Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 tongue-in-cheek horror film, written and directed by horror novelist Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story, Trucks, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift.

Maximum Overdrive is Stephen King's first and only directorial effort, though dozens of films have been based on King's novels. The film contained black humor elements and a generally camp tone, which contrasts with King's predominantly sombre literature. The neophyte director was nominated for the title of "Worst Director" by the Golden Raspberry Awards in 1987. King himself described the film as a "moron movie" and stated his intention to never direct again soon after.

However, for the same reasons the film is viewed by some as a form of comedy horror and the film has retained a cult following. In 1988 Maximum Overdrive was nominated for "Best Film" at The International Fantasy Film Awards. blank">Overdrive Awards page at the _IMDb

The film has a mid-1980s rock and roll/hard rock soundtrack composed entirely by the group AC/DC, one of Stephen King's favorite bands. AC/DC's album, Who Made Who, was released as the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack. It includes the best-selling singles Who Made Who? and Hells Bells.

For 3 days in 1986, the earth passed through the tail of a mysterious comet. During that time, machines on earth suddenly come to life and terrorize their human creators. A small group of people in a truck stop, surrounded by "alive" semi-trailers, set out to stop the machines before the machines stop them. Written by Matt McQuillan

When a mysterious comet passes close within the Earth, machines all over the World come alive and go on homicidal rampages. A group of people in a desolate Truck Stop are held hostage by a gang of homicidal 18-wheelers. The frightened people set out to defeat the killer machines...or be killed by them. Written by Mitchell Huffman

In a truck-stop diner, a waitress has her hand cut by an electric knife that seems to have a mind of its own. From that point on, every manner of machine seems to come alive, with an evil and violent personality. Written by Murray Chapman

When the tail of rogue comet Rhea-M passes through Earth's atmosphere, humanity's worst nightmares come to life as machines gradually develop minds of their own, turning on their creators in bloody rebellion. At the Dixie Boy truck stop just outside Wilmington, North Carolina, both workers and patrons alike are coming to grips with the horror as a series of increasingly bizarre accidents occur, some injurious, some near-fatal, and some fatal. The terror finally comes to a head when the parked trucks - led by one for a toy company which sports a demonically-smiling goblin face - each start up on their own, circling the truck stop and preventing anyone from getting in or out. Trapped by the trucks and an emotionless manager (Pat Hingle), a young ex-con (Emilio Estevez) takes it upon himself to lead the rescue of anyone in the immediate vicinity who's life is in danger, and to ultimately escape the truck stop and head to safety. Unfortunately, things become more complicated when a machine-gun-mounted mobile platform orders each of the humans to pump gasoline for the trucks. Pitted against an army of machines demonized by an unknown phenomenon, the people trapped in the Dixie Boy truck stop must use stealth and a concealed arsenal to escape. In the meantime, they realize that there is more to the tail of Rhea-M than they initially thought. Written by Curly Q. Link