Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMaximum Overdrive (1986)
Director: Stephen King
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Horror institution Stephen King's first shot at directing is a loud, obnoxious, single-idea schlocker. A malicious comet passes too close to Earth and sets all the mechanical objects in Wilmington, North Carolina, off on a bloody killing spree. Lawnmowers turn nasty, vending machines fire killer cans, and at the Dixie Boy Truck Stop only Emilio Estevez stands between the maniac rigs gathering force outside and the end of civilisation as we know it. There's carnage galore, but minimal interest. King himself described it as a 'wonderful moron picture', and he was half-right.Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: Stephen King
Producer: Martha Schumacher
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, Yeardley Smith, John Short, Ellen McElduff, JC Quinn full cast
Genre(s): Horror
Duration: 97 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now