Maximum Overdrive Reviews

• Better than you would think

  
  By A3UH3X6PZ7WCWG on 2004-11-26
  I have been watching this movie since I was about 7 years old and still never get tired of it. I have probably seen it about 150 times and continue to find enjoyment. There is a review posted that completly bashes this movie and basically tells readers not to waste their time. Well, I have to disagree. While the mvie is not nearly as good as the book(are they ever???), it still has strong entertainment value.
  First, it humorous and not because it's cheesy, but because it is funny! The dialgoue between characters, the situations they are put in and the reactions some have to the machines taking over; are all reasons to watch this movie.
  The acting might not be the best, but by no means, is it bad. Emilio Estevez is our main character, and does a fine job as Bubba, an ex-convict, short-order diner cook. His boss(who's name I can't remember), plays your typical Texan in charge of his business, who amazingly has a secret stash of bazookas and guns below the diner(perfect for antagonizing the trucks outside). I also love the newlyweds in this movie. I believe their names are Curtis and Connie and they are a ball of laughs.
  Honestly folks, this movie is very entertaining and suitable for younger kids to watch. There really aren't many scares(I was never afraid to watch this movie as a child), but there is mild gore and a few thrilling moments.
  Great job Mr. King!!!
  
  

• Maximum Crapola!

  
  By A3OI841P5R6FCH on 2000-09-07
  There's one thing I've learned about Stephen King films- they're either pretty good, or pretty bad. It's a hit-and-miss affair. In the case of `Maximum Overdrive', The bullet never even made the distance to the target. The only reason I was even attracted to it in the first place was the soundtrack by AC/DC, and even that didn't improve the movie's quality. Although I gotta admit that the ATM teller machine insulting the character played by Stephen King himself at the movie's opening is pretty hilarious. And King even drawls a pretty good Southern accent in response. Or was that dubbed in? I'm not too sure. Either way, it's one of the few high points in this whole sad affair.

  If you want to take a look at a good Stephen King flick, I suggest you pick up the theatrical version of `The Shining', `Stand By Me', or `Misery'.

  `Late!
  
  

• I see why this film is so infamous.

  
  By A7PBI5HADJYER on 2002-04-19
  Emilio Estevez is a cook who takes on a bunch of trucks that have come to life. Stephen King's first and only directorial attempt is a campathon, a schlockfest with plenty of car mayhem and destruction (which make for a few amusing moments), but precious little in the way of genuine fun or thrills. I don't expect smarts or intelligence, but a movie like this should at least be enjoyable.
  
  

• Masculine Overdrive!!! AC/DC ROCKS!!!

  
  By AUPTRPQY4ZKG8 on 2002-09-26
  How could anyone in their right mind give this a review of anything less than 5 stars???Ok, ok...Maybe I'm a little biased being that I'm one of the biggest AC/DC fans in the whole world. But besides that, How could you have not loved this flick? First off... The box itself warns you on the cover A: Steven King flick and B: AC/DC does the entire soundtrack. So there, you've been warned... if you don't like either one of those, you had no business renting/buying/viewing the movie. The film itself differs from your typical King story(Not to mention it was written for the screen)... It was a simple concept yet, a fun concept: Virtually anything with a motor or electronic circuitry with the potential to maim and/or kill life on earth is brought to animation by a mysterious green glow sent out by alien life forms awaiting to take over the soon to be vacant planet!!! And so the story goes, 10-15 people are trapped in the Dixie Boy truck stop in either North or South Carolina (I forget which)with nothing but brains, beer and a small yet sufficient cache of weapons, including but not limited to: Machine guns, bazookas/rocket launchers and grenades!!! If they can hold out long enough against the army of diesel trucks that surrounds them, they just might make it out alive!!! Oh, and did I mention that AC/DC does the entire soundtrack?!?! Which,might I add, if you were to only own one AC/DC album, it should be "Who made who?" the Official soundtrack to this monster of a movie!! Personally, I can watch this movie anytime and it makes my day a whole lot better...of course, to each is own. Not to mention that I am kind of a redneck. Bottom line though,whether your a King fan,an AC/DC fan, or just a fan of Big trucks, rednecks, guns and beer with a whole lotta explosions... Buy this movie, you won't be dissapointed!!! Until then...Adios Amigos!..............thebluetape...
  
  

• Essential Post-Blackout viewing

  
  By A1XXBVRRNGBG5Y on 2003-09-03
  Anyone caught in the Blackout of 2003 must surely have thought of this movie. When the T.V. stopped working, the familiar drone of the fridge was eerily gone and trucks kept rumbling by on the unlit streets... all that was missing was the psychotic roar of a lawnmower springing to life and chasing you down the street!
  I have two confessions to make.
  1) I hate almost all Stephen King adaptions except two.
  2) The two I like are Carrie and Maximum Overdrive.

  Maximum Overdrive is a great film (hear me out before clicking on the "Unhelpful review" button!).
  First of all, it is set in a situation that we can all relate to, everyday life in an urban environment, compare this with an empty hotel at the top of a mountain for example.
  It preys on one of our biggest 21st Century fears, that we are no longer in control of our environment. Humankind has become so detached from the everyday rigours of surviving that our ancestors went through that we have no idea what we would do if our civilization broke down. No electricity, no fridge, no food, no machines, no information, no phones. Maximum Overdrive brings these fears to life, and then adds the horrific twist, that the machines then turn on their masters, although slightly after the Terminator franchise had started rolling. Surely this fear is easier to relate to than that the girl you bully at school may turn out to possess supernatural powers she can deploy for revenge purposes...
  The movie also deals with alienation while in an urban environment. Like the group stuck in the mall in George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead", the people isolated in the truck stop are at once in a familiar environment, and at the same time stuck in a totally foreign world, making it easier for the viewer to relate, and amplifying the horror felt watching it.
  The best bits of the film occur in the opening sequences, when the machines go crazy, decimating the world's humans. The middle section deals with the increasing tensions between the people caught in the truck seige and the final part deals with their escape and eventual triumph over the machines, culminating in Emilio Estevez's final, hilarious quote...
  Maximum Overdrive is a fantastic modern horror movie, bringing terror to familiar situations, and Post-Blackout, I recommend you watch this movie again and allow yourself to think "What if..."
  
  

• totally awesome in all the wrong ways.
  By A1UA0LU40B1ZC6 on 2004-09-10
  people say that this movie is stupid and a pittiful attempt at making a good story a movie. to tell you the truth, i find it awesome, but for all the wrong reasons. this movie is completely hilarious! the special effects are so bad that you can't help but laugh. a truck backs into a guy at 2 miles an hour, and blood splatters everywhere. a steam roller mows down a field of little leaguers, who cant seem to run fast enough to escape the "mighty" speed of such a slow machine. somehow, there is convienently a little go-kart looking thing that has an automatic weapon on it. if you are looking for a SERIOUS film, this is definately not for you. but if you enjoy berating and laughing at awful movies, this one is sure to provide an evening of disgustingly hilarious entertainment.
  
  
• Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive is god awful
  By A82LIVYSX6WZ9 on 2005-01-06
  Stephen King wrote and directed this deadening horror movie about the power of a comet in space making technology, cars, pop machines, etc.. come to life and have minds of their own. Ok, can I stop right there? Probably one of the cheesiest and moronic horror movies ever made, this noisy, nonsense has music from AC/DC in its credits which why they did it, I have no clue why..you tell me. Emilio Estevez seems like he knows he's in the wrong movie. The acting is so lame and the dialouge is too stupid, you dont care who lives or kicks the bucket. I would add to say though that the truck with the big green goblin looking clown on the front is a cool truck, but this movie....is not cool...its a epic annyoance of poor proportions. The special effects are cheesy as well. Steer away with caution. I dont think King was thinking straight when he wanted to do this.
  
  
• MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE SEEMS STUCK IN REVERSE!
  By A26HFSVLAGULIM on 2005-10-18
  Among Stephen King's famous quotes is the one about why he doesn't direct his own films. His answer, not surprisingly, is, "Have you ever seen 'MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE'"? That just about says it all. The film has terrific material to work with, but it is static and very poorly executed. When I watch this film I always think, "Why didn't he do this or that?" and "Why are all the actors just standing around"? Fortunately, King is a better writer than director.
  
  IMPRESSIONS OF A YOUNGER KING FAN:
  
  My teenage daughter has read most of King's novels and agrees with King's assessment of this film. Her favorite film is "Creepshow" which I introduced to her when she was too young and scared her with the famous line, "Where's my cake?" That line still works.
  
  BETTER STEPHEN KING FILMS TO WATCH:
  
  To see better cinematic examples of Stephen King's storywriting, check out "The Shining", "Misery", "Creepshow" or "Carrie". None of these films was directed by King, but each film better represents King's work on the big screen. In "Creepshow" he even stars in one of the sequences "The Death of Jordy Verrill", and he does a respectable job of interpreting his own work.
  
  OUT OF FAIRNESS:
  
  There are worse films out there, but Stephen King did not write the novels or screenplays for them. This film, though not a good representation of King's work, is watchable for some and is not terrible. Unlike many of King's other films, this cannot be classified as good, however.
  
  
• Not Good At All!!
  By A2RNTG686ZATNP on 2002-03-27
  The year was 1986 and I was ten years old. I remember watching televison with my cousin and seeing the trailer for this movie. Stephen King saying "I'm gonna scare the hell out of you" He was right in essence. It scared the hell out of me in the fact that a movie that bad could make the big screen.

  This movie neither intelligent nor scary is about killer machines. In the first scene we see appliances such as a lawn mower take control of themselves and attack innocent victims. What this has to do with the rest of the movie, I have no idea. Most of this movie is about killer trucks that have trapped a handful of people in a gas station. Emilio Estevez is the mastermind of this bunch and out of nowhere comes up with a scheme to save the day. The entire movie is drawn out and plain dull. Acting is sub par and did not impress me.

  This film receives one stars from me. If I could give a half star I would give another half for the lawn mower scene at the beginning of the movie. I'm sure some people will find this movie entertaining as everyones taste differs but I'm sorry I see nothing good about this movie what so ever.
  
  

• A SciFi Metaphor For Fossil Fuel Hungry 2005
  By A35QF1GDLAFYCL on 2005-10-03
  Maxium Overdrive written and directed by Stephen King gets better every time I watch it. I guess I've viewed this film about a half dozen times. It is a bit campy, but the acting, by the professional actors, for the most part is good. King has a way of directing that allows us to see the humorous errors of our ways. Pat Hingle as the over confident red neck owner of the Dixie Truck Stop is wonderful. Estevez as the punked out underpaid dish washer fits the bill. And, you get the annoying whine of the voice of Liza Simpson, Yeardly Smith, thrown in. When the self propelled endless convoys of tractor trailers zones in on the Dixie Truck stop to feed their insatiable appetite for more fuel one cannot help but make the connection to our own gas guzzling addiction in 2005. This film is about 20 years old, but is still fresh. AC/DC did all of the soundtrack, and while I am not a fan of theirs, their music adds great mood to this Sci-fi classic. If there is a down side to the movie it is that there seems to be a loss of continuity in the story line. I think in the beginning of the movie it is a comet that turns the night sky green and sets the machines against the humans, but at the end of the movie their is a post script saying it was a UFO. Well that is little price to pay for an otherwise great flick in the tradition of cheesy 1950's horror movies. And hey, that waitress screaming; "But, we made you!" is Academy Award material.
  
  
• MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE
  By A39C7SEMCJWVOI on 2001-03-31
  MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE is a funny, gory, end of the world thriller from Stephen King (who directs for the first time from one of his published short stories). The story is about a comet that flies across the Earth, and after that, machines all over the world begin to come to life and take on a life force of there own (cars and trucks run down innocent people, electric knives cut there victims, soda pop machines shoot soda cans out like grenades, etc.). The main part of the story takes place at a gas station where the machines have people trapped inside, fighting for there lives, and figuring out a way to escape. The music to this movie is nothing but memorable songs from the great rock band AC/DC.
  
  
• GREAT OPENING
  By A319SKSB556033 on 2002-12-15
  But it's all downhill from there on. For about 20 minutes this movie promises to be cool and funny thru-out but quickly becomes boring and stupid. The characters just do not use simple logic and it is way hard to side with them. I really did want the trucks to run them over.

  -Beware, there may be some spoilers here.-

  Everyone at the truck stop knows that Mr. Hendershot has a truckload of weapons and rocket launchers in the basement. So why don't they just use them against the trucks? Duh?

  The dialogue [is bad] too. There is not one memorable line in the entire movie. And the acting is sporadically bad. The girl who becomes Emilio Estevez's girlfriend is very beautiful but she cannot act her way out of a linen closet. The pointless AC/DC soundtrack is totally worthless and contributes ZERO to the film.

  For Spiderman fans (like me) there is a bonus tho, as there is a huge face of the Green Goblin on the toy truck. But that's still no reason to watch this farce. The reason these trucks are coming to life is because the earth is caught in the tail of a comet (which we never see) and all machines are rebelling against mankind. We don't see many other machines other than the trucks but it turns out that it was all just a plot by aliens to sweep us off the planet. This is unseen also, we are simply told this from words on the screen at the end of the movie. COME ON!

  Stephen King should stick to writing as he has handled this film VERY badly and this is very strange as he should know how to transfer his book to film. There is another movie version called TRUCKS. Perhaps you should check that out instead as I cannot imagine anything being worse than this. I do think that if John Carpenter directed this film it could have been cool, but let's just forget about it¡¦quickly.

  The DVD is in remastered Dolby 5.1(from the original Stereo tracks) and is anamorphically enhanced at 2.35:1.
  
  

• Stephen King's Directorial De-butt...
  By AIMR915K4YCN on 2004-09-09
  Whoo-doggies! Yepper, this is the movie that Steve King insisted on making. He had belly-ached for years about the low quality of the film versions of his horror stories, claiming that he could do it better himself. Well, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (based on S.K.'s excellent short story "TRUCKS") is a serious monument to ineptitude! Don't get me wrong, I love Steve's books and have spent many sleepless nights reading them. However, King directs movies with all the finess of a gorilla tossing a salad! Scenes of "horror" are hilarious, and humorous lines sink like lead life-jackets. I think the main problem lies in the fact that the short story is about 10 pages long, leaving Steve with WAY too much time to fill. Emilio Estevez and Pat Hingle lumber through their roles like logs on the way to the mill. Estevez as an action hero is like Arny Schwarzenegger as King Lear! The trucks and other machines that come to life are utterly un-terrifying (putting a plastic 'green goblin' face on the grill of the main truck was no help, as it just wobbled along looking stupid). I only hope that this movie stands as a lesson to all would-be directors who are best selling authors out there. Leave it to the professionals! The only exception I've seen so far is Clive Barker's direction of his own HELLRAISER ...
  
  
• Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive"
  By A3S98L5B1SR9P1 on 2005-07-10
  Ah, this movie is such a classic. From the hilarious scene to where a character named Connie asks her boyfriend: "Curtis....are you DAY-YED!!!!", to a little league baseball team getting hit by flying soda cans (the coach takes one of 'em in the crotch - HAHA!). Also, the soundtrack is by AC/DC (which, by the way, you can buy the soundtrack on CD. It's titled "Who Made Who?"). King's only directorial film is an underrated gem. The film's plot: For a week in 1987, a mysterious comet was floating over Earth. During this week, we have truck stop customers and employees, led by Emilio Estevez (who plays a cook in this movie), trying to stay alive when automobiles and appliances come "alive" and start killing people.
  
  Stephen King was forced to make some cuts to this film in order to avoid an X rating for violence. The scenes cut, to this day have not been reinstated in any release, thus the only version in circulation is the original theatrical cut. The scenes are reported to total around 13 seconds and include:
  - Six Seconds of the Dixie Boy shoot out.
  - Three seconds of the steam roller running over the boy.
  - Three seconds of the salesman's face falling into his lap.
  
  Based on Stephen King's novel "Trucks", this film will satisfy any King or horror movie fan. Check it out.
  
  
• Worst movie ever made.
  By A1YGNMA5N7UM55 on 2001-07-06
  Terrible movie. I've never seen anything worse. Even my 14 year old son, the most vilolence obsessed person on Earth, hated it. If it was an option, I would give it negative 6 stars. If you want a good action, get The Road Warrior. If you want a good car horror movie, stick with Cristine at least. But all can say is, it's a waste of time, money, and space on your movie shelf.
  
  
• Proof that Stephen King translates well to film
  By A20AA9J3JV3B7L on 2005-03-18
  I have to honestly say, this is the best movie I've ever seen. I own three copies of it on VHS, and I plan on buying three more copies on DVD just so that the tapes don't feel lonely. Whenever I start losing faith in Hollywood's ability to make a truly great film, I just plop this little gem in my VCR and a big smile soon appears. By the time the final credits are rolling, tears of gratitude are streaming down my face.
  
  Thank you, Hollywood.
  
  Thank you, Stephen King.
  
  Now, if they would just make a sequel, I could die a completely happy man.
  
  
• Even Steven admits this movie blows.
  By A239PIPI32FKNF on 2005-03-28
  No joke, I've heard multiple tapes of events he's spoken at (as well as attended one) and he openly states this movie bites.
  
  Those rating 3, 4 or lm*o 5 stars are "Fan Boys".
  
  Don't get me wrong, I like S.King's stuff (It, Misery, Pet Sematary for example) but this one is to be avoided.
  
  
• Maximum Overdrive: A cult classic!
  By A3S98L5B1SR9P1 on 2005-09-04
  Ah, this movie is such a classic. From the hilarious scene to where a character named Connie asks her boyfriend: "Curtis....are you DAY-YED!!!!", to a little league baseball team getting hit by flying soda cans (the coach takes one of 'em in the crotch - HAHA!). Also, the soundtrack is by AC/DC (which, by the way, you can buy the soundtrack on CD. It's titled "Who Made Who?"). King's only directorial film is an underrated gem. The film's plot: For a week in 1987, a mysterious comet was floating over Earth. During this week, we have truck stop customers and employees, led by Emilio Estevez (who plays a cook in this movie), trying to stay alive when automobiles and appliances come "alive" and start killing people.
  
  Stephen King was forced to make some cuts to this film in order to avoid an X rating for violence. The scenes cut, to this day have not been reinstated in any release, thus the only version in circulation is the original theatrical cut. The scenes are reported to total around 13 seconds and include:
  - Six Seconds of the Dixie Boy shoot out.
  - Three seconds of the steam roller running over the boy.
  - Three seconds of the salesman's face falling into his lap.
  
  Based on Stephen King's novel "Trucks", this film will satisfy any King or horror movie fan. Check it out.
  
  
• even king can't turn his great short story into a good movie
  By A1KP0IVWU0RQ0A on 2006-06-05
  mr. king can blame no one but himself for this lifeless take on his great short story,"trucks" because he wrote and directed it. PLEASE MR.KING DON'T DO IT AGAIN!!!!!!!
  the worst!!!
  
  
• Gives "tripe" a bad name.
  By on 1999-06-20
  Drivel like this should be deemed illegal by law. Steven King should be ashamed of himself for producing ANYTHING that makes Armaggedon look good in comparison.
  
  
• THE BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE MOVIE IN EXISTANCE !!!
  By on 1999-09-15
  This movie is a classic. Any movie with over sized diesel trucks, bazookas, emilio estevez playing a tough guy,pat hingle being shot in the chest half a dozen times and more!. But offcourse the most strong aspect of this film, is the fact that AC/DC does the soundtrack. Althrough the movie you get to here Acca Dacca pumping metal through the speakers. There were two majr things that got me hooked on this film. 1 Stephen King being called an "asswhole" by an automatic teller machine. 2 Acca Dacca playing the theme at the start "who made who". These are just small things that impress me about this film, i could go all day with this. In my opinion, this is the best movie out there to this day!, and i hope you will agree with me, thanks for reading!...
  
  
• A beloved trash classic (for me that is)
  By A3AY3EV2MFRFGG on 2001-02-23
  I saw Maximum Overdrive on the big screen back in the day of July 1986. I loved it then and, for the longest time, had thought a widescreen transfer of this goofy, gory end of the world thriller would never happen. Thank God the people at Anchor Bay have pulled through AGAIN.

  The movie? A rogue comet zips past earth and, for the next seven days or so, it's glowing tail will be enveloping our planet. Minutes after this happens machines of all sorts begin to get uppity and start trying to wipe humanity of the face of the earth. Several people become trapped in a truck stop and have to fight for survival.

  What lifts Maximum Overdrive is a whole lot a goofball humor and some truly great set pieces involving soda machines, bulldozers, a cursing ATM machine, and a bridge that raises up while traffic is still clogging it.

  Maximum Overdrive is a hoot, filled with gross outs and funny potty humor. It also has a rocking good score by AC/DC. Recommend for the trash b-movie lover everywhere.
  
  

• MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE KICKS @$$!
  By A31ABD2G22AA18 on 2001-05-10
  This movie rules. I dont know why some people hate it Stephen King rules and I wish he would make MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE 2000

  Just to clear this up. Its not a comet, It was a UFO hideing behind the comet. So insted of the aliens coming on earth to wipe us out they turn our man made devices on us.

  Any thing with power.

  Over all its a great thrill ride. With plenty of action. Its not a movie to be looked at to seriously like small solders. Its a great movie but its not possible. So when you watch it dont think of how much it cant happen just let your mind go and enjoy the ride. Stephen King is the man!

  the only problem I have with the DVD is that its not the fully uncut virson :-( and they need other stuff like behind the scenes and stuff.

  Rent MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE and see for yourself dont go by these reviews!
  
  

• No where NEAR as bad as people think...
  By A39NV1YAQEJX3N on 2001-06-14
  There is hardly any quality whatsoever in this film, but that's exactly what King wanted. A junk movie. This one will shock you, it will gross you out, it will make you laugh, it will even scare you if you let it. This movie is fun!!

  The film is partly based on King's short story "Trucks"...a few years ago, another movie was made partially based on the same story...the movie even holds the title: Trucks. But if you thought Maximum Overdrive was terrible (why you'd think such negative things, i don't know why) Then definately stay away from the movie 'Trucks'...one of the worst movies i seen!

  This is King's only directing job, and I gotta take my hat off to his work. Direction and composition, etc. are great! Looks very much like the style of John Carpenter. My only beef is that King declined to do a commentary for this DVD. He already recorded one for the Laserdisc release...I guess Anchor Bay couldn't get the rights to use that one...King is a master of his craft and is a genius...His commentary and insight would have made this DVD worth buying.
  
  

• Maximum Stupidity
  By on 2001-10-19
  What the hell was Stephen King thinking?!. This movie shows that Mr. King should stick only to writing. This film is a joke and a stinker in every sense of the word. One of the worst ever!!!!.
  
  
• "Jesus is coming and he is @#$$#@!"
  By A2OX54FZ4BHA37 on 2003-05-17
  In 1987, a comet will pass close to the Earth, and the planet will be enveloped in its tail. During the next seven or eight days, all machines go wacky, and rebel against their human masters. The patrons and workers of a truck stop must band together to fight off the killer trucks, electric knives, arcade games, vending machines, etc. to stay alive and find out what is causing this mess.

  Finally, a not so rare version of the cult classic! Anchor Bay has done a splendid job with this box-office bomb (yet one of my favorite films), from the disc (that looks like the front of the toy company truck),The chapter card/poster replica, the menus(the main menu and extras menu include the two main AC/DC songs from the film, but the main menu is the only place on the disc where you will hear the entire "Shook Me All Night Long" instead of just music snippets like on other discs from big-name companies), video, sound, and extras, which is my only gripe: NOT ENOUGH! Sure, a trailer and King bio are good, but what about commentary (I'm sure that Emilio Estevez, Yeardley Smith, and Stephen King would have been up to it, don't you?), still galleries, TV spots, behind the scenes,interviews, the whole nine yards? Anchor Bay should consider doing a special edition of this title(along with My Science Project, Condorman, and any title that doesn't have extras. Sure, I'd like a DVD of my favorite movie as much as the next guy, but I'd like my movies with at least a trailer and commentary, or just a trailer would be fine). Anyway, they did a good job on a (critically) ... movie.

  MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE
  (1986, R)
  Bill: Emilio Estevez
  Hendershot: Pat Hingle
  Brett: Laura Harrington
  Connie: Yeardley Smith
  Curtis: John Short
  Wanda June: Ellen McElduff

  Director: Stephen King
  Writer: Stephen King

  Disc Review (1 the lowest, 5 the highest)
  Movie: 4
  Sound: 5
  Video: 5
  Extras: 2
  Menus: 4.5
  Overall: 4
  
  

• This Is A Great Movie To See At Your Local Drive In Theatre
  By A2TAPSNKK9AFSQ on 2005-06-01
  This movie is a very good adaptation of the Stephen King story "Trucks" and King even directed this movie . It concerns the passing of a comet over the Earth which animates machines including trucks which then go on a killing spree. Trapped at the Dixie Boy Diner are a group of people including Emilio Estevez and Laura Harrington who sadly we do not see enough of in movies these days. Then you have the usual car chase, explosions, a large body count and the wholesome destruction of a roadside diner/gas station. This is the perfect Drive In Movie which is what King had in mind when he directed it. PLUS as an added bonus the Soundtrack is by the band AC/DC!!!What more could you ask for?
  
  
• KEEP ON TRUCKIN KING
  By A3LZGLA88K0LA0 on 2005-07-04
  Writer Stephen King jumped into the director's chair in this basically silly venture into the macabre. MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE suffers from too much of the same thing; a pretty bad cast except for the delightful Yeardley Smith as a whiny newlywed; amateurish special effects and plot holes a mile deep. To King's credit, he has some pretty outlandish sequences, including a bloodbath at a little league game. Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle and Laura Harrington are some of the actors lost in ill-conceived roles, and the suspense dies early. Aiming for schlock effects and gore, this movie is not one of King's high points and is viewed merely as a kind of "cult" classic in those cheesey B movies.
  
  
• Semi-Fun movie, but this is not horror!!! It's Sci-Fi, so don't show it on Halloween
  By A3FUBUJAIGM87T on 2005-10-30
  "Maximum Overdrive" is a fun Sci-Fi movie to watch, but it's not a horror movie. I saw this movie in the TV guide coming on Halloween weekend and it's characterized as "horror"...is that what they call it? I'm sorry, I just don't see it. Still, this was a pretty good idea for a book and movie, notwithstanding its obvious limitations. That said, the movie does tend to get a little boring in spots, especially toward the end...this is because of the limitations involved with such an idea. In other words, how much can you do with killer 18 wheel trucks once people get inside a gas station?
  
  The story behind "Maximum Overdrive" is basically about a comet that comes near the Earth and the presence and influence of this comet makes all of the machines go crazy from Coke machines to 18 wheeler Mack trucks. So, what you get in "Maximum Overdrive" is a Man v. Machine duel. From a Sci-Fi and comedy standpoint, the movie is mildly entertaining, especially if there is nothing else on. Still, this is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination and definitely not horror. Don't get me wrong, I would be scared of a Mack truck coming after me too, but does the movie belong in the horror movie genre or sci-fi genre?
  
  The acting is average in this movie, but Emilio Estevez does a good job in his role as the really intelligent ner do well who washes dishes at a truck stop. The script/storyline is quite imaginitive and despite being farfetched, the plot works and the audience can understand it to be plausible in a Sci-Fi kind of way.
  
  All and all, a pretty good movie, but I thought the movie declined towards the end when the survivors attempt to escape the trucks. Sci-Fi fans should check it out...horror movie fans should check my other reviews for something a little more "horrifying" than "Maximum Overdrive".
  
  
• Scary
  By on 1999-09-28
  Very scary, though it got a little unbelieveable at the end. Gave me chills for a week every time I looked at something electric and the car. Emilio Estevez was good. I liked it.
  
  

• Christine (Special Edition)
• Trucks
• The Wraith
• Stephen King's It
• The Night Flier