Maximum Overdrive (1986)

[Quorthon]

Maximum Overdrive
Action-Horror
1986
Color
MPAA Rating: R
Directed by: None other than Stephen King
USA

Okay, here’s a “classic” rockin’ movie. And yet another of those 80’s staple films with heavier than metal focus on automobiles and hard rock! God, what a great decade!

This is based on Stephen King’s own short story, “Trucks,” which as I recall, is in the “Nightshift Collection” of his short stories. It’s about a nasty little week where the Earth is sitting in the tail of a comet that lo and behold, causes all mechanical mechanisms (mostly trucks and semis) to come to life to eventually enslave humans as permanent gas-station attendants. Who isn’t familiar with this movie by now? Anyone? Okay, let’s get on with this:



Here’s the breakdown:

The Good:
--This movie is crammed full of flaws, but somehow manages to be wildly fun.
--AC/DC-laden soundtrack! Whoo!
--Has violence and explosions!

Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--Very brief nudity, and if you look carefully, guys—a wall in the service station is covered in pictures of naked chicks. I’m a guy. I saw it.
--Cheesy as hell. Actually, it’s almost beyond cheesy. But it’s a cool kind of cheesy. Semis crushing people? Cool. Gun violence and explosions? Also cool. Black semi with a huge Green Goblin face on the front? That’s damn cool. AC/DC soundtrack? You better believe that’s cool. Even if it’s all pretty cheesy. It’s still pretty cool, and plenty fun.
--Some cool vehicles, especially the semi with the giant Green Goblin head on the front. That alone brings some coolness to this movie. Military car with mounted machine-gun. Bulldozer, ice-cream truck, airplane.
--Emilio Estevez!!

The Bad:
--Pretty shitty acting!
--Ridiculousness everywhere!
--Okay, we’ve got some machines coming to life to kill people. Okay, I’ll buy that. I watch way crappier horror films than this all too often. I’ve even seen one with Shatner. But when the “machines” suddenly seem to have power over their non-mechanical, non-motorized parts, even I laugh to myself at that flight of fancy. A semi adjusts it’s own non-mechanical mirror, a pop machine fires soda rockets, a lawnmower drives around on it’s own. Sure, it could’ve, possibly, been one of those self propelled gas lawnmowers, but it still can’t steer without human aid! A dog miraculously killed with an RC car… Looks like that comet not only granted machines life, but everything—and then imbued all new life with psychotic tendencies. So, okay, the story almost totally lacks anything resembling realism. It’s still a blast!
--So… why isn’t every vehicle coming to life? Like cars for instance? An airplane does!
--One guy killed by electricity apparently blasted at him from “comet-possessed” video games… why? Just, why?
--Some truly awful characters!
--Some crappy dialog!

The Ugly:
--Kid’s Dad smashed by semi.
--A lot of the dialog, actually.

Memorable Scene:
--“Stephen King’s an asshole.”
--The whole rest of the opening sequence.



Acting: 4/10
Story: 6/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Character Development: 2/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 7/10
Nudity/Sexuality: 2/10
Violence: 7/10
Gore: 5/10 (not a whole lot)
Dialog: 2/10
Music: 10/10 (Unless you’re some weirdo that doesn’t like AC/DC)
Direction: 6/10

Cheesiness: 8/10
Crappiness: 3/10

Overall: 6/10
Overall, and taken at face value, this movie is really crappy. But! Let’s keep this in mind here: It’s cheesy, it’s action-packed, and it’s fun. Plus, we have the ultra-cool evil semi with the Green Goblin on the front terrorizing people in theaters long before Sam Raimi brought us “Spider-Man.” It’s cheesy and ridiculous, crammed with AC/DC tunes and vehicle-related violence towards puny humans. Not scary at all, but tons of fun. Watch at own risk!

[Termination]

I couldn't wait for this to arrive on dvd. One of my favs growing up. Once I saw it on dvd I realized, yes, this film isn't all good.. but tell that to a 5 year old.

[Heineken Skywalker]

I remember in the trailer for this movie, Stephen King complaining about how other filmmakers had ruined the movies based on his books, so he had taken it upon himself to direct this one and bragging, "I am going to scare the hell out of you!".
Notice that King never directed another movie? 'nuff said.
Yeah, didn't like this one, not even in a "so bad, it's good" way.
I'm pretty sure this was remade as a tv movie later on with the original story title of "Trucks", right?
As far as I can remember, the best thing about this flick was the AC/DC soundtrack, most of which I think, were previously released songs. I do think "Who Made Who" was one of the last great AC/DC songs.
So how's the rating system work here? Is "For those About to Rock" the best and "Thunderstruck" the worst?

[Quorthon]

No, it's a pretty random list. "Which AC/DC song describes your feelings toward Maximum Overdrive?"

Sorry if it's kind of bizarre and confusing, but they have a huge catalog of songs to choose from. Also, it's getting harder and harder to come up with wacky, clever, and logical poll lists these days!

And I can't just do a normal one!

[Heineken Skywalker]

Well then I'm going to go with "Stiff Upper Lip" since it's my least favorite song listed there and I didn't think highly of the movie either.

[Quorthon]

heinekenskywalker said:

Well then I'm going to go with "Stiff Upper Lip" since it's my least favorite song listed there and I didn't think highly of the movie either.

Sweet. The system works.

[Bartwald]

I'm choosing Big Balls 'cause that's just what the film is! Sure the AC/DC soundtrack works and the movie can be overall treated as a guilty pleasure but I never was a fan of it. Especially since the story it's based on is actually pretty good.

[slayrrr666]

Here's my awaited review, and I chose "Thunderstruck" in the rating system:

"Maximum Overdrive" isn't all that bad for Steven King's director debut.

**SPOILERS**

All over the world, machines aren't running the way they are supposed to. One truck stop in Connecticut experiences them first-hand, and manages to get them settled in and protected. Bill, (Emilio Estevez) the cook, starts to suspect that maybe the appliances are controlling themselves, which his boss (Pat Hingle) doesn't appreciate. Picking up hitchhiker Brett (Laura Harrington) and newlyweds Connie (Yeardly Smith) and Curtis (John Short), everyone gathers inside. Laura proposes that a comet passing by Earth's rotation is the culprit, and suggests that they weight it out for the duration. Hendershot isn't content to wait it out, and threatens Bill. Now trapped inside the diner, the machines eliminate them one at a time until they finally decide to fight back.

The Good News: People like to rag on this movie for some reason, and I don't know why, as this is a pretty fun movie. It has more action than what is usual in this kind of movie. There are tons of big action set pieces around such a small locale. There were even some big explosions, which don't include the exploding trucks. An entire gas service station goes up in flames as well as an entire dock. With shoot-outs, chases, and building demolitions included in the action, it really builds up to a wall to wall action movie. The trucks even kill people in great ways, running them over in a giant wave of bloodstained carnage. All of the other killings, which aren't as bloody, are just good. The film even has a few good chases thrown in good measure, which is really exhilarating to see a driver-less big rig trying to mow down a pursuing car. It brings back a lot of "Duel" memories watching the chases in here, because of the same scenario: driver-less cars and trucks chasing after hysterical people. With all the great stunts, though, in the movie, the best one is the opening of the movie. It is a great stunt, to see cars fall off of a drawbridge into the icy depths below and for no apparent reason at the time. For some reason, the film simply seems like one big B movie. It's campy, it's bad, and it knows it, but the set-ups provided within are just for the bad movie lovers at heart. It has that certain feel that movies of this particular genre have, where you can tell that it was made pretty cheap, but yet it still comes across as enjoyable.

The Bad News: The cheesiness of the movie may hinder some from really checking it out. Because it has so many head-scratching lines delivered by a mostly misplaced cast, this is a prime target for those who like to think that movies need to be highly cultured types to be respectable. Major plot-holes notwithstanding, many of you will be able to poke so many holes into it that it may provide you with more opportunities to laugh at than the rest of the movie.

The Final Verdict: Yes, it is a cheap, low budget movie with really no rewarding value to society. That, however, is the film's strength, as it mostly serves as a guilty pleasure. As it stands, unfortunately, the AC/DC soundtrack is more known and critically accepted than the movie, so be at your own risk when attempting to watch it.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and some Language