Maximum Overdrive

For the song by 2 Unlimited, see Maximum Overdrive (song).

Maximum Overdrive
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStephen King
Screenplay byStephen King
Based on"Trucks"
by Stephen King
Produced byMartha Schumacher
Starring
CinematographyArmando Nannuzzi
Edited byEvan A. Lottman
Music byAC/DC
Production
company
Distributed byDe Laurentiis Entertainment Group
Release date
  • July 25, 1986 (1986-07-25)
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million[2][3]
Box office$7.4 million[4] or $3.5 million (North America)[3]

Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American horror film written and directed by Stephen King.[5] The film stars Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story "Trucks", which was included in the author's first collection of short stories, Night Shift, and follows the events after all machines (including trucks, radios, arcade games, vending machines, etc.) become sentient when Earth crosses the tail of a comet, initiating a world-wide killing spree.

The film is King's only directorial effort, though dozens of films have been based on his novels or short stories. It contained black humor elements and a generally campy tone, which contrasts with King's somber subject matter in books. The film has a mid-1980s hard rock soundtrack composed entirely by the group AC/DC (King's favorite band), whose album Who Made Who was released as the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack. It includes the best-selling singles "Who Made Who", "You Shook Me All Night Long", and "Hells Bells".

Maximum Overdrive was theatrically released on July 25, 1986, to critical and commercial failure. It was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Director for King and Worst Actor for Estevez in 1987, but both lost to Prince for Under the Cherry Moon.[6] King disowned the film, describing it as a "moron movie", and considered the process a learning experience,[7] after which he intended never to direct again.[8]

  1. ^ "Maximum Overdrive (18)". British Board of Film Classification. September 3, 1987. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  2. ^ Friendly, David T. (November 16, 1985). "De Laurentiis Rejoins the Ranks--At Embassy". Los Angeles Times. p. e1.
  3. ^ a b Knoedelseder Jr., William K. (August 30, 1987). "De Laurentiis Producer's Picture Darkens". Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Maximum Overdrive (1986)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  5. ^ Beday, Jeremy. "Maximum Overdrive (1986)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference razzies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Magistrale, Tony (November 22, 2003). Hollywood's Stephen King. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-312-29321-5. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Thomas, Bob (July 23, 1986). "'Selling' his movie is a new chore for author Stephen King". Associated Press. p. 3C. Retrieved January 22, 2010.