Maximum Overdrive (1986)

A group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.

Director:

Stephen King

Writers:

Stephen King (short story "Trucks"), Stephen King

Stars:

Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emilio Estevez	...	Bill Robinson
Pat Hingle	...	Bubba Hendershot
Laura Harrington	...	Brett
Yeardley Smith	...	Connie
John Short	...	Curtis
Ellen McElduff	...	Wanda June
J.C. Quinn	...	Duncan Keller
Christopher Murney	...	Camp Loman
Holter Graham	...	Deke Keller
Frankie Faison	...	Handy
Pat Miller	...	Joe
Jack Canon	...	Max
Barry Bell	...	Steve Gayton
John Brasington	...	Frank
J. Don Ferguson	...	Andy

Storyline

For 8 days in 1986, the earth passed through the tail of a mysterious Rea-M rogue comet. During that time, machines on earth suddenly come to life and terrorize their human creators. A small group of people in a truck stop, surrounded by "alive" semi-trailers, set out to stop the machines before the machines stop them.

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Plot Keywords:

truck | machine | truck stop | earth | comet | 

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Taglines:

The day horror went into overdrive.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ocho días de terror

Filming Locations:

Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,433,663 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie trailer, Stephen King said he decided to direct the film himself after writing several because he wanted to see Stephen King done right. "If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself."

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Goofs

When the main Truck backs up, knocking the Bible Salesman into a ditch there is no blood. But as the Truck is pulling away there is blood all over the back of the trailer.

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Quotes

Coach: Sodas, I'm buyin'!

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Connections

Features Star Castle (1980)

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Soundtracks

"For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)"
Performed by AC/DC
Written in 1981
Re-mixed for Maximum Overdrive

User Reviews

An all-time underrated comedy...

Hey, can't Big Steve have a little fun, too? I don't think this was a "so bad it's funny" movie - it's too well done to have been constructed as anything but a real comedy. Viewing this in the context of a traditional horror/slasher movie doesn't do it justice, and with deference to previous reviewers, trying to analyze the technical feasibility of the antics of the machines is a lot like making a big deal about pointing out the historical inaccuracies in Monty Python and the Holy Grail - why? It's a MOVIE, folks, and the liberties Our Most Televised Red Sox Fan takes with the things machines can do make it a damned funny one at that. The scenes, characters, and quotes are a notch below the aforementioned Grail, Spinal Tap, or Clerks, but still classic. (I've been caught by more than one co-worker standing at my desk screaming "WE MADE YOU!" at my laptop, but hey, to each his own.) Five out of five stars, as long as you come in with the right perspective!