User reviews

When Earth passes through the tail of Rea-M rogue comet, the machines come to life and threaten and kill the mankind. A group of survivors is under siege of fierce trucks in the Dixie Boy truck stop in a gas station and they have to fight to survive.

"Maximum Overdrive" is a silly, campy, funny and highly entertaining movie by Stephen King with a great soundtrack by AC/DC. Despite the awful story, acting and direction, I saw this cult movie again yesterday afternoon and it makes laugh so stupid it is. Fortunately Stephen King has given up directing movies. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Comboio do Terror" ("Convoy of Terror")

This was one of those films I would always pass up, showing little interest until today. And what did I just watch?! The opening half-hour is insane... entertainingly insane. All coked-up, and on the fly.. all these ideas come together in a stupid collection of out-there, and homicidal set-pieces. As every bit of machinery becomes demonically possessed, after a comet passes through the Earth's atmosphere. So no one is safe from the onslaught when the machines start a global crisis for blood.

Director Stephen King (who also makes an amusing cameo at the beginning) lines it up with dark humour, ripe performances and outrageous stunts. It's pure chaotic madness! I admit, I didn't find the second half to be as impressive when the action comes to a standstill at an isolated truck stop, but still, there are enough silly, bug-eyed decisions in the latter half to get your rocks off with the likes of Emilio Estevez and a rocket launcher packing Pat Hingle heading a motley crew against circling trucks led by a green goblin rig. Not to forget either the brutal encounters with a machine gun mounted mule and an electric knife. After such a cracking set-up, it's just too bad the film's final payoff isn't much of one. Also you can't go wrong with an electrifying AC/DC soundtrack, which doesn't wait around to kick in, by opening with the killer track "Who Made Who"? blaring away.

For those of us who like Maximum Overdrive, we are apparently in the minority. I view it as a funny and entertaining, B-grade action/sci-fi flick. There's mass destruction and tons of carnage as everything on-screen is blown to bits...plus it's got Emilio Estevez. What's better than that? The movie does require major suspension of disbelief as some of the story elements don't work (for example: the honeymooner's car works just fine, but every other machine on earth, from lawn-mowers, electric knives, trucks, and even steam-rollers, go haywire). But then again, this movie is all about fun. The best part of the movie (besides Emilio) is that no one is shown any sympathy...not even kids; in one stand-out scene, a steam-roller comes out of nowhere and completely squashes this innocent kid. Maximum Overdrive is a cool and outrageous cult classic that Stephen King should be proud of. Sadly, I feel that King will never direct again.

Note for genre buffs: C.H.U.D. alumni Frankie Faison and J.C. Quinn star in the movie. King himself also cameos as the ATM guy.

Stephen King has had more books receive film adaptations than any other author. While several of these film adaptations were very good, Stephen King is a fan of very few of them. So to determine whether or not he should never allow another film adaptation, he decided to direct a film based on one of his own stories. Maximum Overdrive is based on a short story titled Trucks, featured in his short story collection, Night Shift. In the trailer, he said that he wanted to see someone do Stephen King right. Several years later, he confessed that it was a "moron film". Should Stephen King be that ashamed of directing this movie? Not necessary. Sure, it's complicated, it's twisted, and none of these supernatural trucks are explained very well. And sure, Stephen King probably has more to hate about this film than having to play the guy who gets called an a-hole by an ATM machine. Yet, with its intriguing characters, oddly interesting activity from the trucks, and electrifying soundtrack, Maximum Overdrive serves as dumb, over-the-top fun if you choose not to take it too seriously.

Score: 47/100

Recommendation: Fans of Stephen King and the movie's soundtrack composer AC/DC

Maximum Overdrive, bestselling novelist Stephen King's one and only foray into directing (thus far), is far from a classic of either the sci-fi or horror genre, but it is good fun, a typically dumb piece of '80s B-movie nonsense that makes very little sense when dissected, but which still proves enjoyable thanks to a light-hearted, knowingly daft approach, comical characters, plenty of silly deaths and mucho vehicular carnage.

Based on King's short story Trucks, the film sees the world's machinery turning on the human race after Earth passes through the tail of a comet. Lawnmowers, electric carving knives, ice cream vans, steamrollers, arcade machines, vending machines: all pose a threat to mankind. At the Dixie Boy Truck Stop, a group of people become trapped by malevolent trucks intent on the eradication of all human life—but only after they've been topped up with fuel!

'80s brat-pack heartthrob Emilio Estevez stars as short order cook Bill Robinson, and there are solid performances from sexy babe Laura Harrington as Bill's love interest Brett (hey, that's a bloke's name!), Pat Hingle as the truck stop's grouchy owner, and Yeardley 'Lisa Simpson' Smith and John Short as newly married couple Curt and Connie, all of whom pitch their performances perfectly with tongues firmly in cheek. The film also benefits from a rocking soundtrack courtesy of AC/DC, a fun cameo from King himself (who establishes the film's goofy style in his opening scene), numerous ridiculous and reasonably bloody kills, and a really cool truck with the face of the Green Goblin on the front.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the having the guts to run over a kid with a steamroller.

According to the opening, planet Earth passes "into the extraordinarily diffuse tail of Rhea-M, a rogue comet" for several days. This causes machines on our world to come alive and get angry. Well, if Earth can pass through a comet (instead of the other way around), and comets can go "rogue," then machines can become animated and lust for blood...

By the film's end, a completely different explanation is offered. This bloody mess was written and directed by successful horror writer Stephen King, who appears in an apt cameo with a mouthy ATM machine, in an opening sequence. Mr. King should have left this story where it belonged, as part of a 1960s "Lost in Space" episode.

*** Maximum Overdrive (7/25/86) Stephen King ~ Emilio Estevez, Holter Graham, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington

Stephen King wrote and directed this much-maligned film adaptation of his short story "Trucks." The plot has Earth passing through the tail of a comet, which somehow causes all the machines on Earth to come to life with murderous intentions. A group of people find themselves trapped in a truck stop surrounded by semi-trucks and other vehicles. The trucks, led by one with a huge Green Goblin face on the front, wait for the humans to leave the truck stop so they can kill them one by one.

This is one of my favorite guilty pleasures from the '80s. It's a ludicrous popcorn movie with an awesome soundtrack by AC/DC and a cast that includes Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Frankie Faison, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. Stephen King appears in a funny cameo at the beginning. This movie was HATED at the time and remains hated today, at least by stuffy film snob types. It's a fun movie! Not everything has to be high art. For people who are fans of silly and cheesy movies, this is right up your alley. Auto nuts might also like it for all the different old vehicles on display. Ignore the critics and give it a shot.

This is one of those you can't take it too seriously or you'll hate it types of films. Just sit back and laugh and roll your eyes. Yeah the plot was dumb, acting was bad and direction was erratic but it was a fun ride. Quite gruesome in a few parts.

Oh, how I wished I hated this movie. However, I don't...I actually enjoy this movie a lot. All the critics hate it, most people I talk to hate it, but I like it. Maybe it is the cool AC/DC soundtrack...I don't know. The action is pretty good and there are some pretty good kills in this one, though it isn't anything that is very scary at all. A couple of the scenes are annoying, but for the most part I enjoy this take on the King short story "Trucks". This one has the machines of the world suddenly turning on humans, though in the end it is mainly trucks that are featured. Survivors at a gas station are stranded there as the trucks circle the facility. They have to find a way out or else. This isn't a movie that is worthy of awards or something, but I think it is a fun movie to watch.

In order to fully appreciate this movie, you have to catch it next time it is shown on TNT's Monstervision. Joe Bob Riggs' comments make the movie hilarious. Anyway, this movie is a great way to waste time. I must admit, even though the acting is terrible, this is one of the few films I could watch every single day and not get tired of. The best scene is near the end when Emilio Estevez and crew are at the boat dock. One of the guys sees a dead woman in her truck, and she's wearing a wedding ring. So, the guy completely forgets that the trucks are in close pursuit, walks over to the woman, and takes her ring. As he's walking slowly back over to the boat, eyes focused entirely on the ring he's just scored, one of the trucks comes out and rams him. Emilio Estevez then uses a missile launcher to destroy the truck. The funny part is that everyone starts throwing their hands up in victory and cheering while a very upbeat AC/DC song starts playing. If you tuned in just as the song started, you would never know that one of their friends had just been killed. When I saw this scene, I started convulsing with laughter. I mean, this movie was so wacked out and shallow, that it was I actually enjoying it. Do not buy it, and do not rent it. Tape it next time it's on TNT's Monstervision. Joe Bob's commentary is half the experience. Even though it will have been edited for T.V., the Monstervision experience is one that cannot be beaten.

Get sick of movies with intricate plots, outstanding acting, and multiple Academy Award nominations? Then go grab Maximum Overdrive! 90 minutes of mindless truck attacks, rocket launchers and A STEAM ROLLER RUNNING OVER A LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER!!! Now, most readers are probably thinking that this is a pretty sick review, but keep in mind that this is A MOVIE. Not real life. Even with all of this in mind, I think it is fair to say that Stephen King did a fair job with the directing. It's by no means fantastic, but it is far better done than most Cult Classic, B-flicks. Happy watching!

Excellent Thriller!!

Although there is some shaky, hesitant and stiff acting in this production, it still stands as one of the best adaptations of Stephen King's literary works.

While it does stray a bit from the original work, it has earned its place in the genre of horror as a "Classic." To the accompanying heavy metal of AC/DC blasting in the background, killer trucks and other machines take over a small town truck stop, terrorizing those within, and killing any/every one without.

While some of the performances were amateurish, this movie SOARS above the "recent" remake of the same original work, entitled, "Trucks." Written, rewritten and directed by King, this movie is a surprisingly wonderful adaptation of his work. To date, his adaptations have been rather puerile and mellow compared to his original literary publications. This will be a very pleasant surprise following the absolutely horrid Made For TV Version of "The Shining," (1997).

While Emilio Estevez is not among my favorite top 500 actors, he carries this film rather well, but it's Yeardley Smith who makes the movie. Her wonderfully comedic little voice screaming out, "Curtis!! Are you DAY-YED??!!" She is what makes Maximum Overdrive fun. AC/DC and killer trucks take a back seat to her performance. Loved it. Own it.

It gets a solid 8/10 on the "B" scale.

That's a 6.6/10 on the "A" scale, from...

the Fiend :.

Earth has passed into the tail of a comet that produces some sort of strange radiation that makes most of the machines and computers on earth sentient and destructive. Vehicles move under their own power and try and kill humans. Sodo machines shoot out their contents at a deadly speed and draw bridges bring themselves up, creating chaos. A small group of people become trapped in a diner while the large trucks, one of which has a daunting goblin's head attached to the front it, encircle the diner waiting for the humans to come out.

This was the premise of this coked-up, action/horror movie that makes absolutely no sense. It's part horror, part action, part science fiction yet none of it congeals into anything that makes any sense whatsoever. Then, I approached it as a comedy and watched it again and it came off a little better to me.

The stand outs of this movie: 1. It's so bad it's good, what's supposed to scare comes off hilarious and the dialog has such a generic tone to it, that it sounds like the movie is a spoof.

2. Emilio Estevez, because he's Emilio Estevez.

3. The sound track done by the legendary AC/DC.

4. That iconic Goblin headed truck.

Don't watch this expecting it to be scary, make any sense, develop characters or be serious in any way and you can get through it.

Oh, and by the way, its directed by Stephen King who wrote it. I am a big fan of his writing, but not so much the movies that get made as that his writing works best in your own imagination and something frequently gets lost in translation what it moves into other medium.

Man I loved this ridiculous movie as a kid. Wild story with a rogue comet as the main villain. Crazy ass story but some awful cocaine fueled direction from Stephen King.

This is the worst movie I have ever seen. Stick to your day job Stephen King. This is the type of movie that should be studied at film schools as how not to make a movie. The acting, writing, directing, and special effects are so bad that I can't believe this movie was even released.

I found the movie to be a so bad it's good type of film. The story is ridiculous with machines attacking people due to a comet. It's pretty entertaining with the amount of ridiculous stuff that happens in the movie and how overtop it can get. The movie is never boring throughout and is stupid to have fun with it. It's gets more enjoyable with the characters fighting back with guns and even a M72 Law with some nice explosion scenes in it. I also found the idea of machines attacking people to be a interesting concept with a couple of possibilities.

Unfortunately I found the execution to be not the best in this movie. One flaw is that not all machines attacked like the guns the characters uses because there's a M274 Mule that have a gun on it attacks the characters and even the some of the vehicles doesn't act up like the boats.

Stephen King said in the trailer to Maximum Overdrive that when you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Over the long list of lousy adaptations King's work has attracted, this philosophy does make a little sense. However, the reality is that if you really want something done right on celluloid, you have to hire a director and/or screenwriter who can recognise the vision that the story deserves and put it on the screen. David Cronenberg proved that he could do this with The Dead Zone, whereas Maximum Overdrive shows that King himself might be able to write a great story, but making it work in a visual medium is another matter.

The story, such as it is, concerns itself with the Earth passing through the tail of a comet. The effects of such an event are highly debatable, but one of King's strengths is that he can make the absurd or ridiculous seem like a matter of course. In Trucks, he focuses on making the characters' reactions sell the phenomenon. Here, visual effects, mostly of the simple trick photography variety, are employed. Incidents involving soft drink machines, steamrollers, video games, and a whole host of other devices are played out in literal detail. However, therein lies a bit of a problem with transferring the short story to the big screen.

Trucks is just about entirely set at the truck stop, making the extraneous characters somewhat redundant. The fact that several characters drive to and from the truck stop is also a problem. One would logically assume that since the trucks are affected by the comet, so too would be sedans and any other passenger vehicle with an engine, would also be affected. The logic in the difference is never explained either in film or short story, but the short story has the luxury of never having raised the issue.

In Trucks, the characters were a secondary consideration, and often little more than people to see the action through the eyes of. In the film version, they become the primary focus, and this is where the big problems start. Aside from a couple of sympathetic leads such as that played by Emilio Estevez, the cast of characters is more or less universally annoying. What's worse, after watching the film ten or a hundred times, one would be hard pressed to name four characters. Curtis only sticks out in the mind because of how annoyingly Yeardley Smith's character keeps yelling it.

In the end, the film is shot down by the fact that it is not horrific or atmospheric enough to be a horror, but nor is it funny enough to be a comedy, in spite of some brave attempts. In the end, it is just mediocre, and that is something no film can be if it wants to be enjoyed. The only reason it has been remembered for this long, in spite of the distributor going out of business, is because of its association with one of the biggest-selling authors the printed press has ever known. If it did not have this selling point, it would probably have bankrupted the De Laurentiis group right then and there.

In terms of a rating, the first reel is worth a ten. The massacre in the baseball park in particular is well-realised. When it gets to the truck stop, however, it is all downhill. Which is a terrible shame given the potential of its source material.

Trucking Hell!!! Celebrated Horror scrivener, Stephen King's turbocharged road-wrecking creepshow 'Maximum Overdrive' is still the Mack Daddy of calamitous Truck Stop carnage! These bloodthirsty, high-octane, devil-possessed, diesel drinking death machines are Hell on Wheels, all enacting one unified apocalyptic plan, for sinister reasons entirely alien, these wide load, wantonly reckless, wrecking ball behemoths are ghoulishly geared up to massacre all mankind! All brakes are off! As 80s cult classic 'Maximum Overdrive' is grandiose vehicular manslaughter on a biblical scale, a comet-induced Carmageddon, it's the end of days on the sun-soaked, gore-caked highways! Buckle up B-Horror freaks! Stephen King is about to take you on an pedal to the mental, adrenaline-fuelled, full throttled terror trip into a terrifyingly Twilight Zone'd diorama of gruesomely mechanized slaughter!

The earth passes through a comet's tail for over 8 days. Machines get angry and start acting up. Outside of Wilmington, North Carolina, a group of strangers get stranded at a gas station diner by marauding driverless trucks. Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez) is the short-order cook and Bubba Hendershot (Pat Hingle) is the boss.

Stephen King directs his own movie. He's just not that good at it. It's competent at times but at other times, I wonder if he was trying to shot this like an old 3D movie. It is more on the campy B-movie side. This may make for a fair drive-in movie. It's a lot of random stunts. However don't look for any good acting or compelling dialog. Yeardley Smith is somewhat funny as the complaining wife. The best thing King does is to use AD/DC as his musical muse.