October Stephen King Tribute Day 14: Christine

Christine was originally published in April of 1983.

Warning, this review does contain spoilers.

Arnie and Dennis were best friends. They used to hang out and do everything together, at least until Arnie purchased a run down 1958 Plymouth Fury. Arnie then spent most of his time at a do-it-yourself garage bringing Christine, his name for the car, back to life. Arnie became more confident, yet more cynical and withdrawn. Dennis worried about the change in his friend.

Dennis learned that Arnie's car had a troubled past. A young girl choked to death in the back seat. Then, the girl's mother committed suicide in the same car. Dennis became convinced there was an evil to the car when Leigh, Arnie's girlfriend, had to be rescued by a hitchhiker when she choked on a hamburger in Christine. Leigh joined Dennis in his mission to save Arnie, noting that the cars lights had seemed like eyes when she had been choking.

Christine was vandalized by the local bully and his gang. Arnie was furious and the resulting rage lead to his break up Leigh. The gang members are killed, one by one, by Arnie's car. Arnie has a solid alibi for each murder. This convinced Dennis and Leigh that the car was acting on it's own. They set out to destroy Christine.

Arnie and his mother are killed in a traffic accident. Dennis and Leigh finally destroy Christine with a tanker truck. The remains are crushed. The book ends with Dennis learning that the last member of the gang from high school was killed by a car. He then becomes fearful that Christine has somehow healed and will be coming for him.

Christine is classic Stephen King horror. He takes a simple car and turns it into a force of evil. The car's influence over it's owner is central to the story. Arnie is forced to believe that his friends have abandoned him and he ultimately dies feeling very alone.

The movie version of Christine was actually not too bad. Obviously, nowhere near as good as the book, but still not too bad. Car enthusiasts will note that the Christine described in the book, a 1958 Plymouth Fury sedan 4-door, does not actually exist. A coupe, 2-door, model was made but not a sedan.