Halloween brings out the crazy costumes and harrowing horror films. But it’s not just houses that are haunted. Some of the best creepy, campy and downright funny fright flicks feature cars hell-bent on devilish destruction. Here are a few of E3 Spark Plugs‘ top scary car flick picks for this Halloween season, starring a classic hearse, a monster-driven monster truck, an 80s-tastic streetcar and a shape shifter than can take on just about any automotive form.
- Super Hybrid, 2011: When a mysterious, sleek black car is brought into the Chicago police impound garage after a deadly late-night accident, the on-call mechanics soon realize that something’s not quite right. The parts don’t feel metallic and it apparently runs not on fuel, but on blood. As it starts to terrorize the crew, the true horror is revealed – this shape-shifter can take the form of any make and model, turning the plot into a deadly game of hide (in plain sight)-and-seek.
- The Hearse, 1980: Starting over after a messy divorce, the lovely Jane Hardy moves into the home she inherits from her late aunt in the small town of Blackford. Going through her aunt’s things, Jane soon learns the secrets that the woman had kept from family, but that were all too well known by the local townsfolk – she was devil-worshipping, witchcraft-practicing old lady. That’s a bit of information Jane might have appreciated pre-relocation. Pretty soon, she finds herself followed by a creepy, classic hearse and a mysterious driver. Turns out that upon her death, the hearse carrying the aunt’s body crashed, but no sign of the driver or of the coffin were ever found. Could it be that she and her post-mortem escort are back? Or might the young hottie Jane has begun dating actually be the crazed, creepy chauffer?
- The Wraith, 1986: Big hair and big scares abound in this 80s-tastic horror flick starring a young and handsome pre-meltdown Charlie Sheen. Set in an Arizona desert town, the local thugs led by PackardWalsh (Nick Cassavetes) force drivers to drag race and jack their rides. Dead-set on winning any and everything he wants, Walsh stabs to death the neighborhood decent kid, Jamie, and moves in on Jamie’s girlfriend, Keri. Enter the mysterious new guy, Jake, a motorcycle driving king of cool with a sleek, black car that can’t be beat on the drag racing scene. Jake makes his own romantic moves on Keri and takes Jamie’s sweet brother under his wing. Pretty soon, Walsh’s criminal gang starts dropping like flies. By the way, watch for the roller skating waitress – an unknown and uncredited hottie named Brooke Burke.
- Monster Man, 2003: This one ain’t for the cinematic snobs. If you don’t take your horror too seriously, Monster Man is a guaranteed laugh. Geeky Adam and knucklehead Harley hit the road in their 1970 Chevrolet Kingswood bent on crashing the wedding of Adam’s ex-girlfriend, Betty-Ann. They stop in at a bar and Harley makes fun of patrons watching monster truck rally on TV. Bad move. Soon after they leave, a giant monster truck shows up and drives them off the road. The bumbling duo makes the mistake of siphoning gas from a seemingly abandoned RV and thinks their luck is back on track when they pick up Sarah a hot hitchhiker dressed for a night at the club. Another bad move. The ensuing antics include severed body parts, hotel road kill, a deformed monster truck-driving psycho and a revelation that the lovely Sarah is not what she seems – plus a fantastic, finned 1962 Cadillac hearse. Gags, grossness and gore galore.
What’s your favorite movie about a haunted ride? Post your killer car flick picks on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page.