I didn't go watch the first Prom Night, nor did I watch Vampire Circus and I really wish I had done either of those because what I did watch was Maximum Overdrive. I've actually been interested in watching this for some time because it's based on a Stephen King short story, "Trucks," which is pretty good. What I didn't know about Maximum Overdrive is that King adapted the screenplan and directed the movie himself. What I also didn't know is how much it sucks. King has apparently "disowned" the movie (however one does that) and has referred to it as "the moron movie" - and after the experience he vowed to never direct again.
The story is that after a weird comet passes by Earth, all the machines go rogue. This is actually kind of fun: drawbridges go up by themselves; electric knives attack cooks, soda machines fire soda cans at little leaguers, ATMs flash curse words on their screens, lawnmowers - well, you can imagine. And all the trucks - semis, dumptrucks, steamrollers - are particularly vicious ... but for some reason, passenger cars seem to be unaffected, which seems to be a plot hole. A bunch of people end up trapped at a truck stop where Emilio Estevez is a short order cook. There's surviving that needs to be done; they have to pump more gas for the trucks when ordered to do so (via Morse code); some of them manage to escape. Spoiler.
The acting is terrible. The dialogue is terrible. There's no tension or sense of momentum to the story although it's maybe kind of menacing when the focus is on the machines. I really expected better from Emilio Estevez, as this flick came out after The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire. Seriously, the best part of MO is the music, which is all AC/DC, Stephen King's favorite band. Do yourself a favor and find something else to watch.
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