Maximum Overdrive [Blu-ray] [1986]

Not the best Stephen King film, but it is actually quite fun, especially at a party. This new Blu Ray is loaded with great stuff. Some inventive violence and the Green Goblin truck still looks cool after all of these years.

I hadn’t seen 1986’s MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE since probably sometime in the early ‘90s. Tonight, I threw on the features laden Vestron Video Collector’s Series blu ray. The only directorial effort from the legendary Stephen King has a fairly crappy reputation. However, as undercooked, cheesy, and choppy as it is, there was enough B movie panache to keep me entertained. That being said, there’s no doubt that some of it is just flat out bad, though. When Earth passes through the tail of a rogue comet, a malevolent force possesses machinery everywhere. The newly sentient machines, including electric knives, pop dispensers, lawn mowers, and semi trucks, become single minded in their effort to wipe out humanity. The main story follows an eclectic assemblage of folks trapped in a rural North Carolina truck stop. Emilio Estevez plays the lead as parolee and unlikely hero Bill Robinson. His boss, slimy good ol’ boy Hendershot (cigar chomping Pat Hingle) runs the stop and doesn’t take kindly to challenges to his authority. Eventually we meet sassy hitchhiker Brett (Laura Harrington) and newlyweds Connie (Yeardley Smith just a few years before taking the role of Lisa Simpson) and Curt (John Short). As a fleet of big rig trucks lays siege to the stop, the captive humans become more and more desperate. Look out for future THE WIRE actor Frankie Faison, future BREAKING BAD actor Giancarlo Esposito, and future ex-wife of Donald Trump, Marla Maples, in a bit role. King also wrote the script, loosely basing it on one of his own short stories. It shares some passing similarity to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD structurally, but it’s not nearly as tight a film as that masterpiece. The hook, though silly, is effective. However, King’s handling of his characters as a writer and as a director feels limp and thin. Considering the iconic novelist has stated that he was coked out of his mind for the entire production, this is perhaps unsurprising. On the other hand, some of his most beloved novels were written while he was still in thrall to his addiction so it’s hard to say what went wrong here. His inexperience in filmmaking is most obvious in the scenes that don’t involve any sort of mayhem or action, in any case. Despite a disappointingly heavy hand in any sort of dramatic sequence, there’s a pleasing darkly humorous comic book-y tone to the piece that makes up for some of the missteps. Additionally, the effects work, including many convincing driverless vehicles, big explosions, and practical gore, is nicely done. King successfully gives a few of the machines a certain amount of personality, with the most notable being the rig adorned with a giant ornamental Green Goblin face (perhaps the most recognizable element of the film). AC/DC provides the vast majority of the music in the flick, adding to the fun atmosphere. In fact, the album “Who Made Who” was released as the official soundtrack. Performances are about as fine as could be expected. I’ve always found Estevez to be a likable screen presence and that doesn’t change here. Smith is particularly grating, but she’s not given much more to do than screech hysterically. If you can forgive some uninspired segues and shallow character work, and if you don’t think about the premise too hard, there’s a little bit of fun to be had with Stephen King’s MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE. As a cheesy violent ‘80s sci fi fantasy film, you could do much worse. Emilio Estevez is charismatic in the lead, though he doesn’t have to stretch much. I guess I’m not sure why it gets as much hate as it does. It’s really not that bad. I’d even say it’s a fine popcorn muncher. Though they’re all much better efforts, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE is recommended for fans of CHRISTINE, CREEPSHOW, and TREMORS.

I confess. This movie is not for everyone, but this still kicks major tail! Directed by Stephen King, killer soundtrack by AC/DC, cheesy acting and total carnage. My rating reflects the Blu Ray. The movie is tough to reccomend because of how insane of a product it gets, but this blu ray release is top notch. Each featurette goes into a great detail on the making of the movie (I reccomend looking at the interview with the special effects make up guy. He goes into detail over the stuff the MPAA forced to remove), the audio commentaries are enjoyable and a little informative, and full of vintage promos. If this is as good of a release we are going to get, I say up right buy it! Perfect for home theater systems who want "Who Made Who" to blast on the speakers.

Kick it into overdrive with this Stephen King classic! I haven't watched this film since it was on TV back in the 80's. A fun flick with some gory scenes and just wild action. Great for any movie night!

I don't care what anyone says this is an awesome movie.

great movie, haven't seen in years. must see if you like the green goblin truck

Vestron Video has really been kicking butt on their releases, it's a shame there aren't more titles in their catalog. I would love to see The Descent get this treatment.

Thanks to Vestron , great movies like this that might be lost to the 80s and live on. The Soundtrack is great, I remember as a kid watching this over and over having recorded it on VHS from HBO or on TBS LOL ... yes there used to be more to tv than NETFLIX and Ondemand.