How influential was Christine?

[dejolane]

I wouldn't mind having a car like Christine but without the terror.

[bryantburnette]

I rewatched the movie last night. It's a big-time mixed bag, but an enjoyable one. Most of the acting is fairly stiff, but John Carpenter -- having recently come off of directing his masterpiece, The Thing -- was still on a bit of a high visually, and he put together some great scenes: Christine's "rape," her murders of Moochie and Buddy, the drive-in scene, etc.

Problem is, the novel is great at characterizations, but the movie is nowhere near as solid on that subject. Essentially, the novel has been gutted.

Still, I always enjoy watching the movie for what it is.

[Triilz]

I have to agree with scarywriter. I stumbled across the Dark Tower series way down the line. I was used to Christine, Cujo, Carrie, Pet Sematary, etc. It is such a shame that I didn't come across it sooner, now I'm racing to catch up.

[judythegeek]

I, too read Christine at the tender age of thirteen. My first Stephen King, and still very much embedded in my heart.
I even remember purchasing it, and it was an impulse buy. I was on vacation of all things, in Puerto Rico, 1987? The bookstore was there, and me and mom popped in, and the name on the paperback looked like a chrome emblem, and the font was like Airstreams had. I bought it, did not even read the back cover. The binding broke about ten years ago. Bought two more and am working on breaking another paperback binding!
That Influential, to me!

[CarGuy#19]

Let me tell you just how influential that story is. My best friend and I had a habit of staying up late and cruising the used car lots for potential projects when we were in our late teens. One night, just after Sai King's witching hour, midnight, we spotted a '58 Plymouth Fury sitting all by itself in a shadowy part of the lot. It was reverse of Christine's colors, White with a red stripe. Neither one of us would go within 30 feet of it. Hail, Stephen of Maine, you scared the crap out of us that night. Long days and Pleasant Nights.

[Ranger_Strider]

I'm in the throes of restoring a 1978 Ford F-250 pickup to a cherried-out condition mechanically and cosmetically. It's really starting to come together and I'm getting excited about taking out on the street. So, I'm guilty now. Motorhead.

[tiger pride]

I read Christine when I was ten. The book had a powerful influence on me. I only hoped one day I could tell a story with the storytelling power that King did with that one. Again at 27 I read the book again. Not because I forgot what I'd read, but because I wanted to know what it was that grabbed me at age 10. Just when you think Stephen King has taken it to unbelievable depths, he reals you back in with something true. Something we can all identify with.

[twellwood70]

I connected with "Christine" due to as a kid I always played in junkyards and would always play inside the old type of cars that Christine was. I would imagine what the old radio music would sound like. Aahh, to be a kid again!!