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They should have come up with something better for Darnell's death

posted 2 years ago by MaximRecoil (4644)
16 replies | jump to latest

Darnell's death was even less believable than Buddy Repperton running straight down the middle of the road rather than veering off to the left or right into the field, and even less believable than Christine having enough traction to force "herself" into that too-narrow opening to kill Moochie.

No one voluntarily gets in and sits down in a car that was recently engulfed in flames, still so hot that smoke is pouring off it and the door handle instantly burns your hand, complete with a sizzling sound. He would have felt a blast of hot air when opening that door worse than you get when opening the door of a hot oven (just think of how hot a car interior is when it's been sitting in the sun on a hot day with the windows rolled up; now imagine if it had recently been engulfed in flames and still had smoke rolling off it), and the smell/fumes from all the burning seat foam rubber, vinyl seat skins, rayon and nylon carpeting, paint, etc., would have been horrendous.

Even if he, inexplicably, wanted to brave the probably 250-or-more-degrees air temperature in there and the potent smell/fumes just so he could pretend he was driving like 5-year-old kids like to do, the steel seat springs would have burned his ass just like the door handle burned his hand.

Even as a kid I found that scene completely unbelievable. And even if the car had had time to cool down, the scene still wouldn't have been believable. Why would a grizzled, cantankerous old junkyard owner be interested in pretending to drive a trashed car, especially one that's been on fire and will leave soot all over your clothes?

[–] LadyBug (133) 2 years ago

I don't think he was pretending to drive it. Just drunk and walked over to it and got in, probably not believing what he was seeing.

As for Buddy running down the street:
1) The car probably could have followed into the field, given that it could chase him while engulfed in flames
2) Buddy wasn't that smart - he was at least 30 and still in high school

[–] MaximRecoil (4644) 2 years ago

"I don't think he was pretending to drive it."

Yes, he was. Watch the scene again. He puts his hands up on the steering wheel in a driving position just before the radio turns on by itself.

"Just drunk and walked over to it and got in, probably not believing what he was seeing."

Where did you get the idea that he was drunk? In any case, whether or not he was drunk or pretending to drive doesn't matter; what matters is that the car's interior would have been like an oven and full of hot, noxious fumes from burning plastic, rubber, and paint, and the seat springs would have burned his ass, like I've already said. Yet he's sitting inside there with no signs of discomfort, let alone pain, whatsoever, which isn't even remotely believable.

"1) The car probably could have followed into the field, given that it could chase him while engulfed in flames"

That doesn't matter. Tires, especially summer tires like Christine had, can't get anywhere near as much traction on grass as they can on pavement, which drastically reduces how fast the car can accelerate. Then all Buddy has to do is take ordinary evasive action, i.e., stopping and changing direction a lot. A person on foot can stop and turn on a dime. Christine on the other hand, weighed about 4,500 pounds and therefore had way more momentum than a person on foot, and a far greater turning radius. Evading that car in a field would be as easy as falling off a log, especially since it wouldn't take long for a car like Christine to get completely stuck in a field like that, due to the uneven terrain and lack of traction and ground clearance.

"2) Buddy wasn't that smart - he was at least 30 and still in high school "

Even elementary school kids know how to evade; just watch them play a game of "tag" sometime. Also, where did you get the idea that he was at least 30? The actor playing him was only 24 when the movie was released, and 23 during filming. He was only about 16½ months older than Keith Gordon who played Arnie, and about 18 months older than John Stockwell who played Dennis.

[–] LadyBug (133) 2 years ago

" Also, where did you get the idea that he was at least 30?"

That was a joke, given how old the actor looked. I first saw the movie as a child, and actually thought Buddy was some guy who (for whatever reason) was just hanging out in the shop class because I thought he looked too old for high school.
The other 2 actors didn't look as old as the one playing Buddy.

I just watched the Darnell death scene again. I don't know why I thought I remembered him being drunk.

[–] StinkyPoopyPants (3121) a year ago

[deleted]

[–] StinkyPoopyPants (3121) a year ago

Do you always copy other people's jokes?

"[–] LadyBug (67) 3 months ago
I don't think he was pretending to drive it. Just drunk and walked over to it and got in, probably not believing what he was seeing.

As for Buddy running down the street:
1) The car probably could have followed into the field, given that it could chase him while engulfed in flames
2) Buddy wasn't that smart - he was at least 30 and still in high school"

From the "Why didn't that fatass just get on top of anything away from Christine?" thread 11 years ago:

"[–] Catnip86 11 years ago
Nobody said any of them were geniuses.

Look at Buddy - he was about 30 years old and still in high school"

Sound familiar? 🙄

[–] LadyBug (133) a year ago

Oh you are so right! I sit and go through all the threads looking for things to repeat. I am sure nobody on any board ever unknowingly repeated what someone else said.
Do you always need to (try to) cut other people down to make yourself feel better?

[–] StinkyPoopyPants (3121) a year ago

"I am sure nobody on any board ever unknowingly repeated what someone else said."

You didn't. That's why you are so defensive and angry about it. Truth hurts.

And no, I don't always cut people down. I just call them out on their BS. Feel better now?

Ps. Welcome to my ignore list. Cheers!

[–] [deleted] a year ago

Yeah, the manner of his death is iffy but my bigger problem with it is that Darnell is Arnie's only real ally as far as Christine should be concerned. I know in the book that Darnell isn't the stand-up grandfatherly figure he is in the movie but something should have been written into the movie to make it more understandable.

[–] PaladinNJ (21525) a year ago

seems to me the simplest explanation is that Darnell witnessed Christine moving on her own. He had to go.

[–] e3e34ifj (1912) a year ago

The deaths are the weakest and cheesiest parts of the movie for me. The fat guy willingly stands there and lets himself get smushed against a wall by a slow moving car, when he could have easily stepped onto the hood on walked over the roof to escape. The diet John Travolta guy dies because he's jogging in the middle of the road like an idiot and he could've just jumped to the side, as if he seriously thought he could outrun a car on foot. I wish Carpenter would've filmed it so that Christine rammed into at top speed instead of slowly cruising behind him and nudging him to death. Why Darnell would just sit in a burning car for no reason is the third dumbest death in the movie. Even Arnie's death is way too sudden and a bit unclear. Was it an accident? Did Christine intentionally make him fly from the windshield? Why not wear a fuckin seat belt when trying to murder people?

[–] pjl69 (2647) a year ago

Darnell was probably lured in by Christine, like Arnie fell in love with her. Never had problems with the other deaths. You don't necessarily think rationally if you panic. I've seen Christine more like a twisted love story and drama, rather than horror and that's why the deaths aren't so important to me. These guys were assholes anyhow, so I didn't relate to them.

[–] e3e34ifj (1912) a year ago

I get what you mean. I love Christine and think it's an excellent film, but the deaths only work because the characters dying are total idiots. I always wondered if Darnell was supposed to be hypnotized.

[–] strntz (12459) a year ago

The fat guy willingly stands there and lets himself get smushed against a wall by a slow moving car, when he could have easily stepped onto the hood on walked over the roof to escape.

I don't think anything would have saved fatass, including jumping on top of Christine. If he managed to jump on the hood/roof and then run off her trunk, Christine could have backed up over him.

Buddy not only ran down the middle of the road, I think he was actually straddling the yellow line? LOL. I know a lot of nits are picked after watching a movie a dozen times, but Buddy running down the middle of a paved road with a car following him with the intent to kill him is something you wonder while you're watching the very first time through.

I guess the best we can say was that he saw his own car totaled, the gas station exploding into flames, and two of his friends dying was enough to give him PTSD or otherwise cause panic to the point of losing all sense of where he was, not to mention he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed even when he wasn't scared shitless.

[–] Ant1238 (916) a year ago

I know it's annoying when people chime in about how different the book is, but since I'm annoying anyways...that's not how it happens in the book!! Haha. He has an absolutely insane death in the novel that would have been/still would be amazing to see on the big screen. Would have been tough to pull off back then I suppose, but would have been worth it to try! He was also a much bigger character in the book. The actor here did a really great job in his 2 scenes, would have been great to see more of him.

[–] strntz (12459) a year ago

My wife and I were talking about that last night. No way Darnell gets into a burned, smoking, smelly car.

Given that Christine was supernatural, it would have made more sense if Darnell opened the door on that burned out hulk and found a pristine Christine inside. I mean, 50s cars were really colorfully and beautifully appointed (OK, gaudy sometimes) inside as well as out.

If Christine was perfect inside, it would make sense for Darnell to climb inside and enjoy the view.

[–] ImAComputer (288) 2 months ago

I might be having a "Mandela Effect" but I remember someone getting strangled by the steering wheel. Not the junkyard squishing scene, but someone with their head near the driver's seat, getting choked to death by the steering wheel. I know there's a lot of deleted scenes. Maybe the TV edit is what I am remembering? (I just re-watched it on YT today)