Day 323: Maximum Overdrive

Maximum Overdrive

Minimum entertainment

For someone who has had dozens of his stories turned into movies, Stephen King has only directed one. It's easy to forget that when a movie says “Stephen King presents” or “Stephen King's” he's not actually sitting in the director's chair. In the right hands, King's work can be immensely entertaining and incredibly terrifying, such as the Rob Reiner-directed “Misery” and the Stanley Kubrick-directed “The Shining”. In the wrong hands, we get mediocre movies like Cujo and Graveyard Shift. King's work has a wide range in terms of subject matter and pure horror. It takes skill and patience to lay out his works, especially his short stories. With this in mind, you would think that Stephen King's directorial debut of his own story would be great. Keep in mind, this movie came out in 1986. In the book Hollywood's Stephen King, King himself admitted he was “coked out of [his] mind all through its production, and [he] really didn't know what [he] was doing." Great.

Maximum Overdrive is 1986 horror/action movie based on Stephen King's short story “Trucks”. The movie stars Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club, The Mighty Ducks) as parolee Bill Robinson. Earth passes through the tail of a rogue comet called Rhea-M, bathing the planet in an eery green glow. Mechanical objects gain sentience with murderous intent. Bridges lift on their own, ATMs have smart-ass remarks, soda machines fire out drinks at deadly speed, and vehicles now drive themselves. The machines start killing humans and animals alike with no mercy. At the Dixie Boy truck stop in Wilmington, North Carolina, a waitress is attacked by an electric knife and a man is killed by an electric shock from an arcade game. The truck stop, containing cook and ex-con Bill Robinson, traveler Brett (Laura Harrington, The Devil's Advocate, Quantum Leap), newlyweds Connie (Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson) and Curtis (John Short), Bill's boss Bubba Hendershot (Pat Hingle, Batman, Wings), and a group of truckers is surrounded by a caravan of sentient trucks. The leader is a large tractor trailer hauling toys, complete with a giant Green Goblin mask on the grill. The trucks kill anyone who tries to leave and terrorize the survivors inside. Via morse code, the trucks demand that the humans fill them up with gas. Will Bill and the rest of the group come up with a plan to escape and stop the killer machines?

"Can you be a doll and get me some Visine? I've been up for days."

Killer sentient machines have been done many times before. In the abstract, like Terminator, Videodrome, and Westworld, the killer machines are given a “face” and possess some sort of personality. When it's just a regular old machine trying to kill someone, it usually comes off as silly. They tried with the giant Green Goblin mask (the real Green Goblin face, not that Willem Dafoe atrocity from the movie), but it's not really enough. Goofy is probably the best way to describe Maximum Overdrive. If he wanted, King could have actually made the movie scary, but instead of we get mediocre comedy and lots of explosions. The first thirty minutes of the movie are the best as we get to see all sorts of machines wreak havoc on the population. It's when we get stuck at the diner that the movie comes to a slow, staggering death. The movie was far more interesting in a heavily populated area as we see the spectacular crashes from a bridge raising with cars still on it. I'm sure budget had something to do with it, but with $10 million, they could have made it work. The isolated location of the diner allowed for more structural damage, but it's far less interesting to watch. Part of the problem is that there are a lot of people in the diner. It would be fine if a lot of them were killed, but we only get a handful and are stuck with too large a group to focus on and connect with.

The movie actually received two Golden Raspberry Awards nominations for Worst Director and Worst Actor (Emilio Estevez). While the direction is not good, I wouldn't say it's utterly atrocious. I've seen way worse which really says a lot. Certain scenes show a certain amount of style and skill, so it's not like Stephen King is completely devoid of talent. He probably just should have laid off the drugs. Think I'm wrong? Just take a look at this promo for the movie. King looks like a whacked-out Vince Russo ready to hit the clubs. I like Emilio Estevez and I didn't think his performance was that bad. Maybe that's just my Mighty Ducks love talking, but I didn't feel any disgust towards him. The supporting cast is fine, though Yeardley Smith's voice became very grating towards the end. The movie has a good amount of violence and plenty of explosions. There really isn't much horror to speak of as the constant blaring of AC/DC throughout the entire film takes away any fear or atmosphere. It may have helped revive their career, but I just don't care for them and would have enjoyed silence compared to their cock-rock shouts.

I think the movie is trying to tell me something...

I pretty much got what I expected from Maximum Overdrive, which isn't saying much. It was pretty clear that the movie's plot was stretched out to make it a full length. The movie differs strongly from the original short story, focusing more on jokes and action and than actual horror and atmosphere. Despite plenty of explosions and some good scenes of violence, the movie is generally boring and full of plot holes. There are too many characters in the diner and not enough of them are killed. Stephen King's directorial debut was pretty much a flop, but he did show some skill. I really couldn't stand all the AC/DC, both as a fan of music and a fan of horror. Maximum Overdrive is best watched with a group of friends ready to make jokes. Beyond that, it's just a product of the drugged-out 80's.

4.5/10

Day 223: The Hitcher

The Hitcher

Shouldn't he have his thumb out or something?

Another day, another horror remake. These days, remakes are everywhere. Remaking a movie is not a new concept, but Hollywood has officially run out of ideas. A majority of the movies are either comic book or novel adaptations or remakes. Was the world really clamoring to see a big screen remake of 21 Jump Street? In horror, sometimes a remake works out like Dawn of the Dead and The Thing. It can bring a formerly unknown horror movie to a new audience or make a mediocre horror film better. It's important not to write off a movie just because it's a remake. You need to see it for yourself before casting it into the fiery pits of hell.

The Hitcher is a 2007 remake of the 1985 movie starring C. Thomas Howell and Rutger Hauer. This version stars Zachary Knighton (Happy Endings, FlashForward) as Jim Halsey and Sophia Bush (Stay Alive, One Tree Hill) as his girlfriend Grace Andrews. Jim and Grace go on a road trip for spring break across the American Southwest. On a rainy night, Jim almost hits a hitchiker on an empty road, but keeps driving. Eventually, the hitchiker, John Ryder (Sean Bean, Lord Of The Rings, Silent Hill) catches up to them at a gas stop and asks for a ride. Caught in the awkward position, Jim agrees. Things quickly turn bad as Ryder is revealed to be a murderous psychopath, taking Grace hostage and trying to force Jim to say “I want to die.” Jim thinks fast and is able to kick Ryder out of his moving car. The next day, Jim and Grace see Ryder inside a station wagon with an unsuspecting family. They try to warn them, but are run off the road, crashing Jim's car. They start to walk when they come across the station wagon which is now covered in blood. The father is still alive so they drive the station wagon in search of help, only to be attacked by Ryder in a pickup truck. When things look grim, Ryder stops the assault and drives off. They reach a roadside cafe where Grace asks a waitress to call for help, but when the police arrive, they arrest Jim and Grace. Ryder arrives at the station, killing the police officers and free Jim from his cell, allowing he and Grace to escape. Lieutenant Esteridge (Neal McDonough, 88 Minutes, Walking Tall) investigates the crimscene and determines that a third suspect, not just Jim and Grace, has killed the police officers. On the run, Jim and Grace are confronted by another cop, whom Ryder shoots in an attempt to frame them. A high speed chase ensues, with Ryder killing all of the police officers in pursuit. What does he want with Grace and Jim and how can they stop him?

"I miss my hobbits."

It's important to acknowledge right off the bat that Michael Bay was a producer for this movie. Normally, I don't point out who produces a movie, because it usually doesn't matter. It matters a hell of a lot with this movie because it reeks of Michael Bay's horrendous style of directing. Despite Dave Meyers sitting in the director's chair, you would be hard-pressed to differentiate The Hitcher from some of Bay's other movies like Transformers and Armageddon. The best way to describe this movie is “Explosion, explosion, high-speed car crash, gun shots explosion, pretty girl running, explosion, high-speed car crash, pretty girl running, more gun shots.” Everything else is just window dressing. There is a gratuitous amount of violence and blood, but it's not very thrilling. The movie certainly doesn't lack in the action department. Unfortunately, the movie forgets that it's a horror movie and ignores the tension from the first film. The original was engaging and creepy while this version is made for the MTV generation, down to the unappropriated choice of music. During a car chase scene, they actually play Nine Inch Nails “Closer”. It's a great song, but it's completely out of place with the scene. It's downright insulting that they chose to use this song, especially considering what this song is actually about.

The movie follows fairly closely t o the original material, with one big exception being the inclusion of Grace. She is simply not in the first Hitcher and I question why they felt they need to include her. This version does switch things up with the female character being portrayed as the hero, which is always good, but this doesn't happen until the last 15 minutes or so. She can barely keep it together for most of the movie and we're supposed to believe she is able to escape burning cars and wield a shotgun? Why bother doing that if you're not going to commit the entire movie to that notion? Sean Bean puts in the best performance despite not being on screen all that much. Rutger Hauer was a far more sinister version of Ryder than Bell, who was more like an unstoppable, Terminator-like villain. There is not much in the way of character development, especially in the case of Lt. Esteridge. He just kind of shows up at certain times and Neal McDonough chews so much scenery that I'm surprised the sets don't have teeth marks.

This gets the "Michael Bay Erection Of Approval"

Remaking The Hitcher wasn't a bad idea. It isn't a particularly well-known horror movie from the 80's that could play well with a modern audience. The original was smart in it's creepyness, playing on the fears of picking up a stranger. This version ignored the nuances in favor of lots of explosions and car chases. Michael Bay's stink is all over this movie, so if you hate his style of “KABOOM! BLAMMO! POW POW!” storytelling, you'll be annoyed by this as well. The characters lack the appropriate mount of development and the inclusion of a new character was unnecessary. Sean Bean is decent as Ryder, but doesn't get much help from his fellow cast members. What was once a decent horror movie has now become another run-of-the-mill action movie for unremarkable teenagers to watch when Fast and the Furious isn't on.

2.5/10