REVIEW – Maximum Overdrive

Published on: 4th March, 2010

REVIEW - Maximum Overdrive  | read this item

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Having been the author and inspiration for such classics as Carrie, Salem’s Lot and Christine, it was inevitable that one day Stephen King would try his hand at directing. He had, after all, expressed disappointment at Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, so by 1986 the time had come for him to show what he was made of. The the soundtrack of rock legends AC/DC and featuring ‘actor of the moment’ Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire), King’s one and only directorial attempt would be Maximum Overdrive, which would saw machine finally turn against man. Whilst this one-sentence premise may sound reminiscent of James Cameron’s classic The Terminator, the two could not be further apart.

When Earth passes through the tail of a rogue comet, all of the electrical appliances on the planet suddenly develop a life of their own and turn on their masters. After a drawbridge raises unexpectedly, causing severe damage to both cars and passengers, other machines begin to show signs of erratic behaviour: drink dispensers fire out cans like missiles, a diesel nozzle sprays an attendant in the eyes and (in a cameo from the director) an ATM calls an uptight man an ‘asshole.’ As a variety of misfits congregate at a truck stop known as The Dixie Boy, a group of survivors attempt to escape from both the danger inside and the trucks that wait for them outside.

As with 1984’s Repo Man, Estevez once again portrays a rebellious punk from the wrong side of the tracks, although this time he is promoted to the role of hero. Lacking his usual sarcastic charm, his turn as former con Bill Robinson is hardly amongst his most memorable, and sadly there are no other truly likable characters that the audience can side with. Having also taken on duties as director, it seems that King did not put as much effort into his script as he does with his books, as the story is thin on character and suspense. After watching Maximum Overdrive, it seems amusing that he would have the cheek to criticize a master filmmaker such as Kubrick.

Where the movie does score points is with its villain: a menacing truck with a Green Goblin face attached to the front, which sports a Happy Toyz Co. logo on the side (hence the playful design). The truck is truly menacing and stands alongside Cujo as one of King’s most underrated mosters. Unfortunately, the trucks are so effective that when they are not on screen the movie suffers greatly, as almost every other aspect of the film is somewhat mediocre. The special effects are mostly impressive for such a low budget horror (except the visual effects, such as in the games machine room early on in the film), although there is little gore to satisfy the hardcore fans.

Whilst some of the AC/DC songs used are up to their usual standard (released separately as Who Made Who), they often distract from the horror aspects of the movie, unintentionally ruining what should be tense moments. Some of the supporting cast are a little irritating as well, most notably Yeardley Smith (known to fans of The Simpsons as Lisa) and her on-screen husband John Short. Maximum Overdrive is far from King’s best movie and lacks any real character or suspense, but as a mid-’80s flick it is a lot of fun.

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