Now available, "digitally re-mastered", on video, "The Car" blows the lame adaptation of Stephen King's "Christine" out of the water. The effects were well done for this 1977 horror cult classic about a demonic double-fendered, low-roofed, black car of evil that mows people down. Not many explanations for its actions or reasoning are provided, such as why the "car" merely brushes the James Brolin character aside with its handleless door without finishing him off, which may either be a plus or a minus depending on one's taste. Perhaps the car, though obviously intelligent, is fuelled more by emotion than reasoning. The movie is a significant cut above many films of its kind, like "Killdozer", due to some spurts of intense action, emotional discharge (telling the car off in front of frightened kids in a cemetery), some surprises (check out the garage scene near the end), and some style (watch for the fire-shaped howling devil in the smoke cloud). It was interesting, also, to see good old Ronny Cox in his earlier days with shaggy hair and a lack of red-faced high blood pressure - the classic trademark for which his roles are now cherished. All in all, the movie was a job well-done.
