Rage Against The Machine

Before I tell you about this movie, I've got to tell you about where I live. I live in a truckstop town. Not one truckstop, but six truckstops all within a mile radius of each other. The Census Bureau counted 157 residents. But on any given day, in my opinion, we have 2000 passer-throughs, the majority are trucks. So being a local, I've grown up with 18 wheelers surrounding me. I've worked at one of those truckstops and many times had to cross the parking lot. I knew I was never in danger, but at times, I do have an overactive imagination. See, the movie Maximum Overdrive is a Stephen King short story brought to life.

~~~The Story Line~~~
A comet passes through Earths atmosphere causing various motorized machines to power up and think on their own. Their thought? We are here to serve them. Oh.. and kill, kill, kill. The setting of the movie takes place at a truckstop. A group of people are at the "Dixie Boy", some eating, some working, the owner (an illegal gun dealer), a female hitchhiker, the freakish bible salesman she came in with, and a newlywed couple. They've heard on the radio, that something is wrong with the machines and humans must avoid them at all cost. The trucks begin circling the lot while the people inside the Dixie Boy watch. Unsure of what to do and how they're going to get out their predicament, they just stand there gaping. Out of nowhere, Deke appears. His father worked at the Dixie Boy, and he was worried if his dad was okay. Billy takes him aside and tells him the sad news about his fathers demise. Well soon, it becomes apparent that the trucks want something. But what could it be? Ahh, Fuel. So forced out of the Dixie Boy, Curt and Billy grab a pump and begin fueling the trucks. Forced out? How? Thinking they were safe inside because a truck coming through the wall would just fall to the basement, they didn't take into account that the Army was nearby. An Army truck hauling a machine gun on wheels. So this little baby can roll right inside and cause death to all of them. Defeated. They'll pump the fuel. Tired beyond belief, all of the patrons (not owner) took turns fueling the trucks. Finally, the well runs dry. Here stands Billy yelling at the truck, telling it "there is no more", acting like he was running this show. Crazy fool... all he needed to do was look beyond the hundreds of trucks lined up on the highway waiting for fuel. He'd have seen the gas truck pulling up so that they can keep pumping. Back inside the truckstop, Deke tells Billy and Brett about the sewer pipe he came across. He was going to crawl through it but couldn't get the screening off it. Needing to make sure they could use this exit, Billy and Curt set off to check it out. Quick enough they were back in the Dixie Boy telling the others they can make it out of there and to the marina that was just a mile away. Arming theirselves with several pieces of protection, including a bazooka, the group sneaks across the lot and climbs down into the sewer pipe. They made their way to the marina, but not without incident. The lead truck "noticed?" them sneaking out of the truckstop and followed them down the road. As they are about to board their sailboat, the clown truck comes into view. Billy pulls out his bazooka firing once into the grill. With a great explosion, cheers fill the screen. The group sails off into the morning sun. The green glaze of the comet casted over the sky. Then words appear on the screen filling us in on a UFO that was hidden on the other side of the comet. It was destroyed by the airforce and things return to normal.


So, as you can see, with my overactive imagination, watching this movie made me think twice sometimes before walking across that parking lot to my job. All in all, its a fun horror movie. Anything bad thats going to happen, you can see coming. Just cover your eyes. And besides, Who made who?


~~~The Music
I can't think of a soundtrack that has accompanied a movie better than this one ever has! AC/DC's music rolls throughout this picture. Who Made Who, Hells Bells, & You Shook Me All Night Long causes you to intertwine the music and movie. It wraps it all in one. I'm not even a fan of hard rock, but it works wonders with this film.


~~~The Cast
Emilio Estevez--Bill (former convict trying to live right)
Pat Hingle--Hendershot (the crooked owner)
Laura Harrington--Brett (the pretty hitchhiker)
John Short--Curt (henpecked newlywed)
Yeardley Smith--Connie (affectionate whinebag)
Holter Grahm--Deke (newly orphaned)

Story wrote & directed by Stephen King

Maximum Overdrive--1986
Rated R 1 Hour 37 Min.