A group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.A group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.A group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.
- Awards
- 4 nominations total
Robert Gooden
- Barry
- (as Bob Gooden)
Featured reviews
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!
This was one of those films I would always pass up, showing little interest until today. And what did I just watch?! The opening half-hour is insane... entertainingly insane. All coked-up, and on the fly.. all these ideas come together in a stupid collection of out-there, and homicidal set-pieces. As every bit of machinery becomes demonically possessed, after a comet passes through the Earth's atmosphere. So no one is safe from the onslaught when the machines start a global crisis for blood.
Director Stephen King (who also makes an amusing cameo at the beginning) lines it up with dark humour, ripe performances and outrageous stunts. It's pure chaotic madness! I admit, I didn't find the second half to be as impressive when the action comes to a standstill at an isolated truck stop, but still, there are enough silly, bug-eyed decisions in the latter half to get your rocks off with the likes of Emilio Estevez and a rocket launcher packing Pat Hingle heading a motley crew against circling trucks led by a green goblin rig. Not to forget either the brutal encounters with a machine gun mounted mule and an electric knife. After such a cracking set-up, it's just too bad the film's final payoff isn't much of one. Also you can't go wrong with an electrifying AC/DC soundtrack, which doesn't wait around to kick in, by opening with the killer track "Who Made Who"? blaring away.
Director Stephen King (who also makes an amusing cameo at the beginning) lines it up with dark humour, ripe performances and outrageous stunts. It's pure chaotic madness! I admit, I didn't find the second half to be as impressive when the action comes to a standstill at an isolated truck stop, but still, there are enough silly, bug-eyed decisions in the latter half to get your rocks off with the likes of Emilio Estevez and a rocket launcher packing Pat Hingle heading a motley crew against circling trucks led by a green goblin rig. Not to forget either the brutal encounters with a machine gun mounted mule and an electric knife. After such a cracking set-up, it's just too bad the film's final payoff isn't much of one. Also you can't go wrong with an electrifying AC/DC soundtrack, which doesn't wait around to kick in, by opening with the killer track "Who Made Who"? blaring away.
Trucking Hell!!! Celebrated Horror scrivener, Stephen King's turbocharged road-wrecking creepshow 'Maximum Overdrive' is still the Mack Daddy of calamitous Truck Stop carnage! These bloodthirsty, high-octane, devil-possessed, diesel drinking death machines are Hell on Wheels, all enacting one unified apocalyptic plan, for sinister reasons entirely alien, these wide load, wantonly reckless, wrecking ball behemoths are ghoulishly geared up to massacre all mankind! All brakes are off! As 80s cult classic 'Maximum Overdrive' is grandiose vehicular manslaughter on a biblical scale, a comet-induced Carmageddon, it's the end of days on the sun-soaked, gore-caked highways! Buckle up B-Horror freaks! Stephen King is about to take you on an pedal to the mental, adrenaline-fuelled, full throttled terror trip into a terrifyingly Twilight Zone'd diorama of gruesomely mechanized slaughter!
Stephen King wrote and directed this much-maligned film adaptation of his short story "Trucks." The plot has Earth passing through the tail of a comet, which somehow causes all the machines on Earth to come to life with murderous intentions. A group of people find themselves trapped in a truck stop surrounded by semi-trucks and other vehicles. The trucks, led by one with a huge Green Goblin face on the front, wait for the humans to leave the truck stop so they can kill them one by one.
This is one of my favorite guilty pleasures from the '80s. It's a ludicrous popcorn movie with an awesome soundtrack by AC/DC and a cast that includes Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Frankie Faison, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. Stephen King appears in a funny cameo at the beginning. This movie was HATED at the time and remains hated today, at least by stuffy film snob types. It's a fun movie! Not everything has to be high art. For people who are fans of silly and cheesy movies, this is right up your alley. Auto nuts might also like it for all the different old vehicles on display. Ignore the critics and give it a shot.
This is one of my favorite guilty pleasures from the '80s. It's a ludicrous popcorn movie with an awesome soundtrack by AC/DC and a cast that includes Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Frankie Faison, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. Stephen King appears in a funny cameo at the beginning. This movie was HATED at the time and remains hated today, at least by stuffy film snob types. It's a fun movie! Not everything has to be high art. For people who are fans of silly and cheesy movies, this is right up your alley. Auto nuts might also like it for all the different old vehicles on display. Ignore the critics and give it a shot.
When Earth passes through the tail of Rea-M rogue comet, the machines come to life and threaten and kill the mankind. A group of survivors is under siege of fierce trucks in the Dixie Boy truck stop in a gas station and they have to fight to survive.
"Maximum Overdrive" is a silly, campy, funny and highly entertaining movie by Stephen King with a great soundtrack by AC/DC. Despite the awful story, acting and direction, I saw this cult movie again yesterday afternoon and it makes laugh so stupid it is. Fortunately Stephen King has given up directing movies. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Comboio do Terror" ("Convoy of Terror")
"Maximum Overdrive" is a silly, campy, funny and highly entertaining movie by Stephen King with a great soundtrack by AC/DC. Despite the awful story, acting and direction, I saw this cult movie again yesterday afternoon and it makes laugh so stupid it is. Fortunately Stephen King has given up directing movies. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Comboio do Terror" ("Convoy of Terror")
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen asked why he hasn't directed a movie since this one, Stephen King responded, "Just watch 'Maximum Overdrive'."
- GoofsThe image of the Earth shown at the beginning of the movie is reversed.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Man At Cashpoint: Honey, come on over here, sugarbuns. This machine just called me an asshole.
- Alternate versionsThere are many deleted scenes from the film that are mentioned throughout literature and seen in photo stills from the film. Stephen King has mentioned on several occasions that the film was heavily cut to avoid an X rating from the MPAA. King has also spoken of showing the uncut version to fellow horror director George Romero and was quoted as saying that it made Mr. Romero sick. The removed shots were:
- Three Seconds of Bubba Hendershot getting shot up by the military vehicle in the Dixie-Boy Truck Stop shoot out scene.
- Three seconds of the steam roller running over Bobby.
- Three seconds of the bible salesman's face falling into his lap.
- Few Seconds of the motorcyclist throwing his arms over his face, exactly shown in the film-trailer, just before plunging into the water.
- Additional seconds of Steve Gayton at Duncan's aid after getting sprayed by diesel-fuel in the eyes.
- Six seconds of the electrical cutting knife slicing off Frank's right index finger.
- Three seconds of the ill-fated video-player saying "Wooow!" just before getting zapped, as shown in the theatrical-trailer.
- Few seconds of the pop can leaving an imprint on the Coach's forehead that expands into a huge bladder on his forehead and spraying blood.
- Few seconds of the Coach's forehead-bladder popping.
- Additional seconds of the Coach warning Deke to get away just before he dies.
- Additional seconds of the steamroller riding through a nearby parking lot and Bobby's father getting squashed by it.
- A shot of a half of a chewed up body by the lawnmower in a backyard.
- An additional shot of the dead gas station attendant at the gas station.
- As Deke comes riding along on his bike, he comes to a stop. We can see a full back view of a car off in the distance on the right side of the road. As the Ice Cream Truck comes, we can still see it.
- We see a dead ice cream man in the ice cream truck.
- The Videoplayer escapes the Dixie-Boy unseen and hides in the drainage ditch
- Another guy hides in the drainage ditch.
- Additional seconds of the bible salesman getting attacked by the Videoplayer and his buddy who attempts to cut off his face with a straight razor. But the two run unseen off with his knife because the bible salesman screamed.
- A few seconds of the bible salesman's noggin pealing down revealing his blooded skull as he rises up in the drainage ditch.
- As Brad runs to a nearby car with the dead woman, we can see a full back view of a school bus on the left side of the dirt road. And when Brad screams as he is about to die from the HappyToyz truck, we can still see the bus.
- The last close-up of the Happy-Toyz truck's GreenGoblin face is re-flipped, exactly shown in the theatrical trailer, instead of the "backwords-flipped" view. There are reports of a mat-painting of a infamous American city destroyed by the machines. There are reports that in a international version, Hendershot, and truckers Harry and Frank are among the survivors; leaving only trucker Rolf and waitress Wanda June as the casualties of the sentient gun-jeep. Reports also indicate that Duncan Keller is a survivor as well. There was a rumour about a supposed uncut VHS tape having been released by Lorimar in the early '90s but this is false. The uncut version has never been released on any format, in any country. This was a false rumor started on the Internet. Only Stephen King holds the original print of the uncut version and as of 2013, has not released it in any format.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Cinemania: Stephen King: O vasilias tou tromou (2009)
- SoundtracksWho Made Who
Written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson
Produced by Harry Vanda, George Young
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 8 días de terror
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,433,663
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,205,644
- Jul 27, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $7,433,663
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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