"I'm gonna scare the hell out of you," intones Stephen King in the trailer for his sole directorial effort, the much-maligned Maximum Overdrive. While the end result doesn't live up to that boast, this sci-fi/horror tale isn't as awful as it's been described. King's script (based on his short story "Trucks") focuses on the patrons of a North Carolina truck stop, which comes under attack by a convoy of trucks and other machines animated by Earth's passage through the tail of a "rogue comet." King's fans, tired of half-baked screen adaptations like Cujo and Children of the Corn, expected a horror home run from Maximum Overdrive and instead got an old-fashioned drive-in movie filled with car crashes, cheapjack gore, and fart jokes. Needless to say, they stayed away in droves; the film's failure helped ruin producer Dino De Laurentiis's DEG Films and forced King to sheepishly claim that he had created a modern-day Plan Nine from Outer Space. While the film is torpidly paced and often amateurishly acted, it's no worse than any direct-to-video thriller, and King's ear for dialogue occasionally shines through the gloom. Emilio Estevez and Pat Hingle register as a heroic cook and his black-hearted boss, respectively; the cast includes Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson's voice), Giancarlo Esposito, and Marla Maples (!) as a victim. Anchor Bay's letterboxed print is the R-rated theatrical version; the film was cut extensively after receiving an X rating for violence. The original trailer and a thorough biography on King are also included. --Paul Gaita
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Yes, That Little Redneck Bride Is The Voice Of Lisa From The Simpsons... Comment: While this movie holds great memories of the era that it came from, I guess it's taken me slightly over twenty years to realize that this has got to be some of the WORSE acting I've ever seen on film, or at least pretty darn close. Heck, even Emilio can't do it out of a paper bag. Still, the movie/disc has some redeeming qualities, the trucker riggs, especially the Green Goblin-faced one, are cool to watch run over people again and again, the AC/DC soundtrack has me screaming "Who Made Who!" all throughout my house, and the OOP Anchor Bay cover is probably one of the goriest ones ever to grace a Superstore shelf. Another plus is the Hitchcockian trailer featuring Stephen King himself saying rants like "I've seen others direct my stories before, but if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself". Really Steve, ya sure about that? Definitely needs to sit by your copy of "Plan 9 From Outer Space", it's so bad at times it's wonderful.
(RedSabbath Rating:7.0/10) Customer Rating: Summary: maximum overdrive review Comment: i had been looking for this movie for weeks. a friend of mine suggested trying google to find it. there it was. this movie is a classic. Customer Rating: Summary: B Movie Comment: So many ppl give this movie a bad review, but really what did you expect? Its about killer trucks ppl, isnt that crazy enuf for ppl to understand ur not guna get riveting story telling and acting, but if you want one of the best b movies this is it! Bad acting, horrible accents, over kill on the blood, and yeardley smith...This will always be my fav movie, you dont think, you just watch...better than putting in some movie thats trying to be the most amazing thing youve ever watch, and it being full of holes, mistakes and errors. Customer Rating: Summary: What Were You Expecting? Comment: You read the box; knew what the premise of the movie was. Why the petulance? This movie is a classic cheese fest with good performances throughout.
Cons: The suspension of disbelief can be hard to swallow at times, but try and you will reap rewards.
Whatever, this movie is awesome. I recommend it with friends, but, hey, its entertaining on its own. Good MST3000 material. Customer Rating: Summary: It was good until Comment: This movie is considered one of the worst films of all time. Well the first half hour was pretty good and then it all went to hell from there. The newlywed couple were very annoying and the gerenade launcher was stupid. Pat Hingle puts on a great performance in a lackluster movie.
