Maximum Overdrive (1986)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Stephen King

Writers:

Stephen King (short story "Trucks")
Stephen King (written by)

Release Date:

25 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Who Made Who?

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Truck | Machine | Truck Stop | Earth | Comet

Awards:

3 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

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

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating 2006) | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-16 | Australia:R | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis

Trivia:

In the game room of DIXIE BOY truck stop, they had a Bally Night Rider pinball game, and a Williams Pokerino (also had a few video games: A Cinematronics Star Castle, Atari Tempest Cocktail and a Konami Time Pilot '84 in a Stern cabinet). Fairly early on in the movie, the Night Rider playfield glass smashes itself, and very late in the movie, for a split second, you can see the games being plowed into by a semi truck.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the brown truck starts and a shot first shows the interior, it is the interior of the Mack that later attacks the couple on the highway. Another shot of the brown truck's interior shows it is clearly not the Mack, meaning that it was just repeated footage.

Quotes:

Man At Cashpoint: [First lines]
[as the ATM machine is calling him an asshole]
Man At Cashpoint: Honeybun! This machine just called me an asshole!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pineapple Express (2008)

Soundtrack:

Shake Your Foundations

HOORAH, STEAM ROLLER!!!!

Get sick of movies with intricate plots, outstanding acting, and multiple Academy Award nominations? Then go grab Maximum Overdrive! 90 minutes of mindless truck attacks, rocket launchers and A STEAM ROLLER RUNNING OVER A LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER!!! Now, most readers are probably thinking that this is a pretty sick review, but keep in mind that this is A MOVIE. Not real life. Even with all of this in mind, I think it is fair to say that Stephen King did a fair job with the directing. It's by no means fantastic, but it is far better done than most Cult Classic, B-flicks. Happy watching!