The Car (1977 film)

Two cyclists riding through a canyon are followed by a mysterious matte black car. At a bridge, the car crushes one cyclist against the wall and rams the other from behind, catapulting him off the bridge. A hitchhiker encounters the car and insults it after it tries to run him down. It comes to a stop, reverses, and runs him over several times before driving off. The local sheriff's office, called to these hit-and-run incidents, gets a lead on the car. It appears to be heavily customized and has no license plates, as local Amos Clemens points out after he sees it run over the hitchhiker. After intentionally swerving around Amos that night, the car runs over Sheriff Everett Peck, leaving Chief Deputy Wade Parent in charge. During the investigation, an eyewitness to the accident states that no driver was inside the car. Wade asks his girlfriend, Lauren, a teacher at the local school, to cancel the upcoming marching band rehearsals for their safety. Lauren and her friend, the wife of Wade's deputy Luke Johnson, ask him to let them rehearse. Luke unwittingly agrees. The car enters the town and attacks the school marching band as it rehearses at the local showground. It chases the teachers and students into a cemetery. The vehicle cannot enter the consecrated ground. Lauren taunts the driver, whom no one among the townsfolk has seen. Seemingly angered, the car destroys a brick gate post and leaves. The police go on a high-speed chase along highways throughout the desert before the car turns on them, destroying several squad cars and killing 5 of Wade's deputies. Wade attempts to enter the car when it stops but discovers that it has no door handles. The car's door then opens by itself, knocking Wade unconscious. After being dropped off at her home that evening, Lauren notices the violent winds that always accompany the car. She runs inside and calls Wade on the phone, but the car drives straight through her house, killing her. Luke explains to a grief-stricken Wade that killing Lauren was an act of revenge for her insults. Wade concocts a plan to defeat the car in a trap in the canyon outside the town. After discovering it waiting in his garage, they are forced to carry out his plans with great haste. Wade is pursued by the car while riding on his dirt bike into the targeted mountainous canyon, where his remaining deputies have set a trap with explosives. Wade and Luke stand at the edge of a cliff and lure the car towards them. They jump off both sides as it goes over the cliff, and the deputies set off the dynamite, triggering a massive explosion. To everyone's shock, a monstrous, demonic visage appears inside the flames. The film concludes with the car prowling on the streets of downtown Los Angeles, apparently having survived the explosions, its horn sound still heard distantly. == Cast ==

• James Brolin as Wade Parent, a chief deputy, who is the main protagonist of the film. • Kathleen Lloyd as Lauren Humphries, a teacher at a local school, and Wade's girlfriend. • John Marley as Sheriff Everett Peck • Elizabeth Thompson as Margie Johnson, Luke's wife. • Ronny Cox as Deputy Luke Johnson, Margie's husband, and Wade's best friend and partner. • R. G. Armstrong as Amos Clements • John Rubinstein as John Morris • Kim Richards as Lynn Marie Parent, Wade's older daughter. • Kyle Richards as Debbie Parent, Wade's younger daughter. • Roy Jenson as Ray Mott, one of Wade's deputies. • Kate Murtagh as Miss McDonald • Doris Dowling as Bertha Clements • Eddie Little Sky as Denson • Lee McLaughlin as Marvin Fats • Melody Thomas Scott as Suzie Pullbrook • Geraldine Keams as Donna • Henry O'Brien as Chas Whitehorse, one of Wade's deputies. Dennis C. Salcedo provides the sound effects of The Car. == Production ==

The evil, black car in the film was a highly customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III designed by Hollywood car customizer George Barris. There were four cars built for the film in six weeks. Three were used as stunt mules, the fourth for close-ups. The stunt mules were destroyed during production, while the car used for close-up shots is now in a private collection. The car's bodywork was painted in steel, pearl and charcoal coloring. The windows were laminated in two different shades, smoked on the inside and amber on the outside, so one could see out of it but not into it. In order to give the car a sinister look as requested by director Elliot Silverstein, Barris made the car's roof four inches lower than usual and altered its side fenders that same length again both higher and longer. According to Silverstein, the distinctive sound the horn of The Car makes spells out the letter X in Morse code, as a meaning of elimination of its victims. Parts of the film were shot in St. George, Hurricane-LaVerkin Bridge, Zion, Kanab, Crazy Horse Canyon and Glen Canyon in Utah. Church of Satan leader Anton LaVey is acknowledged as an uncredited technical advisor for the film. The opening credits of the film begins with the quote "Oh great brothers of the night, who rideth upon the hot winds of Hell, who dwelleth in the devil's lair; Move and appear!", which is attributed to LaVey. The quote is a slight alteration of a passage from the "Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Destruction" section in 'The Book of Leviathan: The Raging Sea' within The Satanic Bible. The original quote from The Satanic Bible is "Oh great brothers of the night, thou who makest my place of comfort, who rideth out upon the hot winds of Hell, who dwelleth in the devil's fane; Move and appear!" The film's main theme, heard predominantly throughout, is a reworked, orchestral version of the Dies Irae. The theme was intentionally made to resemble more Berlioz's 5th part of Symphonie fantastique (itself also inspired by Dies Irae) rather than Dies Irae as it was found to have a more sinister tone than its original counterpart. Moreover, a derivative of the music was also used in the 1991 film Sleeping With The Enemy. == Reception and home media ==

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film "has all the ingredients of a parody, although someone has made the mistake of doing it straight." Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel gave the film one star out of four and wrote, "What's worse than the rotten acting is that 'The Car' makes absolutely no sense as a story. In some scenes, the car is presented as a supernatural being, able to materialize at will. In other scenes, however, the car is hopelessly realistic. Even more surprising is the poor quality of the film's special effects." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote, " 'The Car' is a total wreck. Story concerns a phantom auto on a killing spree (allegory, anyone?) in a small western town where everybody overacts badly." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film's "various special effects are superior," but stated, "With often laughable dialogue—some of it deleted after previews—the film's appeal is limited to the undiscriminating seeking a new sensation." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it "a blatant, pitiful attempt to recycle elements from superior scare vehicles," namely Duel and Jaws. John Gillett of The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that the film "manages to be a fairly brisk thriller" when the action was focused on the car, but lamented that director Silverstein "has been saddled with one of those small-town family scripts complete with Deputy Sheriff romping with his schoolteacher friend, a drink-and-neurosis-ridden police force, and some generally strained acting by a less than starry cast." The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. The Car was released in standard definition and without additional features on VHS and DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment on July 20, 1999. Arrow Films released The Car on Blu-ray on December 15, 2015. The Blu-ray release features the first HD 1080p transfer of the film, as well as commentary and additional features. The television show Svengoolie featured the film with commentary in April 2026. In popular culture Several television series have paid homage to the film, particularly in animated sitcoms. In the Futurama episode "The Honking", the character Bender transforms into a demonic car whose appearance was inspired by the car of the film. In the subplot of the American Dad! episode "Virtual In-Stanity", Roger becomes a limo driver, and uses the car to kill a group of fraternity brothers who stiffed him on his $20 fee. The American drama television series Supernatural also paid homage to the film in "Route 666", which involved a ghost truck involved in a string of racially motivated murders. The song "The Golden Age of Video" by Ricardo Autobahn features a sequence that uses sampled dialogue and imagery from The Car. == Spinoff sequel ==

In 2019, 42 years after the original film, a spinoff sequel (also starring Ronny Cox, but as a different character) was released called The Car: Road to Revenge to negative reviews. == See also ==