The Car is a 1977 supernatural horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein (Nightmare Honeymoon) and written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Lane Slate. The film stars James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, and Ronny Cox, and tells the story of a mysterious vehicle that goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the residents of a small town.
In the fictional Utah community of Santa Ynez, a mysterious black car is follows down the road. At the bridge, the car rams them at the back, causing them to fly over the bridge, killing them on the spot.
The police are called to the first of a series of hit and run deaths, apparently caused by the same car that appears heavily customized and has no license plate, making identification difficult. Sheriff Everett Peck (John Marley) gets a lead on the car when it is witnessed by Amos Clemens (R. G. Armstrong) after it runs over a hitchhiker. After the car claims the sheriff as its fourth victim, it becomes the job of Captain Wade Parent (James Brolin) to stop the deaths. During the resulting investigation, an eyewitness to the accident states that there was no driver inside the vehicle…
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“The supernatural elements are worked in quietly – the first hint we get that this might be more than just a crazy guy behind the wheel comes when the kids hide in a cemetery and the car is unable to follow them (because it’s consecrated ground). It’s a twist handled well, and thankfully the film avoids too much discussion of the demonic (and even more thankfully doesn’t have a car exorcist show up).” David Flint, Strange Things Are Happening
“At the very least, the film isn’t boring. Even the dialogue-heavy scenes are entertaining to watch merely for the insane performances on display. I found myself grinning frequently while the filler scenes in between Car sightings kept me amused. And when you do get to see some Satanic auto-play, the score (which is a reworked orchestral version of Berlioz-Symphonie Fantastique) does a pretty good job of setting a sinister tone for each scene where the demonic murder vehicle takes another life. In fact, the Car scenes themselves – as few and far between as they are – actually manage to pull off being menacing.” Donnie Sturges, CHUD.com
“The pacing is The Car’s biggest problem. There’s nothing wrong with a daft monster movie, but if you’re going to make one you need lots of the monster and not so much of your multitude of characters’ soap opera problems. The script either needed a few more drafts or someone needed to be a bit more ruthless in the cutting room. On the plus side, the Utah locations look fabulous, and composer Leonard Rosenman makes similar use of the Dies Irae as he did when he scored Race with the Devil to emphasise the evil lurking in the wide open desert spaces. Performances are all fine, with special mention to Mr Armstrong for being memorably violent and seedy.” John Llewellyn Probert’s House of Mortal Cinema
