A small desert town is terrorized by a powerful, seemingly possessed car, and the local sheriff may be the only one who can stop it.A small desert town is terrorized by a powerful, seemingly possessed car, and the local sheriff may be the only one who can stop it.A small desert town is terrorized by a powerful, seemingly possessed car, and the local sheriff may be the only one who can stop it.
R.G. Armstrong
- Amos Clements
- (as R. G. Armstrong)
Ernie F. Orsatti
- Dalton
- (as Ernie Orsatti)
Featured reviews
Yeah this movie is older than I am but I've loved it since I was probably too young to watch it and I still love it now.
How many movies actually mention morning breath? This one does. Is that a spoiler? Nah, happens near the beginning.
Recommended to anyone who likes 70s movies.
How many movies actually mention morning breath? This one does. Is that a spoiler? Nah, happens near the beginning.
Recommended to anyone who likes 70s movies.
I think those who are slamming this film are missing the point. The dialog does tend to be dull, and the characters are often uninteresting, if not one-dimensional. There is no explanation for where the car came from, where it goes, and who or what it is.
Welcome to real life.
If you're looking for a well-thought-out story with highly-developed characters, and a movie where everything that happens is explained and wrapped up at the end, this is the wrong movie.
If you're looking for a movie that at times feels like a cross between a news report and a diary, this is the one.
The unpredictability of the car, the unexplainability of its actions, the normalcy of the people in the movie all make a rather unbelievable story, well... believable.
And I LOVED the ending. I wish they had made a "Car II: the devil takes Manhattan." :)
Blair Witch Project takes shaky camcorder scenes about a witch we never see and spends the entire show having the characters scream and cuss at each other. It is a hit.
The Car combines beautiful cinematography, a logical progression of events, and gets you involved trying to figure out how to stop this monster. It is ridiculed as "70s trash."
Rent this film, & you decide who is right!
Welcome to real life.
If you're looking for a well-thought-out story with highly-developed characters, and a movie where everything that happens is explained and wrapped up at the end, this is the wrong movie.
If you're looking for a movie that at times feels like a cross between a news report and a diary, this is the one.
The unpredictability of the car, the unexplainability of its actions, the normalcy of the people in the movie all make a rather unbelievable story, well... believable.
And I LOVED the ending. I wish they had made a "Car II: the devil takes Manhattan." :)
Blair Witch Project takes shaky camcorder scenes about a witch we never see and spends the entire show having the characters scream and cuss at each other. It is a hit.
The Car combines beautiful cinematography, a logical progression of events, and gets you involved trying to figure out how to stop this monster. It is ridiculed as "70s trash."
Rent this film, & you decide who is right!
Designed for the movie "The Car" starring James Brolin. Made from a 1971 Lincoln. Fenders were 20 gauge steel shaped over the original body. The grill was hand made from square steel tubing. 4 bumpers made from heavy 18 gauge steel. Seven inch single headlights sunk behind the grill and fender. Body was raised to upper doorline. Four radius wheel wells around a six inch reverse deep chrome wheels and Goodrich tires.
Top was chopped 4 inches with all black transparent windows. Full body roll bars installed over and around stunt driver. A steel tube canon was installed on passenger side which had a telephone pole inside and steel cap which housed dynamite and black powder. When the stunt man rolled the car he would trigger the tube telephone pole by igniting the dynamite which drove the pole into the ground and roll the car 5 times. Finished with 20 coats of black pearl lacquer. A total of four were made.
I love this particular custom. Its looks mean and growls nicely. Too bad i can't afford it.
Top was chopped 4 inches with all black transparent windows. Full body roll bars installed over and around stunt driver. A steel tube canon was installed on passenger side which had a telephone pole inside and steel cap which housed dynamite and black powder. When the stunt man rolled the car he would trigger the tube telephone pole by igniting the dynamite which drove the pole into the ground and roll the car 5 times. Finished with 20 coats of black pearl lacquer. A total of four were made.
I love this particular custom. Its looks mean and growls nicely. Too bad i can't afford it.
I thought it was just going to be another B movie, but hey, this one actually turned out pretty good. The only parts I wasn't too keen on was the fact that the car literally just "shows up" out of seemingly nowhere, and you never find out what it really truly is, or why its there. The way the movie is layed out, it can leave you on the edge of your seat at times, which is rare with this kind of film usually. There are some times as well that leave you forming your own little theories on why certain events are taking place, for example, the car being unable to enter a graveyard. The reasoning for this is suggested, but never truly set in stone. Later on you notice the car is completely indestructible, its tires unbustable, glass unbreakable and completely unstoppable, which adds to the suspense. The ending, for me, was both a bit confusing, and very eye opening. I really liked this film, more than I thought I would.
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 (R.G. Armstrong). Sheriff Everett (John Marley) 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 (James Brolin) 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 (Kathleen Lloyd) challenges the driver in a cemetery, the car hunts her in her home and Wade realizes that he might be dealing with supernatural powers.
The cult "The Car" is a supernatural tale of a creepy car that apparently might be driven by the devil himself. The entertaining story is visibly inspired in "Duel" and is inconclusive, and the viewer never knows for sure whether the car is driven by a demoniac being or by a wicked skilled driver. The havoc caused by the car is never graphic and that is a good point since the story is supported by the performances and the choreography of the stunts in the car chase. Further, thirty-two years later this movie has not aged. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O Carro, A Máquina do Diabo" ("The Car, The Machine of the Devil")
The cult "The Car" is a supernatural tale of a creepy car that apparently might be driven by the devil himself. The entertaining story is visibly inspired in "Duel" and is inconclusive, and the viewer never knows for sure whether the car is driven by a demoniac being or by a wicked skilled driver. The havoc caused by the car is never graphic and that is a good point since the story is supported by the performances and the choreography of the stunts in the car chase. Further, thirty-two years later this movie has not aged. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O Carro, A Máquina do Diabo" ("The Car, The Machine of the Devil")
Did you know
- TriviaCar cost $84,000.00 to build.
- GoofsDuring the final chase on the motorbike, it alternates from night / day.
- Quotes
Amos Clements: [complaining about Morris' french horn] And if I hear another sound out of that thing, I'll ram it so far up your ass, you'll be farting music for a year.
John Morris: [thoughtfully considering the idea] Wouldn't that be fantastic? Farting music. For a year!
- Crazy creditsThe Car's horn blows at the beginning and the end of the ending credits.
- Alternate versionsThe NBC edited for TV version of this film includes some additional scenes to pad out the movie due to needed commercial breaks. The aforementioned additional scenes were during the cemetery standoff between the school band and the Car. The part where Lauren is insulting and taunting the Car is longer and there is a short dialog between her and her friend Margie planning on how one of them will run out and escape to call for help. These are not on the official 1999 DVD/VHS release.
- ConnectionsEdited into Knight Rider: Trust Doesn't Rust (1982)
- SoundtracksDies Irae, Dies Illa
(uncredited)
Traditional, thought to be written by Thomas of Celano
[Instrumental version played over the opening title card and credits]
- How long is The Car?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- El auto
- Filming locations
- Snow Canyon, Utah, USA(Carter's Road)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 36m(96 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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