1977
Elliot Silverstein
Elliot Silverstein
A mysterious black car races out of a tunnel near the town
of Santa Ynez, Utah. After ramming two bicyclers off of a bridge, it begins a
campaign of hit and run murders throughout the town. After the sheriff (John
Marley) is killed, Captain Wade Parent (James Brolin) has to head up the
efforts to stop The Car despite his numerous domestic problems. The Car appears
to be driverless, indestructible and won’t cross onto the hallowed ground of a cemetery.
This movie was a late night TV staple for years when I was younger.
I’ve never understood why it gets poor reviews from critics. If you can get
past the central premise it has a lot of strengths. The Car is a great looking
monster, there are some wonderful stunts, and I appreciate how there aren’t any
hard answers provided in the film. We are never told why The Car has appeared,
what it wants, or where it came from. Certainly there are hints, but even our
protagonist Wade refuses to believe any of it, all the way up to the final frame.
This is one of the weirder movies to come out of the post-‘Exorcist’ Satanic movie
craze of the 70’s.
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