Many of Stephen King’s novels have been adapted into movies, giving us films such as “The Shining” and “The Running Man” but “Maximum Overdrive” marked the first (and only) time the author himself was in the director’s chair. King is usually associated with the horror genre but this is more of a comedic action flick with AC/DC providing the great soundtrack.

When the tail of a comet comes into contact with Earth, machines spring to life and start trying to kill as many people as possible. Trucks, lawnmowers, steamrollers and even vending machines are at it, making survival difficult for a group of people stranded at a truck stop.

The main characters are not very exciting. The cast includes Emilio Estevez (“The Breakfast Club”), Pat Hingle (“Batman”) and Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons Movie”) but you’re not going to remember them… you’re going to remember the main truck. There is a truck in this movie with a Green Goblin (the Spider-Man foe) face on the front of it and it’s just such a bizarre choice that it’ll stick with you for some reason. I was disappointed we didn’t get to see a toaster try to kill anybody but we do get to see a vending machine fire cans at somebody with lethal results. Watch out for the cameo from King near the beginning of this flick.

“Maximum Overdrive” is a reasonably funny movie and some of the stunts with the trucks are actually very impressive. Stephen King himself has actually ridiculed this movie and I’m somewhat surprised because I thought that this movie was entertaining and I think it’s a shame he has directed any movies since. While it certainly isn’t “The Green Mile” or “The Shining”, “Maximum Overdrive” is a fun adaptation of King’s work that I think is worth checking out for fans of his work and also those that only think of him as a horror novelist.