Stephen King has written some of the best horror stories that have ever been committed to film. Whether it’s the car-gone-amok in Christine, the haunted hotel of The Shining, or the nightmarish clown of It, King knows how to twist something familiar and make it menacing. Not all of King’s stories translate well to the screen. For example, take a look at Dreamcatcher or 1408. You’d think, however, that if King himself wrote the script and directed the movie, he would know how to get the best possible result from his own material. Well, you’d be wrong.
Maximum Overdrive was released in 1986 and written for the screen and directed by Stephen King. Based on his short story, “Trucks,” Maximum Overdrive begins with a title card that explains that the Earth is traveling through the tail of a comet. Suddenly, machines all over the world begin to come alive and attack humans.
The movie focuses on the Dixie Boy Truck Stop outside Wilmington, North Carolina. As the machines begin their uprising, the truck stop becomes a sort of oasis for several people, including ex-convict Bill (Emilio Estevez), hitchhiker Brett (Laura Harrington), newlyweds Curtis and Connie (John Short and Yeardley Smith), and the truck stop’s owner, Bubba (Pat Hingle). They find themselves trapped because sentient trucks, led by one with a giant Green Goblin on the front, have circled the truck stop like a wagon train.
While we hear radio reports that machines of all types have gone berserk, what we see in the movie is mostly anything with a motor coming to life. Trucks, cars, and even lawnmowers spontaneously start themselves and hunt down human beings. We do also see a soda vending machine attack a little league team and a drawbridge that raises without warning during heavy traffic. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to which machines come alive and which do not.
If you’re looking for a plot synopsis, that’s it. That’s all that really passes for a story. There is an attempt made at creating tension by having the truck stop survivors plan an escape but it makes about as much sense as the premise. Really, the movie is just an excuse to have cars and trucks explode and people die — all to the sounds of AC/DC, who scored the film.
Stephen King is not a great director by any stretch of the imagination. To be fair, he has admitted that he was “coked out of his mind” while making the movie. King does put together a convincing set-up with the chaotic drawbridge scene but, beyond that, he never manages to put together any other action or suspense sequences of merit.
Although, clearly meant as a B-movie, there’s no consistent tone. Sometimes, it’s a comedy. Sometimes, it’s a splatterfest. And, it’s riddled with plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. (Pun intended.) At worst, Maximum Overdrive is a mildly amusing B-movie that’s definitely not meant to be taken seriously. It’s certainly not King’s best work but I’d rather watch this again than Dreamcatcher.
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
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