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Maximum Overdrive [VHS]
Product Description"I'm gonna scare the hell out of you," intones Stephen King in the trailer for his sole directorial effort, the much-maligned Maximum Overdrive. While the end result doesn't live up to that boast, this sci-fi/horror tale isn't as awful as it's been described. King's script (based on his short story "Trucks") focuses on the patrons of a North Carolina truck stop, which comes under attack by a convoy of trucks and other machines animated by Earth's passage through the tail of a "rogue comet." King's fans, tired of half-baked screen adaptations like Cujo and Children of the Corn, expected a horror home run from Maximum Overdrive and instead got an old-fashioned drive-in movie filled with car crashes, cheapjack gore, and fart jokes. Needless to say, they stayed away in droves; the film's failure helped ruin producer Dino De Laurentiis's DEG Films and forced King to sheepishly claim that he had created a modern-day Plan Nine from Outer Space. While the film is torpidly paced and often amateurishly acted, it's no worse than any direct-to-video thriller, and King's ear for dialogue occasionally shines through the gloom. Emilio Estevez and Pat Hingle register as a heroic cook and his black-hearted boss, respectively; the cast includes Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson's voice), Giancarlo Esposito, and Marla Maples (!) as a victim. Anchor Bay's letterboxed print is the R-rated theatrical version; the film was cut extensively after receiving an X rating for violence. The original trailer and a thorough biography on King are also included. --Paul Gaita
Most Recent Customer ReviewsDate : 2010-03-03
Summary : B Movie Fun!
Yes this movie is sub par as some have said. However when have people started to take all the fun out of campy "B" movies? I own more than my fair share of "B" movies and I have to say that watching them without expectation is fun. You get to make up your own lines and crack jokes with your friends as well as mentally to yourself. Maximum Overdrive may have bad acting, almost no fx, and isn't scary but it is still a good time.
Date : 2010-02-22
Summary : Love It!!
I have almost all of Stephen King's movies. This is one of my all time favorites. If you like Stephen King, you'll love this movie. Seller I purchased from was little slow on shipping but it was a good price so it all worked out. Thanks
Date : 2010-02-15
Summary : maximum overdrive
My family was very happy that I finally got this movie on a dvd and that it was original. We had taped this movie on VHS and it was getting old and when they show it on TV they cut so much of it.
Date : 2010-01-28
Summary : "Honey The Machine Called Me An A#$*whole"
Ounce again, King didnt let me down. Like all of his other movies this one is great.
Made in 86' Its a story about machines that come to life and try to take over the human race. A bunch of people get stuck in this truckstop with a bunch of these trucks all around the place so that they cant leave. Emilio Estevez "Young Guns," "The Outsiders" plays the hero in this movie that tries to save everyone in the truck stop. But will he save them in time? Buy the movie and find out. The whole soundtrack to this movie is AC/DC'S album Who Made Who. Which I thought was cool. Pick this movie up at amazon.
Date : 2010-01-27
Summary : Maximum Overdrive
When a mysterious comet passes close within the Earth, machines all over the World come alive and go on homicidal rampages. A group of people in a desolate Truck Stop are held hostage by a gang of homicidal 18-wheelers. The frightened people set out to defeat the killer machines, or be killed by them. Maximum Overdrive is a cool and outrageous cult classic.
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