MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE
US, 1986, 85 minutes, Colour.
Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington.
Directed by Stephen King.
Maximum Overdrive is the only film directed by Stephen King. He also wrote it for the screen. At the opening of the film, he does a cameo where he talks to a machine which then spells out "asshole" to him. This might serve as a comment on his abilities as writer and director. Often, there is a vulgar streak about King's writing. It is to the fore in this film. Crass language and expression, rather than the work of an articulate novelist.
The story is not much better. There is a hypothesis of Earth moving into the shadow of an asteroid and machines going out of control. This provides for a lot of mayhem, bridges opening and vehicles falling all, trucks bashing into other trucks and people, trucks circling a truck stop like Little Big Horn. There is very little for characters to do except look scared and band together to combat the trucks.
It is not Emilio Estevez's finest film and Pat Hingle portrays the crass owner of the truck stop. Laura Harrington is the romantic interest. Not a particularly good Stephen King film.
1. The work of Stephen King, novels, short stories, adaptations for the screen? His work here as writer, director - with his initial cameo?
2. The locations, the river and the bridge opening, the truck stop, the open roads, the stormwater channels, the diner? Thumping musical score? Special effects for the crashes and explosions?
3. The background of the science, the effect of the asteroid on Earth, on electrical systems, their destructiveness? The six days in the shadow? The final information with the UFO, the shooting down of the asteroid by the Russians? Plausible, implausible?
4. The title, the effect of the experience on machines, their going into overdrive, action, violence, wanting more petrol?
5. The opening on the bridge, the crashes, the people falling off the bridge? The man playing the video games and his electrocution, the other people victims of the machines? The waitress and the knife attacking her? The behaviour of the machines, circling (especially the truck with the diabolical face on the front)? The machine gun coming and mayhem? The other vehicles?
6. The people in the diner, the crass owner and his criticisms of Bill Robinson, his hold over him as on parole? The woman and the knife attack? The customers? The other characters, the man in the car, Brett and her getting a lift, her clash with the salesman? The married couple in the car? The young boy on his bicycle? His father being blinded and killed by the truck?
7. Going into action, banding together, the dangers in the diner and the machine gun shooting? The trucks crashing? The Morse code and the boy interpreting, the demand for filling up with petrol? Bill Robinson and his going through the stormwater channel, rescuing the boy? The tactics for confrontation?
8. The final explosions, the survivors being vindicated? The scientific information? And everything returning to normal?
