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Review

The rather hectic first seven years of seventies horror cinema had seen hapless innocents possessed by Satan, chainsaw-wielding Texan cannibals and nature turning nasty via deadly sharks, frogs, snakes, worms and every other beastie under the sun. Taking all this into account it was understandably rather difficult to see what the next logical progression for the American horror genre actually was. It is probably fairt to say however, that it was not the spectacle of a driverless automobile terrorising and killing the populace of a small desert town. Nevertheless, that is the plot of The Car - an odd, high budgeted entry by Universal to the late seventies horror stakes. Despite earning itself very minor cult status The Car, directed by Elliot Silverstein – best known for his classic survival epic A Man Called Horse (1970) – soon got lost in the cinematic shuffle, overshadowed at the box-office (like everything else back in 77) by Star Wars. In addition The Car encountered widespread derision from critics who failed to see the enjoyable film lurking beneath the woolly premise.

The Car takes place in the small, isolated desert town of Santa Ynaz, New Mexico. The relative peace of Santa Ynaz is destroyed when a number of residents and visitors are killed by a recklessly driven black Ford Sedan. Firstly a pair of cyclists are mercilessly mown down and then a hapless hitchhiker is also flattened. Santa Ynaz’s sheriff Wade Parent (Brolin) is resultantly forced to take time out from his romance with sweet natured schoolteacher Laurie (Lloyd), in order to lead his force in a bid to track down this maniac driver.

Despite the intervention of the police the Black Sedan continues its reign of terror as more residents and eventually Parent’s fellow police officers join the body count. The surviving members of Santa Ynaz’s police force resort to increasingly desperate measures in order to clip the wheels of this car which seems to transmit an almost malefic aura and, in a chilling twist, appears to have no driver!

Sadly fair, balanced assessment is something that has eluded Silverstein’s ultimately worthy horror effort. Most critics have tended to dismiss The Car as little to nothing more than an automotive riff on Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster Jaws. In fairness there are similarities between the two. Both films share the central premise of a small community being terrorised by an unstoppable embodiment of horror and destruction, in one case shark in the other a driverless automobile. In addition both films share the hallmark of the towns sheriff/police chief as a central protagonist who takes a personal responsibility for stopping the menace. Stylistically however, the two films both stylistically and in terms of tone and spirit are poles apart meaning such lazy critique proves truly maddening. Ironically one of the few positive assessments of The Car written by Jim Kniphel – columnist for The New York Press – veers into the realm of absurd pretension in its overzealous praise for Silverstein, striking up a ridiculous, laughable comparison between The Car and the work of Ingmar Bergman.

To reiterate once and for all The Car is neither a second rate Jaws rip-off (although it might owe a nod to Spielberg’s earlier effort Duel) nor is it a Bergman-esque essay in existential, expressionist high art. The truth is that The Car at heart is just straightforward popcorn horror all the way and no worse for it, providing great entertainment value for viewers in a undemanding state of mind. Silverstein’s taut direction delivers all the requisite thrills and excitement and whenever the menacing form of the Black Sedan roars onto the screen (which is fortunately quite often) the film generates a nail-biting sense of seat edge tension while Leonard Roseman’s completely overwrought, but curiously appropriate score pummels the viewer.

Unusually The Car is a rare horror film that actually benefits from having had a decent amount of finance pumped into it. The excellent, top drawer stunt work adds to the excitement immeasurably, good photography makes sterling use of the arid desert setting’s barren sense of isolation. Most impressive of all though are the subtle, innovative little nuances used so effectively to convey the titular automobile as a deadly, destructive living entity with a evil conscience and sense of cunning working away beneath its mechanised frame. Never is this better displayed than in perhaps the films finest moment when the car careens out of nowhere to terrorise those assembled for a rehearsal of Santa Ynaz’s town parade. The terrified townspeople are sent fleeing for cover in a cemetery while the car stands still and silent as if it were challenging them to emerge so that it can mow them down.

Some viewers will inevitably find it hard to suspend their disbelief for long enough to look past the far fetched premise. Nevertheless the screenplay – co-written by Dennis Shayack and Michael Butler – is characterised by a disarming sense of understatement, sensibly avoiding the temptation of going too far into the realms of ridiculousness. The notion of the car’s diabolical, almost Satanic form of intelligence while readily apparent is thankfully conveyed only by subtle and often somewhat chilling means which, if nothing else, keeps the film from sliding into the mire of stupidity.

Additionally The Car benefits immensely from by a host of good performances, which also lend the film a much needed dash of sobriety. James Brolin – who would star in the horror smash The Amityville Horror two years later – cuts his horror genre teeth here and acquits himself well in the leading role. The supporting cast are universally solid and lend the film much colour with John Marley as good as ever, Ronny Cox vividly memorable as a cop battling alcoholism and R.G Armstrong doing his usual (but welcome) cantankerous shtick. By contrast second-billed Kathleen Lloyd is overshadowed by her co-stars and only granted a largely ineffectual role as Laurie – Wade’s object of desire, who’s harsh and totally unexpected fate makes for a real gut punching shocker of a plot twist just past the hour mark.

Several more horror efforts featuring malefic automobiles would rear their heads during the formative years of the eighties. The most prominent examples of this curious genre offshoot would be the low-grade supernatural “chiller” The Hearse (1980) and John Carpenter’s daft but proficient Christine (1983) – based on a Stephen King novel of the same name that may or may not have been inspired in part by a viewing of The Car. None of these however would milk the same effect from such a scenario as what Silverstein succeeded in doing. While hardly cerebral, challenging stuff on any level The Car is rollicking if ultimately inessential entertainment, which thanks to fine direction, high production values and solid performances transcends the pitfalls of a silly plot to provide a string of expertly crafted thrills. By far and away The Car remains the best film ever made about a homicidally inclined automobile.

Also Try… Duel / Christine / The Hearse / The Wraith / Wheels Of Terror / Death Car On The Freeway.

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