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How Christine’s Awesome Car Repair Scene Was Done (Before CGI)

How Christine’s Awesome Car Repair Scene Was Done (Before CGI)

John Carpenter’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Christine is a classic of 80s horror, and while the Christine cast is top-notch, what many genre fans remember most is Christine herself. This includes the scene where the car appears to completely repair itself right before the audience’s eyes. Christine follows an unpopular nerd, Arnie Cunningham, who buys a red Plymouth Fury named Christine and steadily develops a strange and unhealthy obsession with the vehicle, much to the shock of his only friend, Dennis.




However, things get even worse when Arnie’s bully, Buddy Repperton, smashes Christine to bits, totaling the car; this causes her to suddenly put herself back together and go on a killing spree. The infamous scene occurs when Arnie returns to the garage and finds Christine beaten up, smashed, and generally irreparable. He breaks down, horrified at the sight of it all and not knowing how he’ll ever be able to afford to fix his car, when all of a sudden, Christine’s breaks and dents slowly start to fill back in and repair themselves right in front of him.


Christine’s Car Repair Scene Explained

A Plastic Replica Was Built & The Film Of Its Damage Reversed

Christine the Car


Roy Arbogast, a John Carpenter movie veteran known for the effects in movies like The Thing and They Live, is responsible for this scene. In addition to the 27 real Plymouth Furies, Belvederes, and Savoys the filmmakers purchased to produce the final film, Arbogast created a plastic-paneled body double of Christine specifically designed to look like metal when put on camera. Once completed, he installed hydraulic pumps inside and attached the pumps to cables, which were then attached to the plastic body panels of the car.

The filmmakers reversed the footage of the crumpling car body, making it seem as if it was regaining its original form

When compressed, these hydraulic pumps suck in the paneling, causing it to bend and deform, making it appear like a car panel that’s been smashed or dented. To create the illusion that the car was repairing itself, the filmmakers reversed the footage of the crumpling car body, making it seem as if it was regaining its original form rather than being dented and crumpled.


Related

Christine: 8 Biggest Changes The Movie Made From Stephen King’s Book

Director John Carpenter’s movie Christine strayed pretty far from the Stephen King book the horror was based on, but that’s not a bad thing.

It is a simple trick but incredibly effective on screen. This scene holds up to this day as one of the most well-remembered feats of horror special effects that was still produced fairly cheaply and easily. Furthermore, it proves how well practical effects can be translated to the screen in place of CGI. Christine is an amazing example of what a little ingenuity and a good special effects director can contribute to a film.

Other Great Looking Scenes That Weren’t CGI

The Thing & The Evil Dead


John Carpenter was a director who preferred practical effects and did it well. As mentioned, Roy Arbogast worked on movies like The Thing, They Live, and Escape From New York for Carpenter. If there is one movie that has always been praised for its use of practical special effects, it is The Thing. However, it wasn’t Arbogast who created the special effects, but Rob Botton (with assistance from Stan Winston). The entire look of the alien and its transformation was thanks to this special effects maestro.

A horror contemporary during John Carpenter’s heyday came out two years before Christine. Sam Raimi shot his entire The Evil Dead movie using only practical effects since it was shot on an ultra-low budget. The demonic being tracking through the woods was done with a camera attached to a 2×4. The scene in which Ash reaches for himself through a mirror was shot using the reflection of a kiddie pool full of water with bright lights. Many camera tricks were done with Raimi hanging from the rafters. It proved anything could be done practically with a little ingenuity.


Christine is a 1983 horror film from director John Carpenter. The film was based on the novel by Stephen King, in which an evil car is purchased and starts having a negative influence on its new teenage owner. The film stars Keith Gordon as the main character Arnie, who buys Christine.

Release Date
December 9, 1983

Distributor(s)
Columbia Pictures

Cast
Keith Gordon , John Stockwell , Alexandra Paul , Robert Prosky , Harry Dean Stanton , Christine Belford

Runtime
110 minutes


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