Folks, I’m sure you know the drill by now. Our buddy Oliver Noble is putting together a supercut for Halloween. You know that climactic moment in a horror film when someone’s getting chased by a bad guy, so they jump in their car and turn the key, BUT IT WON’T START?! Or maybe they’re already in the car, but it breaks down at the worst possible moment? The theme is “Crucial Car Trouble.” We need your help thinking of specific instances from specific movies. Does anything jump to mind? Weigh in below.
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False Alarms?
My bad. Thought you were looking for cliches in general. Wasn’t paying too much attention.
At least 400 times in Jeepers Creepers.
Seconded
That shot towards the end of “The Blues Brothers” where all the parts fall off the car should definitely make the cut
[www.horrormovies.org]
Silence of the Lambs
Cujo?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre… the original.
I don’t know that either of these technically fit the bill, but they are the first ones that come to mind.
Scream – Towards the end when Courtney Cox gets into the car but can’t find the keys, then the killer taps on the window with his knife and jingles the keys in front of her.
Terminator 2 – John runs away from the T-1000 in the mall and jumps on his bike but it won’t start, and he does the infamous voice crack yell, “come ON!”
Jamie-Lee curtis, Tom Atkins, and the kid in THE FOG is a personal favourite, right after the granny gets it, also Escape from New York near the end when it doesn’t start because someone replaced the engine with a bandana man wielding a crossbow.
C thomas Howell cowering in the police jeep gunning the faltering starter while Rutger Hauers Hitcher slowly approaches with a wry smirk, unloading his shotgun into the bonnet.
Reese Witherspoon in Freeway. Stephen King’s Misery.
I forget which movies a lot of these are from, but you should use some of the clips from this 90′s chevy ad: [www.youtube.com] (Yes Chevy apparently invented the horror movie supercut.)
The trailer for the Chernobyl Diaries.
Hmm..Texas Chainsaw Massacre?
Vacancy
Poltergeist.
Craig T. is more just fiddlin’ with his keys though…
Dead Snow.
Was at the end of the movie. Bonus points for Nazi gold. The evilest currency.
I’m sure there are horrific scenes using this trope for ‘comedic’ effect in both the first Transformers and the Herbie remake. So there.
I feel like I Know What You Did Last Summer has to have a lot of this. The trouble did start with the car at least.
The Howling – Dee & the dude trying to get the Mazda started as werewolves scratch at the windows.
The Mist. Car runs out of gas in the middle of the mist.
I’m pretty sure it happens once or twice in Tremors.
Friday the 13th part 2, character jumps in a yellow vw while running from jason, car won’t start.
I also recall it happening in The Hills Have Eyes and 28 Days Later.
Dennis Weaver’s Dodge Dart over-heating when the truck is chasing him up the hill in Duel.
Yes, in Tremors right before the car gets sucked underground at the construction site.
Another Friday the 13th one is part six when the RV is stuck in the mud.
Remake of Night of the Living Dead when Barbara is at the cemetary
28 Weeks Later when Jeremy Renner has to resort to pushing the car
It’s not horror but Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when Cameron is trying to start his car.
Urban Legend opening scene…