The owner Bubba Hendershot uses M72 LAW rockets he had stored in a bunker hidden under the diner to destroy many of the trucks. Bill and Brett Graham, a hitchhiker, rush to help them, but the trucks attack them. They arrive at the truck stop and try to pass between the trucks, but their car is hit and overturns. Meanwhile, a truck pursues Connie and Curt, but they make it crash off the side of the road as it explodes. Later, several big rig trucks encircle the truck stop. At the Dixie Boy, a black Western Star 4800 sporting a giant Green Goblin mask on its grille runs over bible salesman Camp Loman after a red garbage truck kills Duncan. Deke rides through his town as humans and even pets are brutally killed by lawnmowers, chainsaws, electric hair dryers, pocket radios, RC cars and an ice cream truck. Newlyweds Connie and Curt stop at a gas station, where a brown tow truck tries to kill Curt, but he and Connie escape in their car. A driverless roller compactor flattens one of the fleeing children, but Duncan's son Deke manages to escape on his bike. Meanwhile, at a Little League game, a vending machine kills the coach by firing canned soda point-blank at him. Cook and paroled ex-convict Bill Robinson begins to suspect something is wrong. An electric knife injures waitress Wanda June, and arcade machines in the back room electrocute a customer. At the Dixie Boy Truck Stop just outside Wilmington, North Carolina, employee Duncan Keller is blinded after a gas dispenser sprays diesel in his eyes.
Chaos sets in as machines of all kinds begin attacking humans worldwide. Īs the Earth crosses the tail of a comet, previously inanimate machines suddenly spring to life an ATM insults a customer (King in a cameo) and a bascule bridge rises during heavy traffic, causing all vehicles upon the bridge to fall into the river or collide. King disowned the film, describing it as a "moron movie", and considered the process a learning experience, after which he intended never to direct again.
In 1988, Maximum Overdrive was nominated for "Best Film" at the International Fantasy Film Awards. 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. Maximum Overdrive was theatrically released on July 25, 1986, to generally negative reviews from critics. It includes the best-selling singles " Who Made Who", " You Shook Me All Night Long", and " Hells Bells". 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 contained black humor elements and a generally campy tone, which contrasts with King's sombre subject matter in books. The film is King's only directorial effort, though dozens of films have been based on his novels or short stories. 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 cars, trucks, radios, drones, arcades, vending machines, etc.) go sentient when the Earth crosses the tail of a comet, initiating a worldwide killing spree. The film stars Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by Stephen King. $7.4 million or $3.5 million (North America)