Maximum Overdrive (1986) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - July 24, 1986

I was in Dallas, Texas, of all places, visiting a friend. That friend and I went to see Maximum Overdrive on its opening day and we had quite the memorable experience.

Although King had made a promise to scare the hell out of his audience in the film's infamous trailer, Maximum Overdrive plays more like a parody than it does as a sincere attempt at "doing a Stephen King movie right."

King's writing, at times, suffers from his indulging in lowbrow humor. In Maximum Overdrive he did not just indulge in it. He both gorged and wallowed in it, like a pig in slop.

One can both laugh at and laugh with Maximum Overdrive. King himself has gone on record stating that he was coked out of his mind, and no doubt drunk off his gourd, during the production and no idea whatsoever of what he was doing. It shows in every single frame.

But I still love it and have zero problem watching it over and over and over again...