PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’ve written about Maximum Overdrive before, and I’m beginning to realize that I’m pretty obsessed with the film. I was lucky enough to remember when it came out, and witnessed firsthand the crazy trailer with the Halloween 3 music, the glowing Green Goblin eyes, and the crazy -ooking dude that had thought up Christine, Carrie, and Salem’s Lot. He’d already scared the hell out of me before by proxy plenty of times before that, but he was going to do it personally now, as the man himself directed the film. The Maximum Overdrive trailer and the poster art made it my most anticipated flick of 1986. If all the other King adaptations were nightmare fuel, this one had to be the high octane racing gas.
It ultimately didn’t quite go down that way when I finally did see it, but what I suspected then is what I know now – that Stephen King’s directorial debut couldn’t have been a more perfect drive-in/exploitation/midnight movie if it had been genetically engineered in some covert film lab somewhere. It was a diamond in the rough that came along about a decade too late. After all the 1970s road terror movies, Maximum Overdrive was definitely of that same ilk. So in no particular order, here are my reasons why Maximum Overdrive is a bona fide exploitation horror classic.
Maximum Overdrive Was Produced By Dino De Laurentiis
Let me elaborate here. I consider Dino De Laurentiis one of the most underrated producers out there, in and among those guys who had no qualms about producing an art film, and then maybe a movie about sea creatures wanting to impregnate fertile human females, or Charles Bronson chasing some sicko serial killer. Some of his contemporaries in the category are the legendary Roger Corman, and my personal faves, Menahem Golan and Yorem Globus from the Cannon Group. They were true cinephiles that defied all the film elitist snobbery and knew that films should appeal to everyone at all levels.
Maximum Overdrive Was Directed By Stephen King Himself
Regardless of how it turned out, Maximum Overdrive would’ve still been notable because King directed it. It’s an exquisite gem of a cinematic curiosity. Way before Stan Lee made the comedic cameo commonplace, King gave it a solid try. The best way that I could describe King as director is a guy who dreams up fantastic race car designs, but has never built one, so he decides to give it a try with stuff lying around behind the garage. It’s pretty glorious to watch it speed down the track even if its primer grey and may fly all to pieces at any moment.
The Sweaty, Dirty South
Maximum Overdrive was filmed in the south. As a southerner myself, I couldn’t be more proud. De Laurentiis built his own studio in the coastal town of Wilmington, North Carolina and started churning out King adaptations like nobody’s business, Silver Bullet, Cat’s Eye, and Firestarter to name a few. Some of those adaptations may have taken place elsewhere, but the Dixie Boy Truck Stop WAS in Wilmington. That gave some leeway for every classic southern stereotype. The sleazy cigar-smoking boss, the constantly sexually harassed career waitress, the blue collar hero that tries to pull off what is clearly a Hanes undershirt as a regular t-shirt, a holy-roller hypocrite, and a gaggle of good ol’ boys, all complete with really, really exaggerated southern accents. Also, if you notice, everybody looks sweaty because of the really high humidity. That part wasn’t exaggerated.
AC/DC Did The Music
I remember thinking this was the coolest thing ever at the time. Even during the opening credits, AC/DC is in the actual lightning bolt font. Notice the AC/DC van in the drawbridge scene, too. They even did the score. It gave the film a unique feel of being the perfect melding of everything that makes mixing rock and roll and horror so great. That Psycho style guitar riff is theirs, too. No orchestras here. It’s all rock and roll that hits you as hard as a projectile soda can hit directly to the privates. Even a mediocre film with a good hard rock/metal/hair band soundtrack is good to go as a future cult classic on some level.
Someone Who Voices An Iconic Cartoon Character Is In Maximum Overdrive As A Real Person
It’s always strange and a bit disjointing hearing the voice of a well-known animated character coming from a live actor. It’s almost like the cartoon character has possessed that person and is using them as a conduit to exist in the physical world. This wasn’t a problem when Maximum Overdrive came out. Yeardley Smith was about three or four years away from voicing Lisa Simpson, but now it’s definitely hard to make the separation. I had a similar experience with this phenomena when watching Microwave Massacre and hearing Jackie Vernon, the guy who did the voice for Frosty the Snowman, talking about cannibalism.
The Future Former Mrs. Trump Rocks A Headband And Dodges Watermelons
Yes, that is Marla Maples. She was married to President Trump in between Ivana and Melania, and is the mother of Tiffany Trump. At the time, she was a struggling actress and beauty pageant contestant. I’d be really impressed if you already knew this one.
I could go on, but at this point, you’re either with me or against me. I don’t really know how King feels about his only directorial endeavor other than some offhanded comments at his own expense, but others have done far worse. Maximum Overdrive will always be a glorious anomaly of when pop culture mediums converged, and how the right amount of fame will let a guy do something he would never get to do otherwise. So I hope Stephen King isn’t ashamed of it. He shouldn’t be. He said in the trailer that, “He wanted someone to do Stephen King right.” Could Stephen King do Stephen King wrong? Wait, don’t answer that.
