THE CAR
US, 1977, 98 Minutes, Colour.
James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, R.G. Armstrong, John Rubinstein.
Directed by Elliot Silverstein.
The Car shows the devil incarnate and quite a hell-driver. Not a bad modern horror idea (shades of Duel), the modern power machine as menacing and destructive evil. This thriller plays it straight and unsubtly (amid beautiful location photography and pounding chords) looking kin to a western with Sheriff James Brolin confronting the outlaw car which stalks, lurks, racial confrontations, charges and revs as if it were pawing the ground before attacking. The car certainly communicates a vindictive anonymous personality. The humans are conventional - cute or violent and few of them seem to deserve such malevolent deaths. No masterpiece, but a quite entertaining horror thriller.
1. Audience expectations of films about cars and car chases, menace and destruction? The tone of the publicity, the reference to the occult?
2. How good was the blend of cars, machines, chases, the occult? The atmosphere of menace, the ordinary start and the menace of the car and its destruction, a killer car? How did this set the tone for the rest of the film?
3. The basic idea of the car as the devil incarnate? A plausible idea, imaginative for occult science fiction? The devil in the kinds of menace of evil from outside the world, the attacking of human beings, destructive? The malevolence of evil and the devil?
4. The importance for audience response to malevolent and malignant evil? The fact that it had no rational explanation? The car with its knowledge of where people were, what they were doing, its manoeuvres, sizing people up, cruelty, sadism? The car as a symbol for modern evil? The visual accompaniments of the car, eg the wind, the dust, the sense of presence of evil? How effective a symbol?
5. The victims of the car and whether they deserved such malevolent deaths: the boy and girl at the beginning, their joy and seeming innocence, bike riding amid such beautiful scenery, holiday atmosphere and the evil yellow screened menace of the car? The violence of their deaths disrupting the holiday atmosphere? The transition to John Norris and his playing his instrument, his encounter with Amos, the threat of the car and the innocent lift-seeking and the car's returning, hiding in the dust, killing him and running over him continuously? The killing of Everett in the middle of the street, the manoeuvres and the tricks to kill the pursuing police, the menacing of the children and the teachers at the parade ground and in the cemetery, Lauren and her challenging of the car and its crashing through her how? The arbitrary selection of victims? The reasons for the victims, eg. Everett, the police, and revenge on Lauren?
6. The importance of the location photography and its beauty, the desert and the mountains, the ordinary American town, the beauty of the world? Dust and wind and evil within this beautiful location? The use of the terrain for the destruction of the car?
7. How important was the presentation of an ordinary American town with ordinary people; cute people, attractive people, violent people? The mixture of good and bad? Wade as embodying the town because of his administration of justice and the law? His wife, children, relationship with Lauren? The length given to his waking up, Lauren and her place in the house, the girls listening? His taking the children to school - an ordinary day for evil to arrive? The contrast with Amos and Bertha and the boy and the atmosphere of violence and oppression? Margie and her love for Luke and his giving up drink, his fears? Everett and his role in the town, his knowledge of Bertha and trying to help her? An atmosphere of cruelty, happiness? school, the atmosphere of growing up, the march and the rehearsal, the bands, drawings (and the precociousness of the boy drawing his teacher?), the Indians and their place in the town? A cross-section of America and the car as evil menacing ordinary America?
8. How well did the film structure create atmosphere with the stalking of the bike riders and the violence of their deaths, showing them fall from great heights etc.? The transition to the John Norris story and the hiding in the dust, the car acting like a menacing and mad animal? Amos, who was also violent, reacting against this?
9. How well did the film develop the anonymous personality of the car - showing it as elusive, the atmosphere of wind, the way that it arrived at the parade ground, chased the children, confronted the people in the cemetery, bashed the gates, ran along the highway, outwitted the police, pushed them over cliffs, made them crash into each other, leapt over other cars, came towards the house in the distance and crashed through it, stalked in the garage and menaced as Wade tried to escape, led the pursuit, overtook people, was made victim of human ingenuity for the explosion?
10. Was Wade an adequate adversary for the car, as a person, man, his role as sheriff? Seeing him at work, in the chase, on the bike? The challenge to the car and the car's confronting him, bashing him with the door? The experience of hospital, the grief at Lauren's death? The importance of the plan and his tempting the car on the cliff? Did he really admit that the danger was over at the end?
11. How attractive a character was Lauren, her initial vitality, at the school, with the children, her confrontation of the car and everybody's admiration, her devotion to Wade and the visit to the hospital? The importance of her being alone in the house, on the phone with the car lights seen through the distance and the abrupt smashing through the house and her death?
12. Luke as a character, assistant policeman, drinking problem, bonds with Margie? Margie and her bravery at the cemetery? Her helping the children? Luke and his fears and knowledge that all was not over?
13. The background of the Indians, the assistant policeman, the old lady and her information about the car having no driver? An eerie atmosphere?
14. Everett and his place in the town, the suddenness of his death, the car's malice?
15. Amos and Bertha and their fights, the fight in the street and Amos seeing Everett's death? The bully in jail? Used at the end to Bully the car?
16. The details of the plan, the pace of the film, the constant motion of the car, the need for both vehicles to get to the top of the cliff, Wade climbing the cliff and stalling the car?
17. The impression of the explosion, the special effects, the artificial fire, hellish fire?
18. The final view of the men standing in line against the cliff and the hope that all was over, the irony of the car continuing in the city daring the final credits?
19. The atmosphere of good and evil, the symbolic exploration of malevolent evil stalking human beings in modern settings?
