No one is ever going to call The Car an original film, as it clearly rips off both Christine (*Edit* oops, I thought Christine was earlier, but I was mistaken) and Jaws, but heck if I care. The Car pulls no punches when it comes to delivering us a killer car on the loose. The movie doesn’t bother to go out of its way to provide some sort of reason why this car is terrorizing the small town, but frankly, it’s what we don’t know that works the best. This is just a crazy evil coming out of nowhere to mess up your day. The Blu-ray release from Scream Factory does a wonderful job on delivering some solid video and audio, with the blaring car horn driving through your speakers in glorious 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, but the features a bit on the light side. I’ll go into more details, but first let’s discuss the flick some more…
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 97 min
ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A
RATING: PG
PRODUCTION DATE: 1977
RELEASE DATE: Dec 15, 2015
PLOT SUMMARY
Fasten your seatbelts for the terrifying thrill ride that has become a cult classic! The peaceful tranquility of a small Western town is disturbed when a murderous car wreaks havoc by viciously mowing down innocent victims. The new sheriff, Wade Parent (James Brolin, The Amityville Horror), may be the only one who can stop this menace in its tracks. But what Wade Parent doesn’t realize is that the driver of this indestructible vehicle is far more dangerous than any man… because it is driven by pure evil.
This high-octane thriller has an all-star genre cast including John Marley (Deathdream), Ronny Cox (RoboCop), Kathleen Lloyd (It Lives Again), R.G. Armstrong (Race with the Devil, Evilspeak), Roy Jenson (Soylent Green), Melody Thomas Scott (Piranha, The Fury), Kim Richards (Assault on Precinct 13) and Kyle Richards (Halloween).
MOVIE
One beautiful sunny day, an evil emerges from the mountains, horn blaring and riding through the dusty desert, seeking out anyone that gets in its way. First up, is a couple of cyclists with nowhere to run or hide, the car honks loudly, driving them both off the road. It’s terrifying and frightening. Local town Chief Deputy Wade Parent (James Brolin) puts out a manhunt for the car, but it seems to appear and disappear so easily as if it was pure evil. Bodies start piling up and no one is safe from the black steel that is bearing down on them. Thus beings the carnage of The Car.
Personally, I love The Car. It doesn’t bother you with backstory or why this car is here, it just is and that’s what makes it so satisfying. The movie also doesn’t waste any time in getting to the good stuff and lead actor James Brolin is fantastic as the gruff, but kind Wade Parent. Some people will probably be bothered by the lack of exposition, and trust me when the end rolls around, you are given an exciting and explosive ending, however, any questions are still left hanging, but that’s the point; pure evil can’t be explained.
If Jaws made you frightened of the water and Christine made you raise an eyebrow at your fancy used vehicle, The Car will have you putting your bike and running shoes up for sale.
BLU-RAY
Scream Factory has given us a nice Blu-ray release for The Car. It’s got a solid video presentation, with grain intact. I did notice some slight issues during certain night scenes, where the picture looked over processed, but it was nothing that stopped me from enjoying the flick. The audio is served up in two choices, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I watched the flick in 5.1 and it was loud and clear, with no issues of having to strain to hear the dialogue.
The features on the disc are a bit on the light side, but what we are given is a nice treat. You have a 9-minute interview with Director Elliot Silverstein, a 12-minute interview with Geraldine Keams, who played the super small role of a police office at the Station; and finally, you have a 10-minute interview with Melody Thomas Scott, who played the girl on the bike at the beginning of the film. The interviews are not overly long or informative, but what you do get is appreciated. Rounding out the rest of the features is a Trailer, TV spot, Radio Spots and finally a pretty long 10 minute Still Gallery.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- NEW Mystery Of The Car – An Interview With Producer/Director Elliot Silverstein
- NEW The Navajo Connection – An Interview With Actress Geraldine Keams
- NEW Just Like Riding A Bike – An Interview With Actress Melody Thomas Scott
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
- Radio Spots
- Still Gallery
VERDICT
As you can tell, I enjoyed The Car for its ‘no holds barred, I don’t care if you want a backstory’ style of filming. It knows exactly what it wants to be and it wants to be a flick about an evil killer car on the loose. The film has solid performances from all involved and the story is straight and to the point. The Scream Factory release is a great option for those who don’t yet already own it on Blu-ray (Arrow released it previously in the UK with more features). I say pick it up.
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| James Brolin is surprised you haven’t picked it up yet. |
RATING
