There's a day in the year that we really enjoy because it gives us an excuse to do daft things, and that day is nearly upon us once again. Yes, we love Halloween. We mean the ancient, All Hallows Evening festival rather than the famous John Carpenter movie Halloween but, actually, that's pretty cool too.
Fans of weird movies and TV shows are used to accepting certain whacky ideas without question. In the world of horror, fantasy and science fiction, this acceptance of the improbable is known as 'suspension of disbelief'. It's the ability to temporarily ignore that part of one's brain that would normally go "Wait… What? This is silly". Suspension of disbelief lets us immerse ourselves in creepy tales of ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies and alien kidnappers.
Beware of killer cars
Surprisingly, the rapid advances in science and technology that we have made from the 20th century until the present day have not heralded the rational, analytical rejection of superstition. Countless people still read their horoscopes, visit psychics and believe in ghosts; a few have genuinely made contingency plans for the zombie apocalypse. In fact, technology has given us new directions in which to explore our cultural obsession with the weird. These days, it's not just people who get possessed by spirits and demons: machinery is also vulnerable to the influence of evil. Beware of killer cars.
Iconic cars and trucks
The USA is, unquestionably, the most car-obsessed nation in the world. The distances people need to travel, coupled with the cultural importance of the automobile mean that cars are omnipresent in all forms of entertainment from art and music to TV shows and movies. The horror genre, whether dramatic or comedic, has produced some iconic, engine-driven stars of the small and large screen. As Halloween approaches, we've put together a list of our top 6 most memorable creepy TV and movie cars and trucks. You can also check out our Halloween-themed number plates too.
1963: Tipi Hedren's Aston Martin from The Birds
Although it wasn't possessed, evil or even creepy, we had to mention the Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe MkI driven by Tippi Hedren in the 1963 Hitchcock film The Birds. For one thing, the DB2/4 is one of the very few British cars to feature prominently in a major horror movie; for another, it is just a very cool car. The one driven by Hedren in the film displayed California number plate RUJ 655.
1964: The Munster Koach and the Addams Family Packard V12
The Addams Family and The Munsters were two creepy comedy shows broadcast on American television from 1964. Both shows featured grotesque, even monstrous, characters with hearts of gold. The Munsters were a diverse, working class family of monsters including a father who looked like Frankenstein's creation, a werewolf son and a vampire grandfather. The more affluent Addams Family were human but bizarrely, good-naturedly violent and surrounded by supporting characters whose various species could be harder to define. Both families were sociable and well-meaning but both were viewed as frightening by outsiders.
We felt that we had to combine these two cars in one entry as they, like their host shows, feel almost related. Both series were thematically similar and both were broadcast during the same period.
The Munster Koach was, itself, a bit of a Frankensteinian affair. It was constructed with parts from several Ford automobiles, including the bodies of three Model Ts, and a Ford V8 engine. The finished item was an 18-foot long, gothic extravaganza that is reputed to be the inspiration for The Gruesome Twosome's car, the Creepy Coupe, in the children's cartoon show The Wacky Races. Sadly, we have been unable to ascertain the Koach's licence plate number - if it ever had one.
The Addams Family car was rather less outlandish but just as striking in its way. Unlike the Munster Koach, the Addams family's 1933 Packard V12 was a standard production car. The only cosmetic modification done for its appearance in the show was the addition of a chrome vulture hood mascot. What the Packard lacked in eccentricity it more than made up for in sheer luxury and quality. As with the Munster Koach, we have found no record of any number plates displayed on the Addams Packard.
1971 The truck from Duel
This one had rather more than four wheels and is the first real villain of our piece. The 1971 TV movie Duel was Steven Spielberg's first full-length feature and was the vehicle (pun deliberate) that launched him on his trajectory to directorial stardom. The movie, about a motorist who is pursued and nearly killed by a psychotic truck driver, starred Denis Weaver who was the only human being on-screen for most of the movie. That isolation of the main character enhanced the feeling of fear and paranoia that the audience shared with a man alone, pursued by a relentless homicidal lunatic.
The Duel truck, a 1955 Peterbilt 281, rather makes up for the absence of number plates on the Addams and Munster cars above, as its front bumper sported no fewer than six licence plates - and even more than that in some scenes. It was suggested (allegedly by Spielberg) that the plates on the murderous 18-wheeler were trophies from previous road rage murders, but discussion on the Reddit website claims that they would actually have been a legal requirement for trucks travelling between states. This second theory cites supporting evidence in the fact that some of the plates show the codes HUP (Highway use Permit), INT (interstate) or MC (Motor Carrier).
For those who can't live without knowing, the truck's number plates were 2 471 (Wyoming), 20864 (Nevada), 4017 (Idaho), 58367 (Arizona), 4091 (Montana), 5312 (New Mexico) and, in some scenes, X 26967 (California).
1983 The Christine Plymouth Fury
Another movie with the vehicle as aggressor is John Carpenter's Christine. In this adaptation from the Stephen King novel of the same name, the eponymous Christine is a 1958 Plymouth Fury that has somehow become both possessed and murderous, not features people generally look for in a used car. As well as that tendency to bring people's lives to an abrupt end, the Plymouth displays the ability to repair itself. This, of course, makes ending its serial killings a bit tricky.
Christine's distinctive red and white colour scheme was a custom job. In fact, the entire run of 1958 Fury cars was only made in Sandstone White. This contrast between Christine and other Plymouths can be seen in factory shots that appear early in the movie. The Plymouth's on-screen licence plate was California CQB 241.
2001 The Creeper's 1941 Chevrolet COE from Jeepers Creepers
Our last instantly recognisable baddy-mobile is the modified 1941 Chevy Cab Over Engine from Victor Salva's Jeepers Creepers. Basically a monster/slasher hybrid movie, Jeepers Creepers tells the story of two college students being pursued by a demonic serial murderer. The film was very popular and, despite mixed reviews, performed well at the box office.
With its potential established, Jeepers Creepers spawned two sequels, imaginatively named Jeepers Creepers 2 and Jeepers Creepers 3. It also inspired a reboot, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, released in September 2022. Reborn was intended to be the first in a new trilogy but overwhelmingly negative reviews and reported legal issues don't bode well for its future.
The truck in the film began life as a flatbed but the film's production designer rebuilt the back into the sinister box design seen on screen. It's a shame someone didn't also rebuild the old engine, as the truck broke down repeatedly during filming.
The vanity plate displayed by The Creeper's Chevy was BEATNGU. At first glance, the kids interpret its meaning as "Beating you". As the movie's plot and backstory are revealed, however, the real meaning becomes clear: "Be eating you".
I could list many more great examples of evil vehicles in really scary films but it's getting dark outside and, um, I think I'd like to stop now. I was going to go for a drive this evening but, on second thoughts, that can wait until tomorrow.
If you know a great horror movie/car connection that we've missed, please let us know via our social media. If we get enough good examples we may do another list next Halloween.
