I have real affection for John Carpenter’s take onChristine, so I’m somewhat relieved the planned remake of the Stephen King novel appears to have stalled. Despite being the bestJohn Carpenter movie,The Thingwas a critical and commercial dud upon its arrival in 1982. Its violence and nihilism repulsed audiences and critics alike, and Carpenter was soon fired from his planned adaptation of theStephen King bookFirestarter. His next movie was instead based on another King novel,Christine, but Carpenter has since admitted he only took the film because he needed a job.
It speaks to what a pro Carpenter is that even though he didn’t find the book scary and wasn’t emotionally invested in the adaptation thatChristinestill worksso well. It boasts a great performance by Keith Gordon at its center, features one of Carpenter’s best music scores and delivers some thrilling setpieces. The movie’s reception was mixed; reviews were decent if unenthused, whileChristinegrossed a modest $21 million (viaBox Office Mojo) on a $10 million budget. It’s amassed a loyal following, though, and aBryan FullerChristineremakehas been in development for years.
What’s Going On With The Christine Remake?
The Christine remake appears to have stalled
In June 2021, it was announced that Fuller and Blumhouse were revving up a new take onChristine. A lifelong King fan himself, Fuller later took toThe Kingcastpodcast to talk about his love for the book and how his version would differ from Carpenter’s. While a fan of the 1983 version, Fuller stated his movie would be way more faithful. For instance, instead of just making Christine herself an evil car,Fuller’s reboot would restore the idea that Arnie was being possessed by the spirit of Christine’s previous owner, Roland LeBay.
While Fuller submitted a script to King in late 2021, little has been heard of his remake in the aftermath. In the years since, Fuller attached himself to oversee theFriday the 13thprequel seriesCrystal Lake, only to exit the show in 2024 over creative differences. He also wrote and directed his feature debut,Dust Bunny, a horror movie starring hisHanniballeading man Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver; the movie’s release date is currently TBC.
It’s possible Fuller’s Christine remake is just stuck in development but will eventually move ahead, but for me, I kind of hope it doesn’t happen.
It’s possible Fuller’s involvement with these projects pushed back his involvement withChristine, but the near total radio silence since 2021 isn’t a good sign. It likely didn’t help that several other King remakes likeFirestarterandSalem’s Lotwere greeted with shrugs. It’s possible Fuller’s remake is just stuck in development but will eventually move ahead, but for me, I kind of hope itdoesn’thappen.Fuller is such a unique voice I’d love to see him create his own original work instead.
John Carpenter’s Christine Doesn’t Need A Remake
Even if Stephen King finds it “boring”
For his part,Carpenter has no issues with Fuller remakingChristine, stating toTotal Filmin 2023: “Well, good luck to him. It will probably be better.”Carpenter has softened his stance on his adaptation over the years, coming to recognize that a lot of people love it for its sometimes painful look at teen adolescence and jealousy, and the tearing apart of a male friendship - in this case caused by a demonic car. Again, it’s not that scary, but Carpenter still conjured up an atmospheric chiller.
It’s a movie that might underwhelm on initial viewing (as it did for me, admittedly), butChristinegets better every time you rewatch it. It could be argued it’s too long and in need of a 10 to 15-minute trim, and some of the performances by the younger cast are lacking, but these are minor faults.One person who wasn’t a fan was King, with the author calling Carpenter’sChristine"…kind of boring,“and that he would have preferred a bad film to a dull one (viaDreamcatcher: The Shooting Script).
Carpenter admittedly trimmed a lot of material from the book, but most of his cuts were smart. There is no way to neatly pack such a thick novel into a two-hour runtime, so a lot of character details and subtext were lost. Fuller could no doubt dig into those elements, but if that were to happen,a miniseries adaptation ofChristinefeels like a better fit than a new film.
Stephen King Movie Remakes Rarely Improve On The Original
King remakes could use a nice long break
King is one of the most adapted authors of all time, and most of his books have received movie to TV translations. In fact, the most popular novels likeCarrie,Pet Sematary,Salem’s Lot, and so on have received multiple versions - but almost none have improved on the original.Remakes like 2013’sCarrieorFirestartersold themselves on being truer to the source material, which did little to elevate them above the previous filmsin terms of box office or reviews.
Ironically, one of Bryan Fuller’s first big projects was writing the pilot for a proposedCarrieTV series; the pilot later aired as a standalone TV film in 2002 that was poorly received.
It could be argued thatIT: Chapter One was better than the 1990s miniseries, but even then, the latter is still deeply creepy. If Fuller remains attached, aChristineremake might have merit, but if it moves forward it will probably be with a different director who will sand the most interesting elements off - which will only highlight how good Carpenter’s take was.
Christine
Cast
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.
Stephen King
Discover the latest news and filmography for Stephen King, known for The Dark Tower series, The Stand, IT, The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, Misery, the Bill Hodges trilogy, and more.
