Line #40 Literature/Christine


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3	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/christine_1983_film_poster.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine Body by Plymouth. Soul by Satan.]]'']]
5
6	->''"She had the smell of a brand new car, and that's just about the finest smell in the world, except maybe for pussy."''
7	-->--'''Roland D. [=LeBay=]''' to '''Arnold "Arnie" Cunningham''', regarding the worst auto purchase in history. For both of them.
8
9	''Christine'' is a 1983 {{horror}} novel by Creator/StephenKing.
10
11	The basic premise is that Arnie Cunningham, the most unpopular guy in his suburban Usefulnotes/{{Pittsburgh}} high school in 1978, buys his first car, much like any other teenager the world over. The problem is that his car -- a 1958 Plymouth Fury -- is not only sentient but extremely and psychotically in love with him. The novel details Arnie's transition from normal, if nerdy and unhappy, teenager into a somewhat popular greaser loner, and eventually into a lonely psychotic as the car and the ghost of its previous owner begin to exert an ever-increasing amount of control over him.
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13	A [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]], directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and starring Creator/KeithGordon as Arnie, Creator/AlexandraPaul as Leigh and Creator/JohnStockwell as Dennis was released the same year the book was published.
14
15	----
16	!! Provides examples of:
17	* The50s: Although set in the 70s, Christine often turns time back to [[The50s 1958 (the Nostalgic Fifties version)]], complete with SeeminglyWholesome50sGirl and a radio that plays NothingButHits.
18	* The70s: The present time of the novel is set in 1978-79.
19	* OneDimensionalThinking: Buddy never thinks to run sideways out of Christine's path when she starts chasing him ''while on fire'' down the road.
20	* TenMinuteRetirement: Dennis, after witnessing for himself confirmation of Christine's nature, decides not to get any further into it than he already is. [[spoiler:That very night Christine murders Detective Junkins and he realizes that more people, very likely including Leigh, will die if Christine is allowed to run free.]]
21	* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: Released in 1983, and set in 1978-79.
22	* AbusiveParents: Arnie's parents are the emotional type, as they are {{Control Freak}}s (his mother far more so than his father).
23	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Keith Gordon's Arnie is not ''nearly'' as unattractive as Arnie is described in the novel. For only one thing, Book Arnie is said to have a face covered with acne, but there's not a single pimple to be seen on movie Arnie's mug. At worst, the movie Arnie is your [[HollywoodHomely standard slightly undersized wimpy nerd]], but once he loses the glasses, he's not bad-looking [[invoked]].
24	* AdaptationalLocationChange: The book was set in Pennsylvania, while its 1983 film adaptation was set in California.
25	* AdaptationalJerkass: George [=LeBay=] in the film, due to being a CompositeCharacter with his brother. In the novel, he has some idea of Christine's nature and rightly thinks Arnie should try to get rid of the car for his own good; in the film, he's the one who sells Christine to Arnie, and has novel-Roland's unpleasant personal affectations.
26	* AdaptationDeviation: Various differences, one of the most memorable is Christine's way of killing Darnell (smashing through his house in the book, crushing him in her seat in the movie).
27	* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: Christine is painted Autumn Red, despite 1958 Plymouth Furies only coming in beige and gold. In the book, it's explained that she was custom-painted. In the film, she's shown coming off the assembly line in that color. Considering that the car starts off possessed in the film, and she's the only red Fury to be seen on the entire assembly line, it's possible that she "repaired" her paint job to red while rolling down the line.
28	* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Dennis's short-lived book girlfriend Roseanne is implied to just be a girl with a crush on him in the movie.
29	* AdaptedOut:
30	** In the climax of the novel: Dennis and Leigh fight Christine with a pink tanker truck named Petunia which is personified similar to Christine. In the movie, she's replaced with a crawler loader.
31	** Buddy's acquaintances Sandy Galton and Bobby Stanton aren't included.
32	** Detective Junkins' partner Mercer is cut out.
33	** Dennis's parents don't appear. His sister only appears in one scene and goes unnamed.
34	** Partly with Roland: He existed but doesn't appear, since he's a PosthumousCharacter from the start.
35	* AdultsAreUseless: From the novel, played straight with Arnie's parents (domineering mother Regina is dead set against Arnie having Christine at all, refuses to listen to any rational reasoning, blames Dennis for "allowing" Arnie to buy the car, and in general has a MyWayOrTheHighway attitude; henpecked husband Michael offers little resistance) and averted with Dennis' parents (especially his father, who gradually becomes convinced that something is wrong with Arnie in regards to Christine; Dennis eventually tells him the full story, at the very end).
36	* TheAllegedCar: Christine when first Arnie finds her.
37	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Roseanne likes Dennis, who becomes interested in new girl Leigh, who begins dating his best friend Arnie, who becomes obsessed with his car, Christine.
38	* AmbiguousEnding:
39	** In the novel epilogue, frightening coincidences cause Dennis to suspect that Christine may have repaired herself and is coming after the survivors, but there's no hard evidence.
40	** In the film, it's left unknown whether Christine is defeated for good or if [[HealingFactor she'll rebuild herself]], but it's implied [[NotQuiteDead the latter will happen]], given part of her cube ''[[FingerTwitchingRevival moves]]'' at the end.
41	* AMFMCharacterization:
42	** Christine ''literally'' talks through her radio by playing appropriate songs from The50s. This works particularly well in the film: If someone tries to open one of her doors when it's locked, she plays "Keep A-Knockin'" by Music/LittleRichard. Just before going after Moochie, she plays "Little Bitty Pretty One" by Thurston Harris in a rather taunting way like she's saying "I'm back." She [[spoiler:mourns Arnie's death]] with "Pledging My Love" by Johnny Ace. And when Dennis tries to crush her with the loader, she flaunts her ([[TheEndOrIsIt maybe not so much]]) alleged invincibility by blasting "Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay" by Danny & The Juniors.
43	** Buddy Repperton and Richie Trelawney take this to another new dimension. Shortly before being killed by Christine, they drive around in Buddy's Camaro while listening to "Beast Of Burden" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}. If you haven't noticed yet that they look a lot like Mick Jagger (Buddy) and Keith Richards (Richie), then you will. Maybe, just maybe Christine also holds a grudge against rock music displacing her beloved RockAndRoll.
44	* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: The book has two different characters give speeches about the importance of learning the Heimlich Maneuver.
45	* AnimateInanimateObject: The eponymous Christine is a [[SentientVehicle sentient, murderous car]].
46	* AntagonistTitle: "Christine" is the name of the main antagonist, the murderous SentientVehicle.
47	* ArtisticLicenseCars: In the book, Christine is referred to as a sedan, though this is more of a continuity/editing error as King originally intended Christine to be a sedan, but found out midway Chrysler only offered the Plymouth Fury as a two-door hardtop in 1958, and several instances of the word sedan were missed. In the film, Christine is shown rolling off the assembly line painted Autumn Red; Plymouth Furys were only available in white or gold in 1958 (this is not present in the book, as Christine is stated to have been custom painted Autumn Red after purchase). Christine is also stated in the novel to have a four on the floor transmission, when a three on the tree manual and the [=TorqueFlite=] automatic transmission were the only options (it's entirely possible this was another customisation).
48	* AssholeVictim: Buddy Repperton and his gang, who bully Arnie (even drawing a knife on him), then later [[{{Understatement}} vandalize]] Christine, with one of them even going out of the way to shit on the dashboard, just because she belongs to Arnie. Nobody sheds many tears when Christine decides to get even. Also, there are Arnie's AbusiveParents ([[SparedByTheAdaptation except in the movie though]]).
49	* AnAssKickingChristmas: The third act (and the majority of the murders) takes place over several days of early December.
50	* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: Attack of the killer car.
51	* AutoErotica: Arnie and Leigh attempt to have sex inside Christine who obviously [[ClingyJealousGirl doesn't react well to it]].
52	* AutomatedAutomobiles: Christine is a fully conscious car that is able to move by herself via supernatural means.
53	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: A sibling version. Regina Cunningham finds herself confiding in her sister Vicky as Arnie's troubles pile up, with Vicky only being supportive even though Regina has been pretty condescending to her sister (for the BoringButPractical career choices of Vicky, her husband and their children). Receiving this compassion makes Regina realize her sister would be warranted withholding it, feel guiltier for her past behavior and strive to become closer.
54	* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:The book mentions that Leigh and the guy she ended up marrying have twin daughters]].
55	* BadassBoast: Christine manages to get out an epic one without being able to speak. [[spoiler:Dennis is attempting to crush her to death under the treads of a crawler loader? Her radio starts blaring out a taunting rendition of "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay."]]
56	* BadassDriver: Arnie, as it is later revealed that he was driving Christine, at least part of the time after the car reveals its true power.
57	* BettyAndVeronica:
58	** Roseanne is the Betty in comparison to the Veronica new girl Leigh who catches the attention of the Archie, Dennis.
59	** Also, Dennis and Arnie over Leigh.
60	** And eventually, Leigh and Christine over Arnie.
61	* BigBad: Christine is the source of all of the major problems in the story, as a killer car.
62	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Arnie and his parents are dead, along with eight other people, but Dennis and Leigh ultimately managed to put a stop to Christine's rampage by destroying her... although the epilogue implies that Christine may be coming back and will track down everyone related to her destruction]].
63	* BlackDudeDiesFirst: In the movie, at least, the assembly line worker who is Christine's first victim in the very opening.
64	* BorrowedCatchPhrase: Arnie starts using the word "shitter", which is something [=LeBay=] used to say.
65	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:It's never directly stated whether or not Arnie was possessed by the spirit of George [=LeBay=] or corrupted by Christine. Either way, Arnie is not the same person by the final act]].
66	%%* TheBroCode: Dennis' violation does not go unpunished.
67	* CannotSpitItOut: In the book, George [=LeBay=] does tell Dennis quite a bit about the car after the funeral but is unable to bring himself to reveal ''everything'' that he believes about it until a later conversation when Dennis tells him how it's been doing strange things, partially because he knows [[CassandraTruth how insane it sounds]].
68	* CaptainObvious: In the film. Repperton tries to turn the tables on the car following him by reversing into them, only for the car (Christine) to back up and avoid them. His buddy Richie gives us his (rather useless) observation:
69	-->'''Richie Trelawney:''' He's backing up too.
70	* CarFu: The climax is [[spoiler:Leigh and Dennis versus Christine, using a pink septic tanker truck]].
71	* CarMeetsHouse: Christine disposes of one victim this way. It helps that Christine has the machine version of a HealingFactor.
72	* ChainLinkFence: Whole Christine chases after Moochie in the film, climbs over a fence to escape from her. Unfortunately, the possessed car just plowed through the fence and kept pursuing her prey.
73	* ClingyJealousGirl: Christine is extremely clingy to Arnie, and his girlfriend Leigh can almost ''feel'' how much the car dislikes her. In one instance Leigh notices that the dashboard lights resemble into [[GreenEyedMonster green eyes]] that glare furiously at her.
74	* ColorMotifs: Red, as shown with Christine's paint job and Arnie's red jacket. [[spoiler:It shows how Arnie's sanity had been eroding throughout the movie and had either been possessed by George [=LeBay=] or had been corrupted by Christine's influence]].
75	* CompositeCharacter: A couple of strange examples in the film. In the book, Roland sells Arnie the car, wears an old back brace, uses the word "shitter," and has a creepy personality as well as a younger brother named George who turns out to be a very kind-hearted man and tells Dennis about the car's dark history including the fact that Roland never cared about anything other than the car. Roland's wife asphyxiated herself inside it by running a hose from the exhaust pipe into the window, although it's heavily implied that [[NeverSuicide Roland actually set it up to look like a suicide and killed her himself]]. In the film, the creepy, "shitter"-saying, back brace-wearing man who sells Arnie the car is named George, who says he had a brother called Rollie who owned the car, cared about nothing but the car, and asphyxiated himself inside it by running a hose from the exhaust pipe into the window. So in the film, George is sort of 80% Roland and 20% George, while his mysterious unnamed brother is 50% Roland and 50% Roland's wife.
76	* CoolCar:
77	** Why, Christine of course. Yes, she's evil through and through. So what? The 1958 Plymouth Fury, Autumn Red!
78	** [[http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_4868-Dodge-Charger-1968.html The 1968 Charger]] Dennis drives in the film, and Buddy's Camaro. The [[http://pics.imcdb.org/0is164/890901969chevroletcamarwt2.3177.jpg film's version]] is a 1968, while the book's timeline makes it a '76.
79	** It's easy to miss since Christine is such a show-stealer, but Detective Junkins in the film ''also'' drives a Plymouth Fury. TruthInTelevision -- late-'70s Furies were popular with police.
80	* CoolKidAndLoserFriendship: Dennis and Arnie. Dennis is the jock, BigManOnCampus and is regarded as a cool kid. Arnie is the stereotypical nerd.
81	* CountryMatters: Buddy calls Arnie "Cuntface" due to his acne.
82	* CurbStompBattle: An evil car vs. a huge crawler loader? No contest.
83	* CycleOfRevenge: Buddy picks on Arnie, Arnie retaliates against Buddy. Buddy pulls a knife on Arnie, which gets Buddy expelled. Buddy blames Arnie and [[DisproportionateRetribution utterly trashes his car]]. Car regenerates itself and turns Buddy and his pals into "a scattered bundle of rags ... ripped open like a laundry bag".
84	%%* DeadpanSnarker: Detective Junkins in the film.
85	* DeathOfAChild: [=LeBay=]'s young daughter chokes to death in Christine's backseat.
86	* {{Delinquents}}: Buddy Repperton and his gang.
87	* DidNotGetTheGirl: It's revealed in the epilogue that [[spoiler:Dennis and Leigh]] didn't end up together, although they did date for two years but it's implied they [[LoveCannotOvercome couldn't get over the shared trauma about what happened while they were still together]]. But they still remained AmicableExes.
88	-->"What happened to us? I don't really know. We went together for two years, slept together ([[SexGoddess very satisfactorily]]), went to school together (Drew), and were friends with each other. Her father shut up about our crazy story after my father talked with him, although he always regarded me after that as something of a dubious person. (...) What happened that night in Darnell's Garage was a secret between us, and of course lovers need their secrets... but this [[DarkSecret wasn't a good one to have]].
89	* DisproportionateRetribution: In the film, a factory worker sits down behind Christine's wheel while she's still on the assembly line, but already with a full interior. He accidentally drops cigar ashes on her brand-new front seat which had a protective cover over it. She promptly kills him for it.
90	* DragonAscendant: Buddy was originally the second-in-command of his gang of bullies until their original leader, Roger Gilman, was arrested for armed robbery.
91	* DrivenToSuicide: [=LeBay=]'s wife committed suicide in the car after the death of her daughter... although it also he impled he may have killed her himself and set it up to [[NeverSuicide make it look like a suicide]].
92	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Christine not only drives like crazy, but specifically to hurt or kill people. Justified as she can repair damage, so can afford to take a few hits while getting to her target.
93	* DrugsAreBad: Roland Lebay's drinking binges turn him into a violent maniac. This is hammered in as subtly as one would expect:
94	-->"There is a great outcry about drugs in the schools now, and I don't oppose that outcry because I think it's obscene to think of children fifteen and sixteen years old reeling around full of dope, but I still believe alcohol is the most vulgar, dangerous drug ever invented- and it is legal."
95	* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler:Arnie fights off Lebay's possession as he dies]]. Dennis has a dream of him appearing.
96	* TheEndOrIsIt: At the end, Dennis and Leigh are looking at the crushed cube that was once Christine. Then [[OhCrap they hear some rock'n'roll]]... but it's actually a guy walking past with a boombox. [[spoiler:''Then'' the camera slowly zooms in on Christine... and there's a groan as part of her grille starts to move]].
97	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Buddy Repperton may be a bully, but he will not tolerate racist jokes.
98	* EveryCarIsAPinto: During the last scene, we find out that [[spoiler:Arnie and Regina are killed in a freak accident on the turnpike,]] during mild winter weather. Going no more than 45... And the Volvo explodes, somehow.
99	* ExcrementStatement: Christine is vandalized by Buddy Repperton and his buddies as revenge on Arnie for getting him expelled, and Buddy makes a point to take a shit on the dashboard at the end. Arnie becomes particularly livid once he finds it. Since this is [[SentientVehicle Christine]] we're talking about, the bullies get theirs. Big time.
100	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Arnie adopts a crew cut during the time [=LeBay=] is possessing him.
101	%%* FeudEpisode: First there was Christine. Leigh came later.
102	* FingerTwitchingRevival: Or, in this case, a chrome twitching revival. At the end of the film. Christine has been compacted into a cube. A bar from the grill starts to move, showing that the car maybe NotQuiteDead.
103	* FirstPersonPerspective: The first and third acts of the book are told from the perspective of Dennis. The second act, however, is told by an overall narrator, since Dennis is holed up in hospital with a broken leg at this point.
104	* {{Flashback}}: Dennis Guilder is writing the story down four years later.
105	* FreudianExcuse:
106	** Regina Cunningham's childhood and parents were orders of magnitude worse than Arnie's, and the habits she developed to survive them made her a bully to her husband and son as an adult. Since this had results that she considered positive for them (Arnie's excellence in school, etc.), she thought this was a good thing. It was only after she'd already thoroughly botched the Christine situation that she realized how maladaptive it really was.
107	** Roland [=LeBay=] grew up poor with a violent, drunken loser for a father who couldn't hold down a job. It is very clear that FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse, as his brother grew up under the same circumstances and is an infinitely better person who actually made something of his life, while Roland is a vulgar, hateful, repulsive drunken scumbag just like his father, and George makes it very clear that Roland was always a shitty person by his very nature and his upbringing just made him worse.
108	* FromASingleCell: Well, from a single lugnut anyway. [[spoiler:At the end Dennis and Leigh smash the shit out of Christine with a tanker truck, and the remains are put through a car crusher. One of the junkyard workers later insists that a piece of the car ''bit'' him, and the epilogue implies that four years later Christine has regenerated and is coming for Dennis]].
109	* FromNobodyToNightmare: Arnie starts out a harmless nerd, but Christine corrupts him into a maniac.
110	* TheGlassesComeOff:
111	* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Christine's headlamps are described this way in the novel, and appear as such in the film.
112	* GriefInducedSplit: Dennie and Leigh start dating officially after [[spoiler:Arnie and his parents' deaths, but there is too much grief and trauma between them, and they drift apart. Leigh eventually marries another, while Dennie remains single.]]
113	* HairTriggerTemper: Roland [=LeBay=]. When every description of you includes the words "unending fury," you are made for this trope.
114	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler:Moochie Welch is cut in half between Christine's front bumper and a building]] in the movie.
115	* HauntedTechnology: Christine is a SentientVehicle that seems to house the soul of her previous owner. In the book it's unclear if her connection to [=LeBay=] is what cause her sentience, but the film makes it clear Christine was sentient even before [=LeBay=] acquired her.
116	* HeCleansUpNicely: Dennis notes how, after a few months under Christine's influence, Arnie's acne clears up and his posture and physique improve, revealing a pretty handsome guy under all the nerd luster.
117	* HealingFactor: Christine has it. Up to the point of returning from a burned-out wreck to mint condition within minutes. It seems to work while Christine is in motion with her odometer going in reverse as it happens. After Repperton and his gang trash her, Arnie only has to push her until she's repaired herself enough to start, then just drive around until Christine repairs completely.
118	* HenpeckedHusband: Michael Cunningham. Regina is entirely aware of it, though she would object to the terminology, but as with her son, she believes that the positive results (i.e., the flourishing career that she's pushed him into) prove that she runs her husband's life better than he could.
119	* HeroicBystander: The hitchhiker in the novel who successfully gives Leigh the Heimlich maneuver when she chokes on her hamburger. Afterwards, he explains that he used to work in his school cafeteria and was required to learn the Heimlich as part of his training.
120	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Arnie and Dennis. [[OddCouple A nerd and a jock]].
121	* HighSchoolHustler: Sandy Galton's brother is a variant, being mentioned as the high school pot dealer.
122	* HomicideMachines: Christine
123	* HopeSpot: Arnie's dad seems to partially break through Christine's hold on him, and the feud between him and his mother, by getting a garage to keep the car at. Then Buddy and his gang vandalize Christine at the garage and both boy and car go over the deep end, while somewhat blaming Mr. Cunningham for Christine being at the garage in the first place.
124	* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday[=/=]NewYearHasCome: In the film, the final showdown occurs on New Year's Eve/Day.
125	* IDieFree: [[spoiler:In the book, Arnie dies keeping [=LeBay=] from possessing him. The film plays this differently, with Arnie's last act being to lovingly stroke Christine's fender]].
126	* InfernalRetaliation: [[spoiler:In the movie, Christine chases Buddy Repperton and Richie Trelawney to a gas station where they wanted to meet Don Vandenberg. She crashes into Buddy's Camaro, shoves it into the gas station, and [[StuffBlowingUp causes it to explode]] [[ImpressivePyrotechnics in a spectacular fireball]] by igniting the spilled gasoline. Buddy manages to rescue himself and believes that Christine is destroyed in the flames. But she backs OutOfTheInferno, burning all over, chases him down the road, and eventually runs over him, leaving his flaming corpse lying on the asphalt]].
127	* InnocentBystander: Bobby Stanton is a bit of a jerk, but he wasn't with Buddy's gang when they vandalized the car and both Buddy (in a brief PetTheDog moment) and Arnie reflect a bit sadly that he just picked the wrong night to be riding in the same car as Buddy and Richie.
128	* {{Jerkass}}: The [[AbusiveParents Cunninghams]] are not particularly likable. They're nowhere near as awful as Buddy, but they're controlling and condescending toward their son.
129	* JumpScare: At the climax, Leigh walks over to a prone Arnie, who's just been catapulted out of Christine. Then he leaps up, screaming on account of the massive chunk of glass in his stomach.
130	* KarmaHoudini: Other then getting knocked down a peg or two by Arnie after the latter stand up to them under Christine's influence, Arnie's ControlFreak AbusiveParents are SparedByAdaptation in this film and not killed like in the novel.
131	* KickTheDog: In the film, Buddy and his gang laugh cruelly at Dennis's accident in the football game. And that's before what they do to Christine.
132	* TheLadysFavor: Before the final fight with Christine, Leigh gives a scarf to Dennis to wear around his arm, saying that she wants him to be her knight.
133	* LousyLoversAreLosers: Michael Cunningham really doesn't enjoy sex with his wife Regina, describing it as "dutiful and joyless". He even mentions he feels she's only "using his penis as a sleeping pill".
134	* LoveAtFirstSight: Arnie and, yes, Christine. When Arnie first sees the car, Dennis describes him like this: "He had been like a man who meets a showgirl, indulges in a whirlwind courtship, and ends up with a hangover and a new wife on Monday morning. It had been... well... like love at first sight."
135	* LoveTriangle: Really it's Arnie, Leigh and Christine. Before that it appeared that Christine functioned in one for [=LeBay=] and his wife. Also, Dennis had a thing for Leigh prior to her relationship with Arnie.
136	* MeaningfulName:
137	** "Arnold Cunningham" is a combination of two names from the series ''Series/HappyDays'': "Arnold's", the kids' hangout, and "Cunningham," Richie's family's surname.
138	** Arnie's domineering mother is Regina (Latin for [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen]]).
139	* MockingMusic: In the movie, Christine's radio plays random oldies songs, as her way to speak. "Bony Moronie" by Larry Williams, a song that mentions a very thin girl, plays as she crushes Arnie's boss flat between her front seat and her steering wheel. Also, when Dennis runs her over with the loader, she plays "Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay" by Danny & The Juniors to let everyone know that nothing can kill her.
140	* MomentKiller: [=LeBay=] manages to do this from beyond the grave, as Dennis relates in the epilogue that every time he went to have sex with Leigh he couldn't get the image of [=LeBay=] talking about "pussy" out of his mind.
141	* MultipleNarrativeModes: Parts 1 and 3 of the novel are narrated by Dennis Guilder, part 2 is told in third-person.
142	* MythologyGag: When Dennis is talking to Jimmy Sykes (the janitor at Darnell's), Jimmy mentions he's now out of a job, and might get a janitor's position at nearby Horlicks University because "this other janitor, he disappeared, just ran off or something." The janitor Jimmy is talking about is Mike, the janitor eaten by [[FluffyTheTerrible "Fluffy"]] in "The Crate" (which was an original short story before being adapted for ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'').
143	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Christine is a Plymouth ''Fury.''
144	* NeckSnap: Dennis has a nasty accident during a football game, thanks to being distracted by Arnie and Leigh. Fortunately, it's not fatal, and he does eventually recover.
145	* [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight Never Bring A Knife To A Car Fight]]: Just before Christine crushes Moochie, he pulls out a switchblade and threatens Arnie (who he thinks is the one driving). His threat quickly falls flat when he realizes that he's still trapped in a confined space against a near two-ton car with a ''very'' angry-sounding engine.
146	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Buddy Repperton and Richie Trelawney look a lot like [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand Mick Jagger and Keith Richards]], respectively which becomes particularly obvious in a scene where they are driving in Buddy's Camaro, and "Beast of Burden" is playing on the radio.
147	* NothingButHits: Christine's radio only plays popular music from The50s.
148	* NotQuiteDead: Christine regenerates whenever she's beaten to smithereens. [[spoiler:Dennis suspects she's rebuilding herself at the end]].
149	* ObliviouslyEvil: The book's monologues strongly implies that, at least initially, Arnie doesn't realize what Christine is doing as his enemies are turning up dead.
150	* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler:It's revealed that [=LeBay=] may have sacrificed his choking daughter to Christine]].
151	* TheOneThatGotAway: At one point, Will Darnell reminisces about his teenage sweetheart, Wanda Haskins. Darnell is a corrupt and cynical man, but he did love Wanda, and he thinks they would have married if her family didn't move away.
152	* OnlyFriend: Dennis is Arnie's only friend.
153	* OutOfTheInferno: After being caught inside an exploding gas station, Christine proceeds to drive out ablaze and continue to chase down a victim.
154	* PlasterCastDoodling: Arnie signs Dennis' cast after Dennis is injured at a football game. Later, after he noticed Arnie's personality has changed, Dennis asks him to sign the cast on a different spot; this time, his signature looks completely different [[spoiler:as a result of Christine, and by extension, the ghost of [=LeBay=] taking over Arnie's personality]].
155	* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: Dennis and Leigh fall in love while investigating Christine, and are caught by Arnie.
156	* PoliceAreUseless: Subverted. Rudy Junkins and Rick Mercer investigate the case, find no good cause to hold Arnie and let him go but do become increasingly suspicious (albeit unable to explain how he might have done anything), managed to bust Darnell's operation, and later Mercer seems to cautiously believe Dennis's story.
157	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: In addition to his other unpleasant affectations, Roland [=LeBay=]'s introduction paints him as a racist conservative, freely using the n-word in his conversation with Arnie and Dennis, and saying that black radicals, "commies" and doctors are what's wrong with the world. He also shows a disdain towards colleges and universities because of his assumption that they're filled with people sympathetic to black people's plight.
158	* PomPomGirl: Roseanne, who is flirty and (at least compared to Leigh) [[BrainlessBeauty not too intelligent]], but not necessarily mean either. In the book, Dennis doesn't even always think of her by name, just as "the cheerleader". She does seem to be energetic and engaged while cheering on the football game in one scene of the movie.
159	* PostModernMagik:
160	** Evil possessed car threatening your day... do you find some magic spell to exorcise it? Bring the ghost closure so he can move on? No, you run over it with [[MoreDakka an oversized Caterpiller truck]], crushing it and re-crushing it [[NoKillLikeOverkill over and over until it stops healing itself]], then have your local junkyard turn it into a 3-foot square cube.
161	** "Car possessed by ghost" qualifies all on its own. Especially as the novel's protagonist already theorises that it's a result of post-modern blood sacrifice magic ritual. Specifically, the previous car's owner's attitude towards the machine, and its history as well (two of the guy's family members died in it), equated to having unknowingly performed a kind of enchantment ritual on the car.
162	* ReincarnatedAsANonHumanoid: It's never confirmed but in the original book one of possible origins of Christine's sapience that is speculated on is her being possessed by someone who died inside the car and never left.
163	* ResurrectTheWreck: Arnie spends most of his time after buying Christine at the garage working on restoring her. However, it's implied that he can't actually do more than marginal work on her, and in fact she's mostly resurrecting herself.
164	* SayYourPrayers: When Leigh nearly chokes to death on a hamburger, she tries to recite the Act of Contrition in her head.
165	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Sandy Galton packs up his car and leaves town not long after Christine starts killing people (although this is at least partially because Buddy is mad at him for almost squealing to the police rather than being solely due to the killings).
166	* SecretTestOfCharacter: A darker example. In the film, George tests to see if Arnie is the right person to sell the car to by letting him try the car. It works.
167	* SeniorYearStruggles: The story begins with the main characters about to enter their senior year. It should be a straightforward ComingOfAgeStory about meek and nerdy Arnie Cunningham buying his first car, getting his first girlfriend, and becoming independent from his parents. Unfortunately for him, it's a Stephen King book.
168	* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: An interesting case on it. In the beginning of the film, Arnie is the sensitive guy while Dennis is the manly man. As the story goes on, Dennis becomes the sensitive man while recovering from an injury he received from a football game while Arnie becomes the manly man from Christine's influence.
169	* SentientVehicle: Christine is a sentient car, and also the BigBad to boot.
170	* SexlessMarriage: Played with in the book. The Cunninghams have sex almost nightly, but it's so rote and dispassionate that Michael gets the distinct impression that his wife is using his penis as a sleeping pill.
171	* {{Sexophone}}: When Arnie watches Christine repair herself, the soundtrack is awash with sultry saxophone music, since it's basically a metaphor for a guy watching his hot girlfriend undressing herself.
172	* ShoutOut: Arnie and Leigh go Christmas shopping at the [[Film/DawnOfTheDead1978 Monroeville Mall]].
173	* SignatureLine: Concerning Roland [=LeBay=]: "His single-minded purpose. His unending fury."
174	* SinisterCar: The titular Christine is a murderous SentientVehicle.
175	* SkewedPriorities: A sign of Christine's increasing control over Arnie is his caring more about her than the fact Leigh nearly choked while stuck inside her.
176	* SoulJar:
177	** In the novel, [=LeBay=] turned Christine into this. Maybe. It's [[AmbiguousSituation left ambiguous]] whether Christine was always powered by a malevolent will or if [=LeBay=] really did become one with her.
178	** Most likely [[AvertedTrope averted]] in the film: Christine's first victim is a factory worker who accidentally drops cigar ashes on her front seat, as she's rolling off the assembly line.
179	* SoundtrackDissonance: Christine's radio blares out '50s hits as she kills her targets.
180	* SparedByTheAdaptation:
181	** In the book, Arnie's parents are killed by Christine. The film leaves this out.
182	** Detective Junkins.
183	* SplitPersonalityTakeover: In the book, [=LeBay=]'s spirit eventually possesses Arnie completely.
184	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Both Buddy and Arnie think of Bobby Stanton as a "dipshit freshman" who just happened to be in the wrong place, in almost the same phrasing.
185	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Buddy pulls a knife on Arnie and Dennis. After a brief fight, the shop teacher comes in and breaks it up, being told afterwards that Buddy has a switchblade on him. Being a punk, Buddy threatens the teacher just like he did Arnie and Dennis. Instead of backing down in the slightest, the teacher counter-threatens to call the police if Buddy doesn't give up his knife.
186	* SwitchingPOV: The first part is narrated by Dennis, the second part is told by an omniscient third-person narrator and mostly focuses on Arnie, and the third part is narrated by Dennis again.
187	* TearsOfFear: Dennis has this in the scene when he's in Christine.
188	* TemptingFate: In the film, Christine is following Buddy Repperton and Richie in his Camaro. After a brief chase, he goes fishtailing into the gas station and skids to a stop.
189	-->'''Buddy Repperton:''' Some [[SentientVehicle shithead's]] following me!\
190	''(the sound of an engine can be heard)''\
191	'''Buddy Repperton:''' [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor I just hope he comes in here!]]\
192	''([[BadAssDriver Christine's tires let out a screech as she took the same turn more gracefully than Buddy managed to.]] [[CarFu She drives right into the side of Buddy's Camaro and comes to a sudden stop, crunching it against the gas station wall,]] [[LaserGuidedKarma its hood popped off of one its hinges and resting lopsided, matching Buddy's shocked expression.]])''
193	* ThoseTwoGuys: In the film, Chuck and Bemis, Dennis's friends. (Although they're only in a couple of scenes. No corresponding characters exist in the novel.)
194	* ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof: Buddy and his GangOfBullies wreck Christine, just to make Arnie grieve, [[MuggingTheMonster not realizing she's sapient and can fight back.]]
195	* TookALevelInBadass: Arnie goes through two versions of this trope. First he becomes more aggressive thanks to being possessed by [=LeBay=]'s spirit. Secondly [[spoiler:he's able to fight off the possession in the car accident that kills him and his mother]].
196	* VehicleTitle: Doubles as a CharacterTitle due to the vehicle being a SentientVehicle.
197	* VehicularAssault: By the car itself, not by any driver.
198	* VocalEvolution: Arnie's grows more confident the more he's around Christine, his voice sounds confrontational and abrasive.
199	* WeHardlyKnewYe: Chapter 36 introduces and kills off Bobby Stanton.
200	* WhatAPieceOfJunk: When Arnie obsesses over Christine, Dennis rudely describes the car as an "old rust bucket."
201	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Roseanne, who is seen cheering Dennis on at the football game, is clearly in shock when she sees that he's been struck by another player and is never seen again after that.
202	* WomanScorned: Christine counts, taking revenge on anyone who wronged her.
203	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Anyone who was ever bullied can sympathize with Arnie. That is, until he veers away from WhosLaughingNow to running down and battering innocent police detectives.
204	* {{Yandere}}: Christine is clearly psychotically attached to Arnie ([[YandereCouple and vice versa]]). It's said she was like this towards her previous owner as well.
205	* YandereCouple: What the relationship between Arnie and Christine evolves into.

Context Literature / Christine