Sightlines · reception

How Christine was received

1983 · John Carpenter · Christine on Sightlines

The arc

Dismissed in 1983 as minor Carpenter — a for-hire gig he took after The Thing bombed — it's since been reappraised as one of the sleekest Stephen King adaptations, with Carpenter's synth score and widescreen car-nage now genuinely loved.

What’s debated

The eternal fan debate: is Christine secretly top-tier Carpenter, or proof that even his 'just a job' work (his own framing) beats most directors' best efforts?

Its footprint

'Bad to the Bone' blasting over a possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury is the film's gift to pop culture — the evil red-and-white car has become shorthand for sinister vehicles everywhere, referenced from cartoons to car memes.

Where it stands

A canon climber in the Carpenter filmography — once ranked near the bottom, now a Letterboxd favorite that cinephiles cite when arguing he never actually made a bad film in the '80s.

Did you know? The film was in production before Stephen King's novel was even published — both came out in 1983 — and Kevin Bacon turned down the lead role to make Footloose instead.