was great discovering something fresh and new and I found some new favorites.  I tried to get a pretty good variety going all month and not focus too much on just one type of film or have multiples of similar sub-genres.  Five of my favorite films we watched this month were The House at the End of Time (my favorite of the month), Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker, Train to Busan, Mardi Gras Massacre and Willow Creek.  But Dream Home, The Blackcoat's Daughter and Raw were also great films.  A lot of good stuff this month, more good then bad which is always a plus.  So let's get on to tonight's entry.

The Car
96 mins.
Dir. Elliot Silverstein
1977/USA



The Car may seem like an odd choice as a movie to watch on Halloween, especially because it isn't particularly good or scary.  But The Car has a special place in my collection because it was the first horror film I ever saw.  Back in 1977 while kids were gearing up to go see Star Wars in the theatre that summer, my parents took me to go see The Car.  I don't think little five year old me really comprehended what he was watching.  Basically it was a black car driving around the desert killing people, essentially that is all the movie is.  I remember there was no driver and when they showed you the POV from inside the car the windows were tinted red.  That and the title is basically all I remembered from my first horror experience.  I have not seen this movie again until today, while some parts came back to me, essentially it is still just about a car who drives around the desert and kills people.

Before Christine, there was the The Car.  A matte black customized Lincoln Continental Mark III with no doorhandles, no license plate and no driver.  There is really no explanation or any reasoning for The Car.  It just shows up in the desert one day running people down and seemingly getting revenge on other people.  The whos, wheres, or whys are thrown right out the window.  Essentially it is Jaws on land.  A big car hunting people, its just there cause I guess there are more annoying people in the desert than elsewhere and it has more space to drive all around.  But other then that there is really not much to this one.  The car itself if very menacing and it has a god awful loud horn that could certainly rattle your nerves as it constantly blares. However it apparently can't go into a cemetery because that is scared ground.  We find that out as it traps James Brolin's girlfriend in one as she taunts the car that seemingly gets angrier and angrier.  But this is a no no, as The Car will find you, and stop at nothing to get to you.



From the Anton Le Vey quote at the beginning, we assume the The Car is driven by some demonic force but that is really all you are getting with this one.  Simple, filled with some classic 70s actors like James Brolin, John Marley and R.G. Armstrong, there isn't too much going on here and it really isn't much of a memorable film.  I wish my first horror film experience was something more legendary like Suspiria, The Sentinel or Shock Waves, but no.  Instead I got The Car.  We eventually did go see Star Wars that summer, but given the choice today to see Star Wars or The Car in the theatre, I would choose The Car.

And that wraps up another 31 Nights of Halloween Horror.  I hope you had as much fun watching and reading about these films as I did.  It is always an experience and I love discovering new horror films.  Hopefully you discovered some new ones too this season and can add a few to your must watch list.  Keep watching horror films all year long and I will see you all back here next year on October 1st so we can do it all again.

Happy Halloween

Damien.


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