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#185 - Maximum Overdrive
Stephen King, 1986
When a passing comet causes all machines on Earth to come alive and start attacking humans, a group of survivors must fight off their mechanical foes.
Ah, the '80s, where renowned horror writer Stephen King could try his hand at directing a film based on his own writing and almost succeed. Maximum Overdrive - based on the short story "Trucks" about (you guessed it) trucks that come to life and start terrorising humans - is not without its charm. It does revel in its absurdity quite a bit as it pits a collection of odd individuals against an army of killer trucks and mechanical devices, featuring a number of gory and occasionally comical deaths in the process. The fact that the soundtrack consists of songs by AC/DC only adds to the sense of chaotic absurdity taking place on-screen. However, even King's own twisted sensibilities are not enough to truly redeem this film - the characters are too flat to make a simplistic plot truly pop, plus the scenes of extreme violence and vehicular destruction can grow repetitive even in a film as short as this one. While I was hoping that Maximum Overdrive would be a rather fun and propulsive little B-movie, the strengths that it does have are not nearly enough to carry it that far and instead leave a rather middling excuse for a carnage-filled mix of action, horror, and comedy.
Stephen King, 1986
When a passing comet causes all machines on Earth to come alive and start attacking humans, a group of survivors must fight off their mechanical foes.
Ah, the '80s, where renowned horror writer Stephen King could try his hand at directing a film based on his own writing and almost succeed. Maximum Overdrive - based on the short story "Trucks" about (you guessed it) trucks that come to life and start terrorising humans - is not without its charm. It does revel in its absurdity quite a bit as it pits a collection of odd individuals against an army of killer trucks and mechanical devices, featuring a number of gory and occasionally comical deaths in the process. The fact that the soundtrack consists of songs by AC/DC only adds to the sense of chaotic absurdity taking place on-screen. However, even King's own twisted sensibilities are not enough to truly redeem this film - the characters are too flat to make a simplistic plot truly pop, plus the scenes of extreme violence and vehicular destruction can grow repetitive even in a film as short as this one. While I was hoping that Maximum Overdrive would be a rather fun and propulsive little B-movie, the strengths that it does have are not nearly enough to carry it that far and instead leave a rather middling excuse for a carnage-filled mix of action, horror, and comedy.