In photos: Our 11 favourite killer car movies
When it comes to cinematic horror, sometimes the cars are the stars. Without further ado, in honour of Oct. 31, we present our top silver screen HalloWheels.
<b>Duel (1971) Tagline:</b> Terror in your rear-view mirror. <b>Why it’s scary:</b> Businessman David Mann (Dennis Weaver) passes a slow-moving truck on a remote desert road. It proves to be an error in judgment as the truck driver “retaliates” by tailgating Mann while laying on the horn. And so begins a prolonged David-versus-Goliath battle between a 1971 Plymouth Valiant and an ominous-looking 1955 Peterbilt 281 tanker truck.
<b>The Car (1977) Tagline:</b> What evil drives … The Car <b>Why it’s scary:</b> Linda Blair wasn’t the only one getting possessed in the swank 1970s. Apparently, if there’s no human host available, Satan shall make do with an inanimate object – such as a customized 1971 Lincoln Mark III that is both equal parts divine and disturbing. The plot line revolves around the aforementioned land yacht killing murdering cyclists, hitchhikers and other easy targets in Utah. It’s difficult hard for the local sheriff (James Brolin) to end the carnage because there’s no suspect behind the wheel. (Maybe he should’ve consulted with Lincoln-driving private investigator Frank Cannon?) If anything, this film is a cautionary tale for those who clamour for the driverless car.
<b>Maximum Overdrive (1986) <b>Tagline:</b> The day horror went into overdrive Why it’s scary:</b> After a mysterious comet passes by Earth, everyday machines from lawnmowers to construction equipment attempt to take over the world. (apparently they couldn’t wait for the ascension of Skynet.) But The most unnerving machine-gone-wild is surely the 1976 White Western Star 4800 truck adorned with a giant Green Goblin sculpture. The 18-wheeler makes for the perfect blend of motorphobia (fear of vehicles) and coulrophobia (fear of clowns).
<b>The Road Warrior (1981) <b>Tagline:</b> Ruthless … Savage … Spectacular Why it’s scary:</b> There are myriad menacing machines in The Road Warrior (including , of course, Mad Max’s very own “last of the V-8 Interceptors”). But the heavily modified Ford F100 (it even sports a third axle) belonging to Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson) is the most disturbing. For starters, consider the driver: a semi-nude bodybuilder clad in bondage attire . He’s also wearing a goalie mask. Never trust anyone outside a hockey rink wearing a goalie mask (see: Voorhees, Jason). As well, there’s the truck’s “hood ornaments” – typically, a pair of still-alive hostages. And the Humungus will kill for a litre of precious petrol. An F100 isn’t exactly a fuel-sipping Prius, and there are no more Shell stations in postapocalypse Australia.
<b>Crash (1996) Tagline:</b> The most controversial film you will ever see <b>Why it’s scary:</b> Apparently there are two ways to address erectile dysfunction: 1. Viagra. 2. Purposefully getting into a near-fatal car accident. James Ballard (James Spader) is a TV director and car-accident survivor who discovers an underground subculture of omnisexual car-crash victims who use accidents as a means to enhance their libidos. “A car crash is a liberation of sexual energy,” remarks one fetishist keen on orchestrating another near-death experience. The final scene involving a Mazda Miata rollover is particularly haunting: Never has this iconic fun-in-the-sun convertible – or the streets of Toronto – looked so downright disturbing.
<b>Christine (1983) Tagline:</b> How do you kill something that can’t possibly be alive? <b>Why it’s scary:</b> A blood-red 1958 Plymouth Fury becomes obsessively attached to its owner. And ‘she’ tends to blow a gasket whenever it perceives it’s being forsaken. So it is that this Mopar monster is one part coupe, two parts Glen Close in Fatal Attraction. The fear factor kicks into overdrive after the car is seemingly gang-vandalized beyond repair, yet Christine manages to supernaturally restore itself. If only that feature had been made available to the Hyundai Pony.
<b>Munster, Go Home! (1966) Tagline:</b> Herman races the world’s fastest cars in his Drag-ula Special! <b>Why it’s scary:</b> When the body of a vehicle is actually a coffin, as is the case with Herman Munster’s Drag-ula Special, you really have a set of wheels to die for – especially given that the Frankenstein monster-lookalike driver already sports more aftermarket spare parts than the vehicle itself.
<b>Death Proof (2007) Tagline:</b> White-hot terror at 200 mph! <b>Why it’s scary:</b> Misogyny and motorized vehicles never mix well. Deranged stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) prowls about in his ebony-hued 1971 Chevy Nova SS, looking to murder young women via staged “accidents.” Mike’s muscle car evokes dread thanks to the skull and crossbones paint job on the hood and the goofy-yet-menacing Angry Duck ornament. This Chevrolet features a roll cage, thereby making it “death proof” (driver’s side only, alas, as one victim discovers the hard way). The crash scene midway through the film (shown four times in instant-replay fashion from different camera angles) is truly horrific given that this segment realistically depicts what happens to human bodies during a high-speed head-on collision.
<b>Army of Darkness (1992) Tagline:</b> Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. <b>Why it’s scary:</b> In this third instalment of The Evil Dead trilogy, Ash (Bruce Campbell) finds himself thrown back into medieval times. Eventually, he ends up surrounded by an unrelenting army of reanimated sinister skeletons. Oh, what to do? How about modifying a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 to include armour, a battering ram, propeller, cowcatcher, and an assortment of spike-festooned clubs? With his battle-cry of, “Say hello to the 21st century,” Ash adroitly proves the living dead are no match for vintage Detroit iron.
<b>Top Secret! (1984) Tagline:</b> From the makers of the original Airplane (not the Wright Brothers). <b>Why it’s scary:</b> Normally, auto makers pay big bucks for product placement shots in major movies. But the folks at Ford didn’t want this kind of exposure. Namely, the scene in which an armoured Second World War military vehicle filled with Nazis ever-so slightly dings the rear bumper of a circa-1971 Ford Pinto. The result? An explosion for the ages.
Death Race 2000 (1975) Tagline:</b> In the year 2000 hit-and-run driving is no longer a felony. It’s the national sport! <b>Why it’s scary:</b> Death Race 2000 is many things: cornball action flick, cheesy sci-fi movie, cult film. Yet, 40 years later, it also seems perversely prescient in its prediction of reality TV. (ISIS aside, we haven’t devolved to the point where we actually kill people on live TV – yet.) Five drivers compete in the cross-county Death Race, including fashion plate gangster Machine Gun Joe Viturbo and leather-clad Frankenstein (“ripped up, wiped out, battered, shattered, creamed and reamed – a dancer on the brink of death”). But the showstopper carnage car is the Manta Mirage, customized to resemble a bull, complete with razor-sharp horns. Driven by Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), she isn’t content with merely running over pedestrians – she also likes to gore them.