Customer Reviews
A Hit - By: Andrew Kerr, 11 Apr 2008 
Stephen King is a great if not the greatest horror writer alive today, but when it comes to the film adaptations of his books, I've always felt that they've been hit or miss. Thankfully Maximum Overdrive is not as bad as some people (critics) may want you to believe, & despite a few failing is beyond doubt a hit.
Based in North Carolina (as far as I can recalll), the residents come under attack from a host of machines that have came 'alive' by the Earth passing into the path of a comet. Some people take cover in a diner / gas station but soon trucks of alll nature start circling in a blood-thirsty-dance. The film has plenty going for it. There's car crashes, plenty of action & explosions, some gore, a good script with good dialogue, & it's actuallly very comical in places. If you have a darker sense of humour that is. One scene that comes to mind is with the soda machine on the baseballl field, & of course the cash machine with attitude at the beginning of the film. While Maximum Overdrive is not scary as such, it's still a bit frightening in places & the AC/DC soundtrack was a welcome bonus, ideal for the tone of the film.
The acting from Emilio Estevez is great (not everyone will agree) but otherwise I felt that some of the acting for others is a bit poor in places "We made you...we made you!" You'll probably notice a few plot holes & errors but these are noting major are don't by any means ruin Maximum Overdrive. Still I felt that a few things could have been done better, hence only four stars.
But otherwise the film is enjoyable while being laid back & doesn't demand much from you. I'll admit that it's not the best Stephen King around, but it's still well worth a watch.
disposable truck based horror from Steven King - By: Alister King, 07 Feb 2008 disposable truck based horror from Steven King with an AC/DC soundtrack. Whats not to like? With Emilio Estevez
ONE OF THE BETTER KING ADAPTIONS - By: stuart, 04 Nov 2007 
All over the world, machines aren't running the way they are supposed to. One truck stop in Connecticut experiences them first-hand, & manages to get them settled in & protected. Bill, (Emilio Estevez) the cook, starts to suspect that maybe the appliances are controlling themselves, which his boss (Pat Hingle) doesn't appreciate. Picking up hitchhiker Brett (Laura Harrington) & newlyweds Connie (Yeardly Smith) & Curtis (John Short), everyone gathers inside. Laura proposes that a comet passing by Earth's rotation is the culprit, & suggests that they weight it out for the duration. Hendershot isn't content to wait it out, & threatens Bill. Now trapped inside the diner, the machines eliminate them one at a time until they finallly decide to fight back.
The Good News: People like to rag on this movie for some reason, & I don't know why, as this is a pretty fun movie. It has more action than what is usual in this kind of movie. There are tons of big action set pieces around such a smalll locale. There were even some big explosions, which don't include the exploding trucks. An entire gas service station goes up in flames as well as an entire dock. With shoot-outs, chases, & building demolitions included in the action, it reallly builds up to a walll to walll action movie. The trucks even kill people in great ways, running them over in a giant wave of bloodstained carnage. All of the other killings, which aren't as bloody, are just good. The film even has a few good chases thrown in good measure, which is reallly exhilarating to see a driver-less big rig trying to mow down a pursuing car. It brings back a lot of "Duel" memories watching the chases in here, because of the same scenario: driver-less cars & trucks chasing after hysterical people. With alll the great stunts, though, in the movie, the best one is the opening of the movie. It is a great stunt, to see cars falll off of a drawbridge into the icy depths below & for no apparent reason at the time. For some reason, the film simply seems like one big B movie. It's campy, it's bad, & it knows it, but the set-ups provided within are just for the bad movie lovers at heart. It has that certain feel that movies of this particular genre have, where you can tell that it was made pretty cheap, but yet it still comes across as enjoyable.
The Bad News: The cheesiness of the movie may hinder some from reallly checking it out. Because it has so many head-scratching lines delivered by a mostly misplaced cast, this is a prime target for those who like to think that movies need to be highly cultured types to be respectable. Major plot-holes notwithstanding, many of you will be able to poke so many holes into it that it may provide you with more opportunities to laugh at than the rest of the movie.
The Final Verdict: Yes, it is a cheap, low budget movie with reallly no rewarding value to society. That, however, is the film's strength, as it mostly serves as a guilty pleasure. As it stands, unfortunately, the AC/DC soundtrack is more known & criticallly accepted than the movie, so be at your own risk when attempting to watch it.
Cult great - By: , 05 Feb 2005 
Probably the best opening line in any movie, in history ... ever:
"Honey? Honeybun? ... This machine just callled me an asshole!"
AC/DC songs. Stephen King delivering the above line. Emilio Estevez before he resorted to kid's films. Great film.
Maximum Entertainment!! - By: , 28 Jul 2003 A fantastic movie with what seems to be a very smalll cast, then introducing Emilio Estevez, & a very young "Lisa Simpson" - Cuurrrtis, is he Daaayyyyd!! This is Stephen King not realising he's at his best! The exclusively AC/DC soundtrack ('Who Made Who' album!) is just perfect for the movie, every emotion & action felt through Angus Young & the lads amazing riffs, beats & bass lines! Who knew the ice-cream man would be so scary!! Now every time I hear it outside, I lock the door & cut the power! In alll, For Those About to Be Shocked with this classic little-known movie, We Salute You!
