Stephen King's "Christine": Honoring the horny hot rod and so-called bad adaptation 40 years on

Taking inventory of the full spectrum of nightmares that Stephen King has crafted over the course of his career, most fall under the classification of dark, even darker and pitch black. With both the book and the film celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year, it's as good a time as any to look back at King's horny hot rod story and how — despite the author himself calling the adaptation "boring" — it's one of the better "bad" movies sprung from his creations, due in large part to director John Carpenter and its ability to match the truly bonkers energy of the source material. After rewatching "Christine" for the first time in ages recently, I would say that, yes, it is bad, but in a delightful way that's just perfect for a fall afternoon watch. It's got "teens" that appear to be in their 40s fighting with switchblades, a great soundtrack that meshes '50s classics with that signature Carpenter score, Harry Dean Stanton as a slick detective who investigates the murders caused by this car for all of five minutes and a lustful, vengeful vehicle with a truly TBD backstory that even King can't be bothered to fully explain. Roping in some experts from my Rolodex to back me up on my campaign to vindicate "Christine" as a "bad" film worthy of a respectful 40th anniversary celebration, I called upon Michael Roffman, Executive Producer of "The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast" and Justin Johnson and Lindsay Reber, hosts of the podcast "Don't Push Pause."