13 Horror Movie Rides That Were Pure Evil
The 1968 classic action/thriller Bullitt established the automobile as a legitimate movie hero but also gave us the first villain car. The foil of Steve McQueen’s character’s ’68 Ford Mustang GT was a black ’68 Dodge Charger R/T that had an ominous screen presence, which planted the seed that cars could be bad guys. Demons, malevolent spirits, chainsaw-wielding maniacs, and even killer clowns make for some great horror movie antagonists, but so do cars. In fact, some of the baddest psychos in the genre have been automotive in nature, and so we give you the 13 most evil horror movie rides of all time. Granted, some of these were actual good-guy cars, but they were still wicked as hell as well as being film icons.
13
1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7
From Dusk Till Dawn
The 1996 Robert Rodriguez black comedy/horror From Dusk Till Dawn is mostly about a family fighting off hordes of vicious vampires, but the actual bad guys in the flick are the very human Gecko Brothers, played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino. The Geckos are fugitive bank robbers who get psycho on pretty much everybody, and they do most of it in a 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7. The movie muscle car started out as a pristine set of wheels, but its exterior was roughed up to more fit the characters, and it was given an aftermarket hood scoop to make it look extra badass. While there is no concrete evidence of this, rumors are that the ’68 Cougar XR-7 was given an engine swap from possibly a 427 V8 to a modern Ford 5.0. We choose to believe this is fake news, simply because it would be pure insanity to do such a thing, even for a movie.
12
1964 DRAG-U-LA Coffin Dragster
Munster, Go Home!
Herman Munster may have been kind of a square, both in demeanor and the shape of his head, but he had some pretty damn cool rides. The Munster Koach, which was the family daily driver, was a gonzo custom hot rod, and then there was the DRAG-U-LA coffin-based dragster. The Munsters was a TV series, but it also spun off some movies, like 1966’s Munster, Go Home, which actually had very little to do with racing but had racing nonetheless. Ironically, Herman entered the DRAG-U-LA dragster in a road race, not a drag race. The movie car was built by legendary customizer George Barris’ company and was based around a real coffin that was purchased from a funeral home. It featured a 350-horsepower 289 Ford Mustang V8 with a dual-quad carb setup and straight pipes. That replica pictured above is exact to the smallest detail and is autographed by Barris as well as Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster.
11
1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance Ecto-1
Ghostbusters
Many people assume that the custom emergency vehicle from Ghostbusters was called the Ghostbusters-mobile, but it was actually named the “Ecto-1.” This presumably comes from ectoplasm, which is the ghostly goo that Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, got slimed with in the first picture. The Ecto-1 was a 1959 Cadillac that coach builder Miller-Meteor transformed into either an ambulance or hearse. The vehicle was over 20-feet long and was equipped with a 390 V8. In the film, Ray Stantz, portrayed by Dan Aykroyd, bought the Ecto-1 for $4,800, which seems like a lot for a car that he admitted needed brakes, suspension, steering, transmission, and exhaust work, especially in 1984 when the movie took place. As for all of that equipment on the roof, there are obviously lights and sirens, but also mythical sensors that detect paranormal activity. So, if there’s something strange in your neighborhood, you know exactly who to call.
10
1970 Chevrolet Nova SS
Death Proof
Quentin Tarantino wears his influences on his sleeve and all of his films pay homage to the movies that inspired him to take up filmmaking, and Death Proof is no different. The 2007 car chase/slasher gives nods to the “Eleanor” car from Gone in 60 Seconds, the white Challenger from Vanishing Point and the aforementioned black Charger from Bullitt, but it’s the murder car that’s the star of this flick. Kurt Russell plays a psycho stuntman who tricks young women into riding in his 1970 Chevy Nova SS that has been made “death-proof” for movie stunt work, and then crashes it on purpose, killing his victims. This is easily the most innovative and cool murder weapon in any film, and the skull with crossed lightning bolts on the hood of the Nova makes it that much more awesome.
9
1941 Chevrolet COE Truck
Jeepers Creepers
The Creeper from the Jeepers Creepers film franchise is a mysterious supernatural monster that needs human body parts to replace his own failing physique, making him something like a project car or resto-mod, only more demonic. Speaking of evil rides, the Creeper drives a 1941 Chevy COE (Cab Over Engine) truck that he uses primarily to transport dead bodies. It, too, is a custom piece of work with armor plating, a cow-catcher, and plenty of interior booby-traps to take care of nosy humans. While an OG ’41 Chevy COE truck would have had a modest 90-horsepower 216 inline-six, the Creeper’s ride has otherworldly power that could run down a European supercar. The truck’s license plate, by the way, is “BEATNGU” which stands for “be eating you” because that’s how the Creeper replenishes his body.
8
2007 Shelby GT500
I Am Legend
The 2007 Will Smith film I Am Legend is actually a remake of the 1971 Charlton Heston movie Omega Man, which itself is a remake of the 1964 Vincent Price classic The Last Man On Earth. What all three have in common is that a virus has virtually wiped out humanity, leaving a bunch of nocturnal zombie/vampires in its wake. In the updated version, Smith plays a scientist who is working on a cure, and he has the run of all of Manhattan Island, which he traverses in a 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 with a 500-horsepower 5.4-liter supercharged V8. It’s unclear how he is fueling this magnificent piece of American muscle up, but that’s hardly the biggest problem with this film. There’s a scene in which Smith’s character has to kill his dog because it has become infected, and this editor finds that one of the most difficult to watch segments in any movie, even more so than Ned Beatty in Deliverance.
7
1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III
The Car
The 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III in the 1977 supernatural horror The Car is the original soulless serial killer that undoubtedly inspired Michael Myers from the Halloween movies and Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise. The ominous black car doesn’t appear to have a driver, and it kills indiscriminately, making it the first faceless slasher in cinematic history. The movie car was actually a badass custom job from George Barris with a chopped roof, dropped suspension, and raised fenders, rounded out by some fat Cragar wheels. This was literally the low rider from hell and its matte black finish only helped sell the evil. The car was equipped with a Ford 460ci big-block, which would have given it decent performance, but with evil rides like this, it can harness all the powers of hell, so there’s no need to put it on a dyno. For the record, the car’s unique horn spells out the letter “X” in Morse code.
6
1959 Ford Thunderbird 76A
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is definitely not the scariest thing anyone has ever seen, unless you invested in the film, as it was a colossal commercial flop. Elvira portrayer Cassandra Peterson, however, is horror movie royalty and so her ride from that otherwise dreadful film deserves a spot on this list. Her custom 1959 Ford Thunderbird 76A is one of the most wicked, and surprisingly cheap horror movie cars ever. Once again, George Barris stepped in to create a masterpiece, with a killer spiderweb grille, winged banshee hood ornament, skull gear shifter, and leopard-print upholstery. Apparently, the base car was purchased for just $2,500 right off Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles, and then Barris put another $7,000 into modifications. In 2016, Danny Koker from Count’s Kustoms of the Counting Cars reality series gave the “Macabre Mobile” a refresh, including a new coat of paint.
5
1968 Dodge Charger Custom
Blade
Wesley Snipes’ 1998 film Blade is considered a superhero movie, but because it involves a half-vampire who hunts and kills full vampires, we see it as a straightforward horror film. We also love Blade’s ride, which is a custom 1968 Dodge Charger. Often cast in a bad guy role, as we’ve already mentioned, Blade gave the second-gen Charger a chance to finally be a hero car. The Charger is equipped with an underappreciated 330-horsepower 383 Magnum V8, but it also has a nitrous kit, so it can run down anything evil. Also, it has UV headlights capable of vaporizing the undead, as well as secret compartments containing Blade’s weapons stash. The Charger’s matte black finish helps it disappear into the night and sneak up on vampires, because it blends into the darkness. Then again, even a 383 big-block sounds pretty gnarly and isn’t the stealthiest of engines.
4
1984 Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor
The Wraith
In the early 1980s Dodge built the M4S Turbo interceptor concept car to be used as a PPG pace car, but they should have put it into regular production because it was so freakin’ awesome. Besides the design, which was amazing, the M4S had a twin-turbo 2.2-liter I-4 that produced 400 horsepower and rocketed this car to a 4.1-second 0-60, with a nearly 200 MPH top speed. Dodge just kind of let this concept fade away, but producers of 1986 Charlie Sheen supernatural horror The Wraith saw it as the perfect ghost car. In the film, the car is presumably the manifestation of Sheen’s character’s dead brother, who takes violent revenge against those who killed him. The story is messy with major plot holes that you could drive a Dodge concept vehicle through, but the M4S Turbo Interceptor holds your attention throughout the entire film, simply due to how killer this killer car is.
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