Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 horror film written and directed by Stephen King. It is his only directorial effort. And because of how poorly the film did, and how disappointed he was with it, he vowed to never direct again. It stars Emelio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrinton, John Short, Christopher Murney, and Yeardley Smith, who does the voice of Lisa Simpson on the long-running Simpsons cartoon.
In short, the movie can be summed up as: machines on Earth come alive, a group of people get stuck in a truck stop surrounded by 18-wheelers, they eventually escape. Some stuff happens in between. Some people die. A bunch of stuff blows up. But really, the plot is very simple and straightforward.
For being the legendary writer that Stephen King is, the script of this movie isn’t really that great. Or maybe it’s the acting by the less than stellar cast? Who can really tell when it comes to something like this? Either way, award worthy this movie is not. Even though it did win two awards. Two Golden Raspberry awards. Stephen King won the Golden Raspberry for worst director and Emelio Estevez won the Golden Raspberry for worst actor for Maximum Overdrive.
There is one redeeming quality about the movie. The entire soundtrack is just AC/DC songs, because they’re Stephen King’s favorite band. Which, is pretty awesome. Because, I love AC/DC. I mean, who doesn’t? So, you can rock out, watch trucks explode, see people get run over, all at the same time. It’s not a good movie, but it must have been fun to make. It’s just rampant destruction, all the time. So, if you like that sort of thing, it’s at least got that going on.
But, it’s not without its charm. Like all 80’s movies, it is what it is. A poorly written, predictable, low-budget film, worthy of Mystery Science Theater 3000. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see it. If for nothing else, just to say you have. And to prepare for the day that machines try to take over the world. Which, god knows, might be coming any day now. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…
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