Kill Counter! Put the pedal to the metal & clock the kills from The Car!

September 2nd 2020, 12:18pm

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Ever wondered how many people lose their lives in any particular horror movie? Well, we've got you covered with THE KILL COUNTER, our hit new series takes out all of the guesswork and counts out each and every death on (and sometimes off) screen. Break out your calculator and try to keep up!

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In this episode, we take to the backroads and deserted desert highways to take on Elliot Silverstein's THE CAR (WATCH IT HERE) with James Brolin (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR), Ronny Cox (ROBOCOP), and real-life sisters Kim Richards (ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13) and Kyle Richards (HALLOWEEN). The late Church of Satan leader Anton LaVey was a "Technical Adviser" on the film and his "Invocation of Destruction" quote is used in the opening credits.

Here's the – no pun intended – rundown on the flick if you've somehow never had the pleasure…

Two bicyclists are run down by a strange black car in the desert near a small town in Utah. But this is just the first in a series of hit-and-run murders. Sheriff Wade Parents (James Brolin) is called in to investigate, and his deputy, Everett (John Marley), is killed by the black sedan, which, some witnesses say, has no one behind its wheel. When the car threatens a local school parade, the lives of the town's children and Wade's teacher girlfriend, Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd), are endangered.

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Written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack, and Lane Slate, the film was unleashed in 1977 and was influenced by the classic "road movies" of the 1970s such as Roger Corman's DEATH RACE 2000. Personally, I like to think of it as a kick-ass mixture of Steven Spielberg's DUEL and JAWS.

Produced by Silverstein and Marvin Birdt, the film features music by Leonard Rosenman (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE) and cinematography by Gerald Hirschfeld (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN). Universal released it into a theater near your grandparents back on May 13, 1977. WATCH THE CAR HERE!