maximum overdrive [1986]

 

in the spirit of the 4th of july weekend let us celebrate a true american classic movie.  based on stephen king's short story, trucks, motor vehicles become sentient & murdery.  every car, truck, & vehicle in between, turn into serial killers.  they want to take over the earth & kill every living human on it.  why?  well, it's been 40 years since i read king's story but in this flick our machines turn on a killing mood because a comet's tail engulfed our home planet.  that tail alone is the cause of all the stabby, blunt force trauma to come.  

i would be remiss to not point out the obvious detail of this movie.  this is the only feature directed by the writer himself.  & king was outta his mind on coke & booze when he helmed this masterpiece.  did the chemicals help?  well, let's just say that this movie is sui generis.  it is flat out petal to the metal balls to the wall goofy gory fun.  the tone is a balance of camp & scary.  the direction is pretty solid.  the editing & photography pretty cool.  the score, by those great american patriots ACDC, is killer.  hell, the opening set piece scored with the song 'who made who' is worth the price of a ticket.  oh, & the cameo of king himself trying to get a few bucks from an ATM when it all goes haywire is an icon of american movies.  i shit you not.

it must be clear by now that i fucking love this movie.  starring emilio estevez as the young short order cook at a highway truck stop who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors, & pat hingle as his boss & owner of said truck stop, The Dixie Boy, who chews both the scenery & a cigar as he calls everyone, including the psycho trucks, 'bubba.'  don't forget a young giancarlo esposito in the video arcade of The Dixie Boy too.  i can't think of a better movie to watch on a long holiday summer weekend.  this movie is easy to find both as a dollar bin DVD & on many streaming platforms.  i cannot recommend this movie enough!  happy 4th of july!