Director: Eliot Silversteen
Year: 1977
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: DeathMobile
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After a series of weird deaths, a small-town sheriff in the Midwest is assigned to investigate the deaths but gets nowhere, and as the incidents continue, discovers that the reports about the car being driverless just might be true and that the car might have some demonic reason for its appearance.
Review:
There’s quite a lot to like about this one. One of the main reasons why is the car itself, which is quite expected in this type of feature. The car is pretty creepy not just with the completely black color and impressive design but also the fact that the grill is what we generally see of the car makes it even more terrifying because it’s the one thing you remember. The honking of the horn is also a good scare tactic, as it signals the deadly intentions of the car approaching, that the car also disappears into the day with an abnormal amount of dust thrown up to keep its secrecy, and the borrowing of a terrifying tactic in never showing the driver is absolute genius. It all combines together into making this a mysterious and harrowing figure for this kind of genre effort.
What is also quite impressive is that the film feels a bit more real than most films at that time. The procedures taken against the murderous car feel like real-life events that just might happen. That shifts into overdrive when we learn that the car just might be driverless, which means the last half is great, with a nice car chase filmed at high speed and full of action that sets a great series of stunts and revelations into motion. For all that, the best part is the car’s appearance at a town pep rally, with the car trying to run down the last stragglers of the running herd desperately trying to outrun the car is a great suspense scene. Then the final outcome is even more suspenseful as we watch the car track the parade to a small graveyard that it can't enter, and the desperate effort to get help all features plenty of fun along the way. These are enough to give this a lot to like about it.
There aren’t too many issues here. One of the few drawbacks of the film is that there are way too many characters that serve no purpose to the story and do not provide anything other than to stand around and deliver lines. If they were to be killed off or simply removed from the story, as this starts off with three great deaths in twenty minutes, then nothing for what seems like forever, as the characters are set up for way too long with no real knowledge given to help solve the mystery of the car. Having either more deaths or fewer characters would’ve helped out the film a lot, which also leads to the second issue in there are almost no on-screen deaths. They are either shrouded by dust or an object of some kind or are filmed so that nothing can be seen, which is a bit of a cheat and holds this back the most.
Overview: ***.5/5
With a bit more of a body count, this would definitely be a lot better-known film. For a seventies film, this is one of the better films from that period, and the mystery surrounding the car is greatly played out. This is a good choice for fans of those kinds, as well as those who enjoy a straightforward film that doesn't require too much thought behind it to enjoy.
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