The Car (1977)

A sleek, possessed black car terrorizes everyone it comes in contact with in a small town in Utah.

Director:

Elliot Silverstein

Writers:

Michael Butler (story), Dennis Shryack (story),

Stars:

James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Brolin	...	Wade Parent
Kathleen Lloyd	...	Lauren
John Marley	...	Everett
R.G. Armstrong	...	Amos Clements
John Rubinstein	...	John Morris
Elizabeth Thompson	...	Margie
Roy Jenson	...	Ray Mott
Kim Richards	...	Lynn Marie
Kyle Richards	...	Debbie
Kate Murtagh	...	Miss McDonald
Robert Phillips	...	Metcalf
Doris Dowling	...	Bertha
Henry O'Brien	...	Chas
Eddie Little Sky	...	Denson
Lee McLaughlin	...	Marvin Fats

Storyline

While traveling through the desert nearby the small town of Santa Ynez on their bicycles to camp, two teenage bicyclers are murdered by a mysterious black car. Then the car hit-and-run a hitchhiker and the crime is witnessed by the local Amos Clements. Sheriff Everett puts his men in alert and plans road blocks in the area to arrest the murderer. Sooner he becomes a victim of the car and Sheriff Wade Parent begins a hunting of the vehicle that is threatening his town and seems to be impossible to be located. When his beloved girlfriend and teacher Lauren challenges the driver in a cemetery, the car hunts her in her home and Wade realizes that he might be dealing with supernatural powers.

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Plot Keywords:

car | sheriff | hit and run | bicycle | supernatural | 

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Taglines:

Is it s phantom, a demon, or the Devil himself?

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wheels

Filming Locations:

Glen Canyon, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is listed among The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE® MOVIE GUIDE.

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Goofs

Shortly before The Car rolls over to crash the two police cars, there is a shot from the backseat of one police car, behind the driver. The driver is a dummy, the head is just a simple ball with a hat on top, especially it has no ears nor hair.

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Quotes

Donna: Wade... there's something I... I wanna tell you about last night. Well, the old lady... well, Chas, he didn't translate everything that she said.
Wade Parent: What do you mean?
Donna: Well, uh... she said... there was no driver in the car.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeepers Creepers (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46: I. 'Morning'"
by Edvard Grieg

User Reviews

WARNING!!-Please ignore all reviews on IMDb-Just watch the film and judge for yourself.

If it wasn't for the fact that this site is a great reference point...I would just give up ever consulting IMDb again. 'The Car' is an exquisite, dark, modern B-Movie CLASSIC. The consensus of people that would rather give 2007's 'Transformers' a virtual 8/10 and this absolute peach a mere 5 has just about done it for me. I just give up. Honestly...I advise anyone with a half gram of sense to do the same. Does this review system actually represent the mainstream of movie goers? Or is it merely indicative of the moronic, populist, dumbed-down tripe that marks "great CGI" and "All-Star Casts". I'm beginning to feel more and more that its the latter. Increasingly, it seems there is a stockade consisting of all celebrity line-ups and patchy plots repaired by Mac Monkey Special effects, that effectively provide a barrier between us (the viewer) and any real talent.