Maximum Overdrive
Tags: cult, violence

Plot synopsis:
On June 19, 1987 at 9:47 am Eastern Standard Time, planet Earth passes through the tail of a rogue comet, Rhea-M, for just over a week. In Wilmington, North Carolina, machines suddenly come to life and attack humans. A marquee sign about a bank displays an insult and an ATM calls a bank customer an "asshole." (The bank client is writer-director Stephen King, in a cameo.) The town's drawbridge suddenly lifts itself, spilling cars and trucks off of it, killing several people much to the shock of the elderly bridgekeeper and his dim-witted assistant..At the Dixie Boy truck stop outside town, Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez), a recently paroled prisoner from the state pen, working as the short order cook, meets with his new boss, Hendershot (Pat Hingle), the owner of the truck stop. The nasty redneck Hendershot has a system worked out to make life unbearable for parolees who come to work for him, mostly forcing them to work overtime for no pay (as part of his twisted way to exploit them). Hendershot threatens to send Bill back to prison if he doesn't agree to work for extra hours "off the clock".A few of the Dixie Boy's regulars drive up in their semi-haulers. One of them is a man, named Handy, who works for Happy Toyz and has a huge green goblin's face mounted on the front of his truck. Some time after he pulls up, his truck starts itself up and moves about 100 feet on it's own. Handy can't believe it since he has the keys.While filling a vehicle with diesel fuel, mechanic Duncan Keller notices that the flow of diesel from the nozzle has stopped. He looks down the nozzle and it suddenly squirts him in the eyes, temporarily blinding him. Fellow employees, Steve and Joe, tend to him.In the video game room, a would-be thief is stealing change from the machines and gets electricuted by a huge surge of electricity from one of the video games.While tending the stove, the truck stop waitress Wanda June gets seriously injured when an electric carving knife turns itself on and cuts a deep cash on her left forearm. Bill runs in to tend to her wound and smashes the electric knife with a hammer.Meanwhile, at a junior league baseball game, the winning coach wants to buy sodas for his team. The soda machine swallows his money and then shoots the cans at high speed, hitting him first in the crotch, then in the head, killing him. The machine spits more cans at the players, who run from the field. One of the players, Deke, a catcher, quickly puts his catcher's mask over his face when several cans fly toward him. Suddenly, a steamroller breaks through the scoreboard and runs over one of the young players. Deke notices that the steamroller has no driver. He mounts his bicycle and races off.On a deserted freeway, a female hitchchiker, named Brett Graham (Laura Harrington), is riding with a gross lecherious Bible salesman and con artist, named Loman, who makes inappropriate passes against her. Trying to get a signal on the car radio, Brett briefly hears a vague news announcement, over garbled and static broadcasting, speaking of "unexplained events" being reported, as well as about the local microwave facilities being inoperative, and issuing a urgent message to "get away at once" from all the local roads or major highways. Brett is forced to grab the steering wheel and pull into the Dixie Boy truck stop when Loman does not stop. They argue over this when the Happy Toyz truck starts by itself while Joe is still filling it with fuel and it moves a short distance. Upon checking the inside to the truck's cab, Bill finds the cabin empty. Brett notices that there are no cars on the road at all, something unusual for 10:00 am in the morning.In town, Duncan's son, Deke, sees that many people have been killed at their homes by machines. He hears another garbled radio broadcast about machines all over the world coming to life and killing people. One of them is a blood-splattered runaway lawnmower, which chases him but he is able to easily outrun it. He then hides from a driverless ice cream truck, which doesn't detect him in the bushes. Deke waits until the truck is gone and rides for the Dixie Boy where his father works.On another back road, a ditzy redneck newlywed couple, Curtis and Connie, are driving toward their honeymoon destination. They notice that there are many stalled and wrecked cars along the road. They pull into a local garage to find the mechanic dead, and a tow-truck starting up and trying to run them down. Curtis manages to duck out of the way and the tow truck crashes into the garage. Curtis and Connie then drive away.Back at the Dixie Boy, Duncan attempts to leave to look for his son despite protests from Bill and threats from Hendershot (implying that Duncan is also an ex-con and that Hendershot is exploiting his background for his own gain). But while walking to his truck, one of the sedate trucks starts up and runs over Duncan, killing him. The con-artist Bible salesman, Camp Loman, runs out to insult the "driver" only to realize that no one is driving the truck. The Happy Toyz truck starts up again and chases Loman a short distance and backs up into him, sending him flying and landing in a nearby ditch. Steve and Handy then drag Duncan's dead body back inside and Hendershot orders him to be placed in the basement with the dead body of the video game player. With the phones and CB radios out of order, the group inside the truck stop debates on what to do next when all of the 18-wheeler semi trucks at the truck stop start up and begin to drive in a circle around the truck stop building, trapping the people inside.Back on the deserted highway, Curtis and Connie spot a long convoy of driverless trucks traveling on the opposite end of the road when one of the trucks, an older model flatbed, notices them and begins to chase them. Curtis is able to maneuver away from the truck and cause it to crash off an embankment, destroying it. He sees the sign for the Dixie Boy and takes the exit.Upon arrival, Curtis and Connie see the truck stop under siege by the circling trucks and when Curtis attempts to drive through the circle to reach the safety of the inside, their car is hit and gets toppled over by one of the trucks. Bill and Brett run outside and rescue Curtis and Connie and as they run back, Hendershot walks out with a M-72 66mm LAW (light anti-tank) rocket launcher and blows up two of the trucks with anti-tank rockets, saving them.A little later, Bill asks Joe about the weapons Hendershot has in the basement. Bill and Brett venture to the cellar and discover a huge stash of weapons ranging from assault rifles to rocket launchers to grenades. Hendershot appears and threatens to send Bill back to prison for snooping around, but Bill arms himself and warns Hendershot not to interfere with him. Bill confides in Brett about his criminal past about robbing a grocery store and his predicament and that Hendershot does not seem to take anything seriously.At nightfall, the power in the truck stop goes out as the trucks continue circling the building. Brett notices a bright green light covering the sky and deducts that the passing comet is responsible. Bill suggests traveling to an island where there are no vehicles or machines and hide out until it is all over.A little later, when everyone hears the sounds of the injured Camp Loman screaming from the ditch where he landed earlier, Bill and Curtis volunteer to go out to rescue him. Carrying weapons borrowed from Hendershot's arsenal as well as rope, they run to a nearby building past the trucks (many of which are starting to run out of fuel) and lower themselves into a nearby sewer drainpipe to lead to the ditch where Loman is.In the meantime, Deke has made it to the Dixie Boy and crawls through another drainpipe to the creek where Loman is, but the wounded and near-death Bible salesman, by this time has become insane and tries to kill Deke when he approaches him. Bill and Curtis come by and grab Deke away as a dump truck spots them and attempts to run them down, forcing them leave behind Loman (whom is presumably dead by this point) and back into the drainpipe. They make it back to the showers building and run across the parking lot back to the Dixie Boy, with Bill blowing up another truck with his rocket launcher. Bill at first refuses to tell Deke where his father is until Hendershot blurts out that Duncan was killed earlier by one of the trucks. Deke is devastated, while everyone (Brett most of all) is angry at Hendershot for being so insensitive. Hendershot remains oblivious to his own actions.The next morning, most of the trucks have stalled, having run out of gas. However, two more trucks arrive, they are a large bulldozer and a small military vehicle with a M-60 machine gun mounted. When the bulldozer crashes into the building, Hendershot (despite the protests from Bill) fires a rocket at it, temporarily disabling it. As a result, the military vehicle opens fire on the Dixie Boy building. In the storm of bullets, Hendershot, Wanda June, and three of the truck drivers are fatally gunned down. Then the military vehicle begins beeping its horn in a morse code message which Deke translates as "Someone must pump fuel. Someone will not be harmed. All fuel must be pumped."When the power for the building comes on again, Bill decides to turn on the pumps, despite Brett's protests not to trust the trucks. Bill points out that they have to with the military vehicle's presence. Over most of the day, in 100F degree heat, Bill, Brett, Deke, Curtis, and a few others take turns venturing outside and refueling all the trucks, plus hundreds more trucks that arrive at the Dixie Boy to refuel. When the fuel runs out, a driverless tanker truck appears and beckons Bill to refill the truck stop's fuel tanks to continue the refueling.Exhausted by the hard work and the heat, Bill retires to rest where Brett comforts him. Bill points out a possible explanation for these events as being a race of aliens using the comet to wipe out humanity and having the machines making them work as their slaves.Handy tells Bill about working on an escape where they will get out through the basement and to a drainage pipe to the outside. Sometime later, Bill walks outside where he talks to another truck driver filling up the trucks where he drops a grenade into the small military vehicle, destroying it. With that, all of the refueled trucks begin circling the Dixie Boy once again.At nightfall, Bill, Brett, Deke, Curtis, Connie and the rest of the survivors escape through the drainage pipe, armed with various weapons from the late Hendershot's arsenal and decide to make a run for the open ocean and to the island where there are no trucks. When the trucks see that the people inside the Dixie Boy are gone, they all smash into the building, destroying it in a series of spectacular explosions.Bill leads the survivors across the back roads and fields in the area to make it to the local marina to find a sailboat to take them to the island. They have narrow encounters with numerous machines including the driverless ice cream truck. Upon arrival at the marina, they all head out to a sailboat when one of the truck drivers, named Brad, attempts to steal a diamond ring from the corpse of a woman caught in her car passenger window when the leader of the living trucks, the Green Goblin of Happy Toyz, arrives and runs down Brad, killing him. Bill runs from the docks and quickly destroys the Happy Toyz truck with a rocket launcher.In the final shot, Bill, Brett and the rest of the dozen survivors sail away from the marina to find help and safety. A disclaimer in the final shot reveals that two days later a Russian "weather satelite" destroyed a large UFO orbiting Earth with nuclear tipped missiles, causing all machines to become sedate. Another two days later, Earth passed through the tail of the comet and everything seemingly returned to normal. It is also implied that the Dixie Boy survivors were the only survivors to the worldwide machine revolt.

Review: 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).
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.
Viewing this in the context of a traditional horror/slasher movie doesn't do it justice, and with deference to previous reviewers, trying to analyze the technical feasibility of the antics of the machines is a lot like making a big deal about pointing out the historical inaccuracies in Monty Python and the Holy Grail - why?
When Citizens and Co-Workers of the Dixie Boy Truck Stop, the people ended up fighting for their lives.Written & Directed by Stephen King (Screen-writer of Cat's Eye, Silver Bullet, Sleepwalkers) made a dumb but entertaining film.
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.
HERE IS HIS SIDE OF THE STORY.Okay so i think for an 80's movie its really good.i mean the blood and how they die i mean it surprised me but i knew it was coming because Stephen King made it and the music sound a little bit like Psyhco i hoped i spelled it right.It was so crazy and i may have screamed a little..
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.
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.
I've seen better movies based on the work of Stephen king, but in all fairness, I possibly have not seen one he has directed.
An alien ship flying inside a strange cloud causes the machines on the planet to go haywire and the story focus on a small band of misfits trying to survive.Heading up this band is Emilio Estevez who at the time was a bigger star than his little brother Charlie Sheen.
This seems to be Emilio's thing and he shines as a bad boy force to do the right thing.I'm use to being more frighten by a Stephen king story but I really was not.
There are so many good sequences, from the introduction of Emilio:  "I got eggs on!"  To the Bible salesman getting run over (runs into non moving truck, King shakes camera to make it look like the truck hit him.)  The cast of characters is awesome, and just the way that the action unfolds in the first half of the film is amazing.
My wife was asking questions like "How does the truck see with it's wing mirrors?" and "How did that guy get a rocket launcher?" and such like, but I said that this is the kind of film where you just let such things go, or else you'll end up feeling like that guy after the steamroller went over his head.
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.
As many found this film funny I thought it was boring, for something coming from Stephen King this was seriously lame, the film never built up any kind of suspense nor did it have an interesting storyline, the acting itself was weak, one dimensional doesn't come close to describing the characters and the cast are all great actors but they truly suck in this film.Seriously though, despite the fact that the only Stephen King book I read was THE TOMMYKNOCKERS, this film is bad compared to the others, if you want someone to do Stephen King right, get David Cronenberg who directed THE DEAD ZONE which is possibly the best Stephen King adaptation ever and you don't have to take my word for it, just check out its IMDb web page..
If you like to spend some hour+ watching well shot and acted movie with plot which is absolute nonsense, but all together provides absolute fun, this is the right one..
When Stephen King first set out to make this movie, he was up front about wanting to make a schlock film.
The acting is so campy they may as well be singing "Kumbaya." This is funny most of the time, but as in the case of Smith, and a truly disgusting Bible salesman, watching this film feels like a waste of heartbeats.However, upon seeing this film a second time, this seems like a good movie for drinking games, so there can be some use made of this.
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: 47/100Recommendation: Fans of Stephen King and the movie's soundtrack composer AC/DC.
Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez) is the short-order cook and Bubba Hendershot (Pat Hingle) is the boss.Stephen King directs his own movie.
What story features a green comet, every machine in the world coming alive to attack humans, and a group of truckers thrown together at a truck stop?
Adapted from King's short story "Trucks", it presents the tale of machines of all types coming alive all of a sudden to wreck havoc on the human race and in particular, an assorted group of truckers, newlyweds, cooks, and grease monkeys at a roadside truck stop.
This unholy mess of movie-making, also the directing debut {and to no surprise, finale} of author Stephen King, makes for a fun, cult classic.We open in Wilmington, North Carolina, where some space probe that's never really brought up into discussion, has gone awry and now for some reason all machines are turning on man.
But if you're looking for a fun and entertaining way to kill a Saturday evening, B movie style, look no further than Maximum Overdrive..
The short story it's based on is not a classic Stephen King tale but it's certainly no where near as bad as the movie.
If you want to see a good movie based on a Stephen King story the general rule is avoid the horror's.
I'm kind of shocked at all of the bad reviews I've seen here, what'd they expect?No-one is going to confuse Stephen King with Stanley Kubrick, but I give King credit that he targeted a nice, easily-digestible short story as the basis for a movie (versus the more 'standard' 600-plus-page King epic that most other directors go for).
If you only like serious movies based on King's work, go watch The Green Mile, it's one of his best.
With this story even Don Siegel or Bob Aldrich or whomever great action director could not have made an above average movie out of this junk ...So why - in God's name - do so many people (do they ??) consider Mr. Kings books worth reading, some even say they are good ???
Stephen King adapted his own short story 'Trucks' in his directorial debut, as the Earth passes through the tail of a rogue comet, inexplicably causing the world's machines to come alive, and destroy(or enslave) humans.
One determined bunch of survivors barricaded in a truck-stop diner try desperately to escape what will be an 8-day ordeal...Astonishingly inept, crude film is so unrelentingly stupid you get the feeling that Stephen King was trying to make a comedy...pity this isn't remotely funny, or involving at all.
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.
This unpleasant flick about a group of citizens who must fend for themselves when a comet causes vehicles and other machines to come to life is utterly disappointing, and you have to hand it to talented novelist Stephen King for all the dirt.
Now I really do believe that "Maximum Overdrive" could have been made into an entertaining film if King had made it with wit, logic, and fun.
Three things about "Maximum Overdrive" that really annoyed me are: 1) the graphic violence, which at times was unforgiveable; 2) the cast of actors who act totally obnoxious (Pat Hingle and Yeardley Smith take top honors for the film's worst performances); and 3) the blaringly loud music score by the popular rock group AC/DC.
I think anybody who sees this film could enjoy it if it is not taken seriously.This movie falls into two categories: So stupid it's funny and so bad it's good.
Based on King's short story 'Trucks,' what basically happens is a group of people are stranded inside a truck stop as the trucks outside start to take over the world and go on a killing rampage.
Every rational, film appreciating bone in my body tells me I should feel otherwise, but I just can't help it....I love "Maximum Overdrive", and I'm not afraid to admit it.The story is weak, and the acting (aside from that of Emilio Estevez and a select few others) is even weaker, but I can't help but like the simplicity of this movie.
A somewhat original story idea (although I believe the stuff about earth passing through the tail of a comet may have been lifted from George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead") that involves a simple plot and basic character development, but excels in visuals and all-around entertainment.It's a fun movie, and it is just as much fun in 2010 as it is when I first saw it back in 1987.
What a turkey this movie was.Some of the acting in it was so bad it was laughable.Its only saving grace was the wicked soundtrack by rock legends AC/DC.This is definitely a movie to avoid at all costs.Thank God this was Stephen Kings one and only attempt at directing a feature film.Stick to writing books mate..
The people that fall into addiction because they say they can stop whenever they want to.It seems a bit of irony that when they were filming the movie, they had real truckers stop by at the Dixie Boy because it was so convincing of a replication of a truck stop; the characterizations in Maximum Overdrive are that level of real humanity, real honesty.These are messages that speak to us even today, the dehumanizing effect machines and electronics and devices have upon our society.
This movie is not one to be taken in any way seriously; it is a movie for watching when you are sat drinking beer and not really in a mood to concentrate on anything remotely complicated.Given the premise of the film the actors do reasonably well with the material and the direction isn't too bad either.
It, like all Stephen King stories gets you thinking about evil in places you never thought to look.
A lot of C acting, but good performances by Estevez and Pat Hingle give a degree of respectability.Its a shame Stephen King abandoned directing after this movie; even coked out of his skull, he didn't do too bad a job and could have easily progressed with experience.
For a movie directed by Stephen King, it's not very scary.
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.
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..
Based on his own brilliant shot story "Trucks" about empty cars, trucks and machines running amok and sieging a bunch of people in a lonely highway cafe, this short terror vision is not working as a full length feature movie at all.There's a ridiculous explanation about the cause of the trucks terrorizing their creators (something about a U.F.O. and cometh rays influencing life on earth...), and King's direction is just bad.
There is King's favorite hard rock group AC/DC playing their dull hits like "Highway to Hell" and "Hells Bells" over and over, too many trucks driving around without a cause and much action and no real story at all.
Even good actors like Emilio Esteves and Pat Hingle can't help to rescue this bad horror movie.Only in the beginning when the machines start to terrorize people, like a milkman's delivery car killing all people in a David-Lynch-like urban middle-class surrounding, there are hints of the scary atmosphere of King's horror novels.
King acts like he is all embarrassed by this movie, and sure it's pretty stupid, but this isn't even in his bottom 50 when it comes to his books being adapted.
In 1986 famed horror writer Stephen King stepped behind the camera to personally direct his one and only movie.
"Maximum Overdrive" is based on his short story called "Trucks" and stars Emilio Estevez as Bill Robinson, a short order cook at a truck stop who must save the day from a bunch of evil self driving big rigs.A comet passing by Earth triggers machines to start going haywire.
King writes and directs the film, which he adapts from his own short story Trucks, and the results are extremely disastrous.
machine, and it will be up to Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez) to lead the group and blow the trucks to kingdom come.Maximum Overdrive stands as a testament on how NOT to make a movie.
The visuals, cheesy idea, and characters cover up the writing.The plot: Earth has now come in contact with a comet that causes machines like lawn mowers, electric knives, and even automobiles to start acting on their own taking revenge on humans.
Doesn't live up to King masterpiece films like Christine or Stand By Me, but it's up there.Starring: Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith.
They literally walk into a truck themselves, or they try to challenge some of the machines in an extremely dumb way.And yes, large blame for all of this can go to Stephen King, who beside writing the story, also attempted to have a go at directing a movie all by himself this time.
Lot of tongue in cheek stuff, and once you get past some of the stuff, the rest is kinda fun to watch.Yes, if you want to just waste some time and get lost in a kinda funny movie - then this is it!I do have to admit though, the actors did a a good job, as did the vehicles and machines:).
The plot (Based off of a short story by Stephen King called "Trucks") centers around a group of people trapt in a gas station by a group of big bad semi trucks, trying to survive because apparently some sort of a comet is passing by the earth and wouldn't you know it, it's bringing the machines alive to kill us.
One day the earth passes by a comet and causes machines to go into "Maximum Overdrive." Soon we meet people in North Carolina that start stopping by the Gas Station called the Dixie Boy, where Billy and the gang works, like Brett and Curtis and his annoying wife.
This is probably the worst film adaptation of a Stephen King story yet.
Maximum Overdrive was the first and last movie that King would direct to date.
What else do we want from a Stephen King movie??
I used to be a fan of Stephen King, so i really think that this movie should be given at least 6 stars or higher!
It's common to see a Stephen King movies based off his novels but its uncommon to see him direct, write (all from trucks one of his short stories), and even make an appearance in the beginning of the movie.