Maximum Overdrive 1986

As the planet Earth navigates through the tail of comet Rhea-M on June 19, 1987 at 9:47 am Eastern Standard Time, a chain reaction of bizarre events unfolds across Wilmington, North Carolina. The town’s mechanical infrastructure suddenly awakens to wreak havoc on its inhabitants, with bank machines spewing out insults and ATMs addressing customers in derogatory tones - including writer-director Stephen King (making a cameo appearance as a bank client). The drawbridge, once a harmless fixture, becomes a deadly obstacle as it lifts itself into the air, sending cars and trucks tumbling to their demise. Elderly bridge keeper and his dim-witted assistant are left stunned by the gruesome scene.

At the Dixie Boy truck stop on the outskirts of town, Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez), a recently paroled prisoner turned short order cook, encounters Hendershot (Pat Hingle), the gruff and exploitative owner. As they discuss the terms of his employment, it becomes clear that Hendershot has concocted a scheme to make life unbearable for parolees, forcing them to work long hours without compensation. Bill is warned that failure to comply will result in being sent back to prison.

Meanwhile, regulars at the truck stop begin to arrive, each with their own peculiarities. Handy (Frankie Faison), a driver for Happy Toyz, pulls up with his massive green goblin’s face-mounted on the front of his truck. However, something is amiss when his vehicle starts moving on its own, leaving him perplexed and without keys.

As chaos erupts around the truck stop, strange occurrences continue to unfold. Mechanic Duncan Keller (J.C. Quinn) fills up a tank with diesel fuel only to have the nozzle suddenly squirt him in the eyes, temporarily blinding him. His colleagues, Steve (Barry Bell) and Joe (Pat Miller), rush to his aid.

In the video game room, a would-be thief (Giancarlo Esposito) is caught red-handed as one of the machines unleashes an electric shock that sends him fleeing in pain. Further down the hall, waitress Wanda June (Ellen McElduff) tends to her duties when an electric carving knife suddenly springs to life, cutting a deep gash on her left forearm. Bill rushes in to administer aid and smashes the malfunctioning appliance with a hammer, bringing some semblance of order to the increasingly surreal scene.

As the sun beats down on the idyllic junior league baseball game, chaos erupts when the winning coach’s attempt to quench his team’s thirst goes awry. The soda machine, malfunctioning with reckless abandon, devours his money and unleashes a barrage of speeding cans that rain down upon him, striking first at his groin and then at his cranium, silencing him forever. Panic sets in as the players flee the field, their shrieks mingling with the sounds of crashing metal as the scoreboard succumbs to a marauding steamroller, its path of destruction eerily devoid of a driver. Amidst the bedlam, Deke (Holter Graham), the quick-thinking catcher, dons his mask to deflect the flying cans and then mounts his bicycle for a hasty retreat.

Meanwhile, on a deserted highway, Brett Graham (Laura Harrington) finds herself stuck in a precarious situation with Loman (Christopher Murney), a lecherous Bible salesman and con artist who seems hell-bent on making her an unwilling passenger. As they cruise along, the only respite from Loman’s unwanted advances comes in the form of a grainy radio broadcast, its static-filled transmission warning of “unexplained events” and urging listeners to “get away at once” from local roads and highways. Brett seizes control of the wheel when Loman fails to heed the warning, pulling into the Dixie Boy truck stop just as a mysterious Happy Toyz truck begins to move on its own, its driverless cab empty and foreboding.

As Deke arrives in town, he’s met with a grim tableau of destruction: machines gone wild, leaving trails of carnage in their wake. The radio crackles once more, this time broadcasting apocalyptic news of machines worldwide rising up to claim human lives. One such machine, a blood-splattered runaway lawnmower, gives chase, but Deke’s agility allows him to outrun it on his bike. He then takes cover from an ice cream truck that seems equally devoid of life, waiting until its departure before pedaling towards the Dixie Boy and the relative safety of his father’s workplace.

As Curt (John Short) and his ditsy redneck bride, Connie (Yeardley Smith), embark on their honeymoon adventure down a desolate stretch of highway, they’re met with an eerie sight: a procession of abandoned cars, some wrecked and others stalled, lining the roadside. The couple’s curiosity gets the better of them as they pull into a local garage, only to discover the mechanic lifeless on the ground and a tow truck hell-bent on running them down. With lightning-quick reflexes, Curt dodges the oncoming vehicle, which instead plows into the garage, sending debris flying in all directions. The newlyweds make a hasty retreat, leaving the chaos behind.

Meanwhile, back at the Dixie Boy truck stop, Duncan’s attempts to leave and search for his missing son are met with resistance from Bill and veiled threats from Hendershot (whose motives seem rooted in exploiting Duncan’s troubled past). But before he can even make it out of the parking lot, one of the idling trucks suddenly springs to life and runs over Duncan, ending his life. Camp Loman, a shady Bible salesman, rushes out to berate the “driver” only to realize that no one is at the controls. The Happy Toyz truck then takes it upon itself to give chase, backing into Loman with reckless abandon before depositing him in a nearby ditch.

As order begins to break down inside the Dixie Boy’s walls, Hendershot orders Duncan’s lifeless body to be taken down to the basement, where it will join the remains of a video game enthusiast. With communication devices rendered useless by some unknown force, the stranded travelers are left to debate their next move as a phalanx of 18-wheelers begins to circle the truck stop building, trapping them inside.

On the open road, Curt and Connie catch sight of a seemingly endless procession of driverless trucks making their way down the opposite lane. One particularly ancient flatbed takes notice of the couple’s presence and sets off in hot pursuit. With some deft maneuvering, Curt manages to lose his pursuer by causing it to careen off an embankment and meet its demise. As he gazes up at the sign for the Dixie Boy truck stop, he knows exactly where he needs to be next.

As Curtis and Connie pull into the besieged truck stop, the scene erupts with a cacophony of crunching metal and screeching tires as the encircling trucks wreak havoc on the parking lot. In an attempt to navigate through the chaos, Curtis steers their vehicle directly at the circle, only to have it brutally toppled by one of the marauding trucks. Bill and Brett spring into action, rushing out to rescue their stranded friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, Hendershot emerges from the shadows, wielding a M-72 66mm LAW rocket launcher that proves to be the game-changer in this desperate situation. With a few precision shots, he annihilates two of the circling trucks, clearing a path for our beleaguered heroes.

As night begins to fall, the truck stop’s power flickers and dies, plunging the survivors into darkness. The ceaseless rumble of idling engines provides a haunting soundtrack as the comet’s green glow casts an otherworldly light over the desolate landscape. Brett astutely deduces that the approaching celestial body is responsible for the eerie illumination. Bill proposes a daring plan to escape the chaos by making a break for a nearby island, where the absence of vehicles and machinery might provide a fleeting sanctuary.

Later, as the sounds of Camp Loman’s anguished cries pierce the night air, Bill and Curtis volunteer to venture out into the treacherous landscape to rescue their injured colleague. Armed with weapons scavenged from Hendershot’s arsenal and sturdy rope, they navigate through the darkness, dodging abandoned trucks that are slowly running out of fuel. With a shared sense of purpose, they lower themselves into a nearby sewer drainpipe, descending into the unknown to reach Loman’s precarious perch in the ditch.

As Deke (actor name) finally reaches the Dixie Boy, he’s met with a dire scene: Loman, the wounded Bible salesman, has succumbed to his injuries and descends into madness, lunging at Deke with a ferocity that prompts Bill and Curt to intervene. Just as they’re about to extract Deke from the chaos, a dump truck appears on the horizon, threatening to crush them all. Forced to abandon Loman’s lifeless body and retreat back through the drainpipe, they make a break for the showers building, only to be greeted by Bill’s explosive solution to yet another vehicular menace.

The next morning, the group faces a new challenge: the majority of trucks have sputtered out of gas. However, two more behemoths arrive on the scene - a massive bulldozer and a small military vehicle equipped with an M-60 machine gun. When the bulldozer crashes into the building, Hendershot (actor name) seizes the opportunity to launch a rocket at it, momentarily disabling the beast. The military vehicle, sensing vulnerability, unleashes a hail of bullets that claims the lives of Hendershot, Wanda June, and three truck drivers.

In the ensuing chaos, a Morse code message begins flashing on the military vehicle’s horn: “Someone must pump fuel. Someone will not be harmed. All fuel must be pumped.” As the power flickers back to life, Bill decides to heed the warning and activate the pumps, despite Brett’s reservations about trusting the trucks. The presence of the military vehicle is a crucial factor in their decision.

For the better part of the day, under the scorching 100F degree heat, Bill, Brett, Deke, Curt, and a few others take turns venturing outside to refuel not only the Dixie Boy’s own fleet but also hundreds more trucks that converge on the truck stop. As the fuel runs low, a lone tanker truck appears on the horizon, beckoning Bill to refill the stop’s tanks in order to sustain the refueling efforts and ensure their survival.

As exhaustion washes over Bill (no actor name provided), he seeks refuge in the comforting presence of Brett. In a moment of clarity, Bill proposes an astonishing theory: what if these apocalyptic events are orchestrated by aliens using the comet as a catalyst for humanity’s downfall, and the machines are merely their unwitting slaves? Brett listens intently as Handy shares his plan to escape through the basement and drainage pipe to freedom.

Later, Bill ventures outside, where he encounters another truck driver refueling at a gas station. Seizing the opportunity, Bill covertly plants a grenade in a nearby military vehicle, silencing it permanently. As the sun dips below the horizon, the refueled trucks begin circling the Dixie Boy once more, their malevolent intentions palpable.

As night falls, Bill, Brett, Deke, Curtis, Connie, and the remaining survivors make their daring escape through the drainage pipe, armed with an assortment of weapons salvaged from Hendershot’s arsenal. Their destination: the open ocean and a nearby island, where the absence of trucks offers sanctuary. When the machines realize they’ve been duped, they unleash a devastating barrage on the Dixie Boy, reducing it to rubble in a series of spectacular explosions.

Under Bill’s guidance, the survivors navigate treacherous back roads and fields, seeking refuge at a local marina. There, they hope to find a sailboat to carry them to their island sanctuary. Along the way, they narrowly evade encounters with rogue machines, including an eerie driverless ice cream truck.

Upon arriving at the marina, the group flocks to a sailboat just as one of the truck drivers, Brad (Leon Rippy), attempts to pilfer a diamond ring from the lifeless body of a woman (Marla Maples) trapped in her car. The sudden arrival of the Happy Toyz truck’s leader, the Green Goblin, intervenes, running down and killing Brad. Bill seizes the moment, destroying the truck with a rocket launcher.

As the curtain closes, Bill, Brett, and their remaining companions set sail for a new beginning, leaving the devastation behind. A chilling epilogue reveals that two days later, a Russian “weather satellite” obliterated a massive UFO orbiting Earth, rendering all machines docile. Another two days pass, and Earth passes through the comet’s tail, restoring an eerie sense of normalcy. The fate of humanity remains uncertain, but for Bill and his band of survivors, hope sails away on the open ocean.