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The Car Play Trailer

The Car (1977)

tomatometer

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 3

audience

52

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 5,771

My Rating

Movie Info

A murderous car wreaks havoc on a small Western town in this thriller that has gone on to achieve a small degree of cult status in spite of its own silliness. After a pair of bikers and a horn-playing hitchhiker are viciously mowed down, local police realize they have a motoring maniac on their hands. In a show of boldness, the mysterious black automobile kills the sheriff (John Marley) on the town's main street, leaving the post to officer Wade Parent (James Brolin). A supernatural element

R,

Action & Adventure, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

Jul 20, 1999

Universal Studios Home Video

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The Car Trailer & Photos

Critic Reviews for The Car

All Critics (11) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (9) | DVD (8)

As silly as it sounds, but strangely dull.

May 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Interminably drawn out, with some good special effects but its characters hauled straight out of the cracker-barrel, it has nowhere near the same minatory charge as Spielberg's Duel.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Tom Milne
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The performances are terrible -- thin and overwrought in the manner of actors trying to improvise without an idea in their heads.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Good score, OK crash sequences, and lots of unintentional laughs are the only reasons to sit through this movie.

May 6, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

silly horror classic

April 6, 2005
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The action centres on a remote Midwestern town where a demonic driverless car terrorizes motorists, pedestrians and, in one of the film's genuinely scary moments, cyclists.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment (1)
Film4

...with a script this silly, it's hard to maintain any sense of horror or suspense.

November 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
View all critic reviews (11)

Audience Reviews for The Car

View All
One of the most bizarre films I've ever seen dialogue-wise. The Car is a bit of a take on the killer car genre, which includes Duel and later Christine. It's halfway decent, if not incredibly boring at times. More time is spent by the characters sitting around trying to figure out what to do and grieving the victims of the killer car than actually building up story, although an attempt IS actually made to do that. It just doesn't work all that successfully. The cutting is quite good when it comes to the action sequences involving the car itself, but most of the time it feels light on excitement. The dialogue itself is just flat out weird and feels out of place constantly. I'm not quite sure what they were going for here or whether they were even aware that the dialogue was odd in the first place, but it IS odd and it sticks out like a sore thumb. The film is scare of blood and gore, but there is some light mayhem, and if you're patient enough to sit through it, you'll find some nice moments and fun action.
March 27, 2012
FilmFanatik
Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

The Car is a pretty good Horror film involving a possessed car terrorizing a small town. This film came a few years after Steven Spielberg's similar Horror thriller, Duel. Duel has been credited of influencing the genre of killer of vehicles. The Car is one of many of these types of films. I enjoyed this film because it had a great deal of suspense and terror. The acting is pretty good considering this type of film. This film has many good things going for it despite the fact that it's not too original. The Car is always on the prowl to terrorize and kill unsuspecting pedestrians. One of the high points of the film is the car's horn, the sound it makes is very memorable and one of the best things about the film. I don't know why I love this film, but I do. I guess I have a soft spot for these types of films and they have a certain appeal to them that makes them worth watching. Even if it's a simple formula of a possessed evil car killing people, it's pretty entertaining to watch. The Car's influence is as I've said Spielberg's Duel, and with that in mind, this film along with Duel probably influenced Stephen King into writing Christine, another killing car story. Every film of this nature follows basically the same thing, but each one are very fun and thrilling to watch. The Car may not be too original, but for fans of Duel, Jaws, Christine \ and The Hearse, you may be well entertained with this possessed four wheeled killing machine. I know I was and I consider The Car a horror classic.
March 2, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

The Car Quotes

    1. Wade Parent: Yeah... yeah, ten years of giving out traffic tickets, and all this in one day!
    – Submitted by rick b (19 months ago)
    1. Lauren: Tell me what to do!
    – Submitted by rick b (19 months ago)
View all quotes (2)

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Movie: ID: 11587 Title: The Car Release Date: 1977-01-01 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1

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