How did thy film the special effects in Christine?

Answer 1

Two of the best special effects in the movie are the scene when Christine "rebuilds" herself and the scene when Christine is on fire driving down the road chasing one of the people she kills. The "rebuild" effects were created by placing hydraulic rams/pistons on the inside of Christine's body panels. These rams were then retracted, pulling the sheet metal inward. Sort of like sucking the air out of a tin can and having it collapse into itself. The film shot was then reversed in the movie making it look as though Christine was able to regenerate herself. The fire scene was done by pouring contact cement over Christine and then using and accelerant to ignite the cement. Because the contact cement is sticky, the fire stays on the car as it's moving, creating the "car from Hell" look, chasing her unlucky prey down the road PS - over 25 cars were used in the movie.