This Stephen King Adaptation From Horror Legend John Carpenter Is A Must-Watch On Netflix

All the way back in 1983, Stephen King and John Carpenter collided, and the result was a beloved horror masterpiece which remains a must-watch chiller. That film, "Christine," is currently available to stream on Netflix in all of its piston-pumping, high-octane glory. 

Based on King's novel and directed by Carpenter, "Christine" revolves around the titular bad-to-the-chrome cherry red 1958 Plymouth Fury with a mind of her own. Viewers first see her on a Detroit assembly line in 1957. She injures one man and kills another before making it off the factory floor. By the time 1978 rolls around, she's residing in California, having been named Christine by her first owner. Christine is then purchased by nerdy high school student Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon), who dedicates himself to fixing her up. But the more time Arnie spends alone with the jalopy, the more symbiotic his connection to her becomes. His personality and appearance begin to change radically, taking on an aggressive edge. Christine soon lets Arnie in on the fact that she's no ordinary set of wheels — not only can she drive around without human intervention, she can repair herself. When Christine tries to eliminate Arnie's girlfriend, Leigh Cabot (Alexandra Paul), it falls to her and Arnie's only friend, Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell), to try and break the hold the car has over Arnie.

"Christine" made over $21 million worldwide from a reported budget of $9.7 million. It was critically acclaimed and remains well regarded to this day (the film holds a respectable 72% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes). But for all the positive attention the movie received, one important creative attached to the project didn't like the final product.

Stephen King has admitted that he wasn't particularly happy about how "Christine" turned out. While it wasn't one of the many adaptations of King's work the author overtly hated, he hit the film with an even more damning condemnation. Grouping "Christine" together with Stanley Kubrick's version of "The Shining," he told Salon, "They're actually sort of boring. Speaking for myself, I'd rather have bad than boring." Ouch. For his part, John Carpenter has said that he doesn't care what people think about his movies, even King. "Stephen King loves everything and then he hates it," he told The Flashback Files. "He's a weird-ass guy. Just weird. Started out as a teacher. What the hell you want?"

Carpenter has made it clear that he's proud of how "Christine" turned out. Interestingly, he only did the film because "The Thing" bombed at the box office in 1982. "I needed a job after 'The Thing' because nobody would hire me. So this came along and I took the job, and it turned out better than it had any right to," he told Variety. "I don't know, maybe I made a mistake, but it turned out okay," he added. Nowadays, both "The Thing" and "Christine" are considered to be among the best horror movies of the 1980s. "Christine" is arguably one of the most underrated Stephen King adaptations of all time on top of being one of the best John Carpenter movies ever made.