Stephen King's sole directorial effort MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986) apparently wasn't silly enough (or didn't bomb hard enough) to kill the will of producers to remake his short story "Trucks" just over a decade later. In this incarnation, folks are held captive by the title beasts in a rustic truck stop run by Ray (Timothy Busfield). This was made-for- TV with a low budget and is decidedly less goofy so one has to wonder, "Why bother?" I mean, outside of the obvious, "We'll put Kings name on it and make a ton of money." The cast of mostly Canadians is fine and the illogical scenes are abound (if machines are turning on you, why is your plan to ride a motorcycle to steal a helicopter from the Army base? ). The funniest bit is a truck using its mirrors to spy on someone and then trying to play it off when someone catches it. And since when do cars with unexplained sentient powers need to see from the driver's viewpoint? There are a few gory and unrelated kill scenes that look like they were added in post-production, seemingly confirmed by an "additional scenes" end credit. Interestingly, they were produced by William (SCARECROWS) Wesley.
74 Reviews
One Truck Drivers' Opinion
ehrldawg4 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
A group of people at a truck stop are terrorized by possessed trucks.
This is another attempt at Stephen Kings' short story. But this time,with few exceptions, only the trucks are possessed. No evil electrical knives.pop machines, or arcade machines. Its not as entertaining as Maximum Overdrive,but it is still interesting. Except, we still have truck drivers who cant out think or out maneuver a bunch of lumbering trucks. Bob and Pete;quit looking at Hopes' ass,get out there and start puttin' crowbars in radiators. Then blind them by smashing out their headlights. A running man can accomplish this in no time flat.
Gene Pyrz drives the Western Star 18 wheeler.
An Unknown Actor drives the Freightliner chemical big rig.
That Unknown Actor and Gene Pyrz are permanent A list actors.
Brenda Bakke and Sharon Bajor are hot.
Brenda Bakkes' performance was outstanding!!
erldwgstruckermovies.com
This is another attempt at Stephen Kings' short story. But this time,with few exceptions, only the trucks are possessed. No evil electrical knives.pop machines, or arcade machines. Its not as entertaining as Maximum Overdrive,but it is still interesting. Except, we still have truck drivers who cant out think or out maneuver a bunch of lumbering trucks. Bob and Pete;quit looking at Hopes' ass,get out there and start puttin' crowbars in radiators. Then blind them by smashing out their headlights. A running man can accomplish this in no time flat.
Gene Pyrz drives the Western Star 18 wheeler.
An Unknown Actor drives the Freightliner chemical big rig.
That Unknown Actor and Gene Pyrz are permanent A list actors.
Brenda Bakke and Sharon Bajor are hot.
Brenda Bakkes' performance was outstanding!!
erldwgstruckermovies.com
A Remake with a Purpose
bababear8 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
TRUCKS was made just over a decade after MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE. Now, most remakes seem pointless. But this is an exception. It definitely has a purpose.
It reminds us just how much nasty fun MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE was.
This was made with a small budget, so the special effects consist primarily of huge trucks driving in circles and honking their horns.
The original film had so many nifty touches. Writer/Director Stephen King had a great cameo as a bewildered bank customer confronted with a foul mouthed ATM. A Little League team was attacked by a bulldozer and the Soda Machine of Death. People at home and at work were attacked by electric knives, hairdryers, lawnmowers and Walkmen. There was that great scene of a boy riding his bike down a suburban street: as he progresses along the street, sprinklers come on in the yards as if some unseen force was following him. There was that hard rocking musical score by AC/DC. Capping this off was the 'chief' truck with its Green Goblin emblem.
This is just dull and flat. Every once in a while one of the actors comes out of a stupor, gets up from a chair and walks out the door to be killed.
No reason is given for the attacks. We have mention of Area 51, aliens, toxic gas and a meteor shower.
And the ending is a cheat. The four surviving characters are picked up by a helicopter, which turns out to be pilot-less as it has been possessed by whatever force infected the trucks. Gotta leave a door open for a sequel, I guess.
More inexplicably, some very good actors are stuck in this. Hey, they have to eat. And they got a trip to Canada.
Skip this. Go rent MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE.
It reminds us just how much nasty fun MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE was.
This was made with a small budget, so the special effects consist primarily of huge trucks driving in circles and honking their horns.
The original film had so many nifty touches. Writer/Director Stephen King had a great cameo as a bewildered bank customer confronted with a foul mouthed ATM. A Little League team was attacked by a bulldozer and the Soda Machine of Death. People at home and at work were attacked by electric knives, hairdryers, lawnmowers and Walkmen. There was that great scene of a boy riding his bike down a suburban street: as he progresses along the street, sprinklers come on in the yards as if some unseen force was following him. There was that hard rocking musical score by AC/DC. Capping this off was the 'chief' truck with its Green Goblin emblem.
This is just dull and flat. Every once in a while one of the actors comes out of a stupor, gets up from a chair and walks out the door to be killed.
No reason is given for the attacks. We have mention of Area 51, aliens, toxic gas and a meteor shower.
And the ending is a cheat. The four surviving characters are picked up by a helicopter, which turns out to be pilot-less as it has been possessed by whatever force infected the trucks. Gotta leave a door open for a sequel, I guess.
More inexplicably, some very good actors are stuck in this. Hey, they have to eat. And they got a trip to Canada.
Skip this. Go rent MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE.
Not scary in the least, but worth it.
bulls_eye07917 November 2004
If you're looking for a horror movie so bad that you are reduced to laughter, then Trucks is for you. If you're looking for a 'good' movie, you're in the wrong place. Check it out, and pay special attention to my favorite character, the little remote controlled truck - vicious little guy. Think a low budget Maximum Overdrive. It's not well written, well acted or even a well conceived idea, but it's fun if you're looking for a laugh with friends. It's possibly one of the worst movies I've stumbled across at the video store. I enjoy introducing my friends to the wonder that is the ridiculous level of idiocy in this movie. Grab some popcorn and enjoy.
Pointless remake which contains funniest movie death ever!
williamj-215 October 1999
Why bother re-making 'Maximum Overdrive'? This is just another of the universe's imponderables, but stick with this movie, your patience will be rewarded with what must be the funniest movie death ever: a gormless mailman is battered to death by a Tonka toy, and the gore sprays like raspberry jam from a doughnut. In the cast is the marvellous Brendan Fletcher, one of the finest actors of his generation, and again the question recurs:WHY WHY WHY?
The worst Stephen King adaptation I've ever seen in my life!
Eightiesjunkie8 May 2015
Let me start off by saying this: I love Stephen King! He's one of my all-time favorite writers, and no one else can match his imagination. Now, many of his novels and short stories have been turned into films. Some are great, some are so-so, some are bad, and some are horrifically bad. Unfortunately, this film falls into the latter category. Both this film, and 1986's "Maximum Overdrive" were based on a short story that King had published. Many, many people have claimed that "Maximum Overdrive" is the all-time worst Stephen King adaptation ever made. In my personal opinion however, that's really unfair. Because trust me, you can do a WHOLE lot worse than "Maximum Overdrive". I've seen many Stephen King movies over the years, and I must say: this movie is beyond a shadow of a doubt, the worst one I've ever seen in my life! Worse than "It", worse than "The Tommyknockers", worse than "Sleepwalkers", worse than "Golden years", worse than "Thinner", worse than all those movies combined! If you think that "Maximum Overdrive" is King's worst, then you clearly haven't seen any of the movies I mentioned previously, or this movie. comparing "Maximum Overdrive" to this film, is like comparing a Calzone to a Totino's pizza roll! The reason why "Trucks" fails where "Maximum Overdrive" succeeds, is because "Max" doesn't take itself seriously. The concept is ridiculous, so it just has has fun with it. which is basically what the movie is, a "turn your brain off" fun movie. "Trucks" is about as "fun" as watching paint dry! "Trucks" also plays the concept totally straight. I suppose they were trying to make it scary, but it's not, it's just stupid! Not to mention the fact, that the film lacks everything that made "Max" good. No good actors, no intriguing characters, no awesome soundtrack, and no big bad killer truck! I can only guess what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish with this movie. Maybe they thought "Maximum Overdrive" was a mistake, and were trying to make up for it, but you can't make up for a "mistake", by making a bigger, far worse, one!
REALLY BAD Maximum Overdrive
sternrulez22 November 2007
I guess it's safe to say that "loosely based" is a good thing. What I'm talking about is that, according to Wikipedia, Maximum Overdrive (which is an EXCELLENT movie) was "loosely based" on the short story "Trucks". I don't really know if this story was meant as a remake of MO, but it should have been left in the can and burned. The acting is deplorable, and overall just not worth wasting your time on. For a really good "killer vehicle" movie, take this back to the video store and exchange it for MO...you'll be glad you did. In fact, break the disc on the way there and tell them it was damaged when you got home..that way no one ELSE will make the mistake of renting it.
A waste of time.
HumanoidOfFlesh25 August 2005
Chris Thomson's "Trucks" is loosely based on Stephen King's short story "Trucks".The plot is simple:when a small and remote town is terrorized by trucks without drivers,the local community must try to stay alive at all costs.Many of horror fans probably remember "Maximum Overdrive" by Stephen King.That was extremely cheesy and entertaining film that left me amused.On the other hand,"Trucks" is pretty boring and routine.The acting is mediocre,there is no suspense and the violence is toned down.Timothy Busfield stars as Ray,a man who has a son named Logan.They live in the town and Ray has a thing for Hope(Brenda Bakke).But soon they are all thrown into nightmare,when trucks start killing people.Anyway,I suggest watching "Maximum Overdrive" instead.4 out of 10.A nice cover,though!
Trucks make themselves king of the road and more.
michaelRokeefe11 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
TRUCKS is based loosely on Stephen King's short story of the same name. This same story line was used in MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE(1986), so I guess this is a cheap remake for TV. Toned down language; violence is throttled. There seems to be a lack of power...no overdrive. And trucks...dump trucks, tanker trucks, wrecker trucks, semi-trucks mysteriously take control of themselves and run amok attacking their owners and drivers. A group of people are trapped in a truck stop and it isn't Emilio Estevez to the rescue, but a more mature Timothy Busfield. Busfield tries to convince trapped vacationers, truck drivers and some good-old-boys to stay calm until a plan for a rescue is devised. Let's see...let them run out of gas, duh. How about shooting out their headlights, so they can't see where they are going. Like I said, the excitement and urgency of MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE is not here. Rounding out the cast: Brenda Bakke, Victor Cowie, Brendan Fletcher, Amy Stewart and Jonathan Barrett.
Only 99% of it SUCKS.
Oom-92 August 1999
This movie truly sucks! Nothing happened! It was the longest 100 minute movie I've ever seen. But the extremely high level of suck is not completely consistent. There are two hilarious scenes (one involving a remote control truck the other an axe). If you have the misfortune of having rented this piece of crap search through and watch these two scenes for a few laughs.
Hilarious movie
Emmaheart13 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I'm sorry to say this but, this movie is one of the worst movies I've seen so far. And that includes the movie with the magic crab that brings you loooove ... I'm a BIG Stephen King fan (Much to my brothers discomfort), and I defend him EVERY single time my bro tells me that he's the "King of bad-horror movies". Because that's not true, and Stephen King so does not deserve it. But this movie, it's just .. a bad horror movie. But then again, I'm not sure that he has so much to do with this movie, more than that it's his story it's based on. But hello, honking trucks that can drive their self and want to kill everything in it's way, I just don't find it scary, I Actually find it hilarious. But that's just me. But I practically laughed my ass of for an whole half an hour because of this film. And I think, the funniest must have been all the roaring the trucks did, it was freaking hilarious! But there was one great scene thought, the one with the plastic toy truck kills the mailman. I loved it. I just loved it.
I bought this movie not knowing exactly what it was about, and buying it, it something I really don't recommend if you're not a big Stephen King fan.
But I give it credit thought for the good laugh, and maybe the 1 or 2 so good scenes.
Dear brother, and everyone else out there who wants to teach us Stephen King fans that he suck or anything else. It's so not worth it, so don't bother, because we wont listen. Right guys?
I bought this movie not knowing exactly what it was about, and buying it, it something I really don't recommend if you're not a big Stephen King fan.
But I give it credit thought for the good laugh, and maybe the 1 or 2 so good scenes.
Dear brother, and everyone else out there who wants to teach us Stephen King fans that he suck or anything else. It's so not worth it, so don't bother, because we wont listen. Right guys?
The Funniest Movie Ever Made
bruhmansemail18 February 2023
Wether it was intentional or not i dont think i have laughed this hard in my entire life. I reccomend this movie to anyone having a movie night with friends it will be unforgetable i promise. Every scene in the movie has something so unbeliveably ridiculous i just cant understand why no one likes this movie. If you havent seen Trucks PLEASE WATCH IT you will not regret it. Though trucks is not the godfather it still will entertain you every time you think theres no way this can get dumber it does. I dont think i will ever forget watching this movie for the first time. Un ironically the best movie i have ever seen.
I always avoided this film for the obvious reasons...
Vomitron_G6 February 2010
...it's a 90's re-make (of "Maximum Overdrive" from 1986) that was dumped straight to video in our country and the VHS cover (not shown here) just looked so cheap on the rental shelves, copying the uninspired 'artwork' of many other action fodder rentals at the time. "Trucks" just seemed a waste of time and rental money. I have to admit though, that tagline always made me giggle ("U-Turn, U-Die!")
Years later, when video rental stores just were all too happy getting rid of their old VHS tapes, I just selected me a cheap lot of ex-rentals, and took "Trucks" home with me. And yes, not much later I had this strange urge to watch both "Maximum Overdrive" and "Trucks" back to back. And I'll be damned if this re-make (or re-telling, if you want) wasn't as decent (or poor, you be the judge of that) as the original.
Same crazy plot (cars, trucks and whatnot else type of machinery coming to live) with no real explanation and a bit more background concerning the main characters. Adding even some silly but highly entertaining killings this time (the little toy-truck smashing the head of the mailman; the anti-radioactive protective suit inflating itself, then grabbing an axe and...). The main location in "Trucks" is also a gas station, so it's not like this remake was doing anything worse here. If you liked the original, then you'll also have some fun with this one. It's as simple as that. I can add that the ending is just a little bit different. Although I saw it coming, I liked it more (than the 80's version).
Years later, when video rental stores just were all too happy getting rid of their old VHS tapes, I just selected me a cheap lot of ex-rentals, and took "Trucks" home with me. And yes, not much later I had this strange urge to watch both "Maximum Overdrive" and "Trucks" back to back. And I'll be damned if this re-make (or re-telling, if you want) wasn't as decent (or poor, you be the judge of that) as the original.
Same crazy plot (cars, trucks and whatnot else type of machinery coming to live) with no real explanation and a bit more background concerning the main characters. Adding even some silly but highly entertaining killings this time (the little toy-truck smashing the head of the mailman; the anti-radioactive protective suit inflating itself, then grabbing an axe and...). The main location in "Trucks" is also a gas station, so it's not like this remake was doing anything worse here. If you liked the original, then you'll also have some fun with this one. It's as simple as that. I can add that the ending is just a little bit different. Although I saw it coming, I liked it more (than the 80's version).
Believe it or not, this remake's even worse than the original movie
Leofwine_draca23 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
A totally unnecessary remake of MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, an '80s movie which manages to be fun, cheesy and exceptionally bad at the same time. TRUCKS, however, is a television movie, and we all know the arid desert of creativity and originality that television movies are. Yes, here we have a plot less, incredibly dull movie where nothing much happens, a few people die bloodlessly and lots of stupid things happen to some incredibly stupid people. If you get the feeling I didn't like this film, you'd be right.
I don't think much needs to be said about the static direction or basic nature of this film - if you're unsure of what I mean, just watch one of the endless killer nature/haunted house television movies to have come out in the past decade and you'll be there. Remember how in MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE we witnessed people getting killed by coke machines, boys being run over by steam rollers and the like? There's nothing of that here. What little violence there was has been cut out of the version I watched on TV, making this a worthless experience. This just consists of people either running around, waiting or "bonding". Yuck.
The cast is a particularly bad one. I've found that I usually recognise at least one or two people in a television movie, with the rest being unknown to me. Here I noticed Brenda Bakke, that tireless beauty who has toiled through trash like TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT for the good of mankind, getting by on her looks alone. It's sad when she's the best thing in a movie. Timothy Busfield is the geeky hero, there's an obnoxious teenage girl who reminded me of Molly Ringwald in SPACEHUNTER and was no less irritating, a boring old man who you just know is going to get killed, an annoying little kid who looks like Alfred E. Newman, and two dumb rednecks who manage to blow themselves up. And that is this film's entire cast.
At least MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE had something of a plot, with the trucks planning to take over mankind. This is like they took the first half hour of that film and stretched it out to one and a half hours. There isn't even a conclusion, just a silly twist ending where our heroes board a helicopter which they think is rescuing them, only to find out nobody is flying it. How overdone, how stupid. I liked a scene towards the end where a repairman gets electrocuted, which seems to have been inserted just to pad out the running time and has no connection with the rest of the film at all.
This is a film where lots of buildings explode in huge clouds for no reason whatsoever, where there's 90% talk and 10% action. This is an uninspired and dumb mess. The one moment I did like in this film happens about halfway through, where we see a truck fill a contamination suit with air, and uses the suit to axe a couple of unfortunates to death. This two minute scene is the ONE moment of creativity that this film has to offer. Give it a miss!
I don't think much needs to be said about the static direction or basic nature of this film - if you're unsure of what I mean, just watch one of the endless killer nature/haunted house television movies to have come out in the past decade and you'll be there. Remember how in MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE we witnessed people getting killed by coke machines, boys being run over by steam rollers and the like? There's nothing of that here. What little violence there was has been cut out of the version I watched on TV, making this a worthless experience. This just consists of people either running around, waiting or "bonding". Yuck.
The cast is a particularly bad one. I've found that I usually recognise at least one or two people in a television movie, with the rest being unknown to me. Here I noticed Brenda Bakke, that tireless beauty who has toiled through trash like TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT for the good of mankind, getting by on her looks alone. It's sad when she's the best thing in a movie. Timothy Busfield is the geeky hero, there's an obnoxious teenage girl who reminded me of Molly Ringwald in SPACEHUNTER and was no less irritating, a boring old man who you just know is going to get killed, an annoying little kid who looks like Alfred E. Newman, and two dumb rednecks who manage to blow themselves up. And that is this film's entire cast.
At least MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE had something of a plot, with the trucks planning to take over mankind. This is like they took the first half hour of that film and stretched it out to one and a half hours. There isn't even a conclusion, just a silly twist ending where our heroes board a helicopter which they think is rescuing them, only to find out nobody is flying it. How overdone, how stupid. I liked a scene towards the end where a repairman gets electrocuted, which seems to have been inserted just to pad out the running time and has no connection with the rest of the film at all.
This is a film where lots of buildings explode in huge clouds for no reason whatsoever, where there's 90% talk and 10% action. This is an uninspired and dumb mess. The one moment I did like in this film happens about halfway through, where we see a truck fill a contamination suit with air, and uses the suit to axe a couple of unfortunates to death. This two minute scene is the ONE moment of creativity that this film has to offer. Give it a miss!
Comedy gold!
sebpopcorn12 September 2008
This movie is based on a Stephen King short story which surprisingly isn't about a writer in Maine who is stuck for ideas, which is his usual hero. Instead there's some people in a truck stop who get menaced by trucks that come alive. Already you've got a plot that wouldn't look out of place in a Garth Marengi novel.
In the short story there is little explanation as to why the trucks have turned hostile and that kind of works, well it works better than any explanation a rational person could come up with because it's patently a bit silly. Better to just leave it as a mystery hey? So what does the movie do? Delves right in there looking for answers.
Various explanations come up, each more risible than the last. One fat guy thinks the trucks have come alive because of pollution or something, someone else thinks its to do with aliens. What I love best about the explanations is the way the actors look totally shamefaced as they say their lines. They know this is the lowest point in their probably now dead careers.
You've already got one shiny nugget of comedy gold right there even before you factor in the bad acting but wipe it against your sleeve and you'll see it really shines with much more.
A guy gets attacked with the most rubber looking axe in the history of film making. Honestly, I swear I had to watch that bit five times. Another guy gets attacked by a toy truck he could easily drop kick across the street and has to pretend to be knocked over so it can ram him in the head a few times.
This is priceless straight-faced comedy the like of which you rarely see these days. It's so poor it really deserves a 1 but I can't bring myself to give it less than 2 because it made me laugh so much.
If you love bad movies this one needs to be on your shelf. I would love to have seen Stephen Kings face when he first saw this aired.
In the short story there is little explanation as to why the trucks have turned hostile and that kind of works, well it works better than any explanation a rational person could come up with because it's patently a bit silly. Better to just leave it as a mystery hey? So what does the movie do? Delves right in there looking for answers.
Various explanations come up, each more risible than the last. One fat guy thinks the trucks have come alive because of pollution or something, someone else thinks its to do with aliens. What I love best about the explanations is the way the actors look totally shamefaced as they say their lines. They know this is the lowest point in their probably now dead careers.
You've already got one shiny nugget of comedy gold right there even before you factor in the bad acting but wipe it against your sleeve and you'll see it really shines with much more.
A guy gets attacked with the most rubber looking axe in the history of film making. Honestly, I swear I had to watch that bit five times. Another guy gets attacked by a toy truck he could easily drop kick across the street and has to pretend to be knocked over so it can ram him in the head a few times.
This is priceless straight-faced comedy the like of which you rarely see these days. It's so poor it really deserves a 1 but I can't bring myself to give it less than 2 because it made me laugh so much.
If you love bad movies this one needs to be on your shelf. I would love to have seen Stephen Kings face when he first saw this aired.
Weak, flaccid King remake
FiendishDramaturgy2 September 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Trucks. Another faithful Stephen King adaptation that doesn't work.
Compared to this work, Maximum Overdrive RAWKED!! It was a GREAT movie based on Stephen King's "Trucks." Stephen King even wrote the screenplay for it which is a complete surprise to me, since I normally deTEST his screenplay translations/adaptations of his literary work.
Not only did he write the original work, "Trucks," but he directed the movie Maximum Overdrive, and had a bit part in it. This made for TV version, called..."Trucks," is about as well done as a piece of Steak Tartare.
The acting is shallow and campy, the characters possess about as much depth as a child's wading pool and I'm SO SORRY, but I needed to hear Yeardley Smith (Connie) screaming, "CURRRRRTIS! ARE YOU DA-YED???!!!"
Brian Taggert should be writing greeting cards and Chris Thomson should be directing TRAFFIC somewhere in the rain with no hat! Trucks lost a lot in the translation. A LOT.
While Maximum Overdrive was not billed as highly as it should have been, this remake makes Maximum Overdrive look like Stewart's "It's A Wonderful Life," in comparison.
Aaaand, I'm not even a casual fan of Emillio Estevez but Timothy Busfield?! Jeez, why not get Steve Webber? Wait!!...you already DID that. *coughs* The 1997 Made 4 TV Shining Remake *coughs*
The cellphones are from the '80's as they attempted to "date" this piece to compete with Maximum Overdrive. Why, I'll never know. It's no where near the same level of excitement. Yeardley Smith MADE that movie. Without her, it's just some dumb truck movie.
It's probably not as bad as all that. But compared to the movie it's supposed to "remake," it ranks down there with Mom and Dad Saved the World.
Sorry Timothy Busfield fans...wait...are there any?, but it just reeks.
Amy Stewart's and Brendan Fletcher's characters were the only ones which had any depth or believability to them, whatsoever. Their performances were rich as French Roast in comparison to the rest, and that ain't saying much.
It has some good spots, but it just isn't much of anything. When the TonkaT truck is killing the Postal Guy, we laughed uproarously. It was campy and puerile and we couldn't help but laugh. We actually rented this movie, to write this review. Poor us. *lol* And tell me this...Just how many times can you chop someone with an axe in the SAME place without going more than 1" deep? C'MON! *lol* The axe actually FLEXED in it's plasticity right there in front of our EYES! WoW this movie was baaaad!! Okay, wow. And when the truck drove through the old man who'd been Ray's Father's service mate? The CGI is so bad, you can literally SEE the truck drive straight through the old guy, and the guy's feet are still THERE IN THE SHOT!! *lmao* We laughed SO HARD.
If you're bored and there's absolutely nothing else to do, clean your house, clean out the garage or worm your cat, but DON'T see this movie.
"They're getting smart!" "Well, we gotta stay smarter." *lmao* Wow, with dialogue like this, no wonder it currently has 3.3/10 stars with the IMDb.
The pivotal moments are weak and as flaccid as overcooked pasta, as the cast embers are picked off one at a time for utter stupidity.
And the ending? WHAT ENDING??? WT...?!?!
If you like this movie, see a shrink. Okay, okay, there's no accounting for taste. If you LIKE this movie, check out Maximum Overdrive. It's much, MUCH better.
I was going to give it a half a point out of 10. I don't know why it gets that much; perhaps in memory of Maximum Overdrive, a MUCH BETTER MOVIE!
But because of the really botched ending, it gets absolutely NOTHING (that's 0.0/10) from...
the Fiend :.
Compared to this work, Maximum Overdrive RAWKED!! It was a GREAT movie based on Stephen King's "Trucks." Stephen King even wrote the screenplay for it which is a complete surprise to me, since I normally deTEST his screenplay translations/adaptations of his literary work.
Not only did he write the original work, "Trucks," but he directed the movie Maximum Overdrive, and had a bit part in it. This made for TV version, called..."Trucks," is about as well done as a piece of Steak Tartare.
The acting is shallow and campy, the characters possess about as much depth as a child's wading pool and I'm SO SORRY, but I needed to hear Yeardley Smith (Connie) screaming, "CURRRRRTIS! ARE YOU DA-YED???!!!"
Brian Taggert should be writing greeting cards and Chris Thomson should be directing TRAFFIC somewhere in the rain with no hat! Trucks lost a lot in the translation. A LOT.
While Maximum Overdrive was not billed as highly as it should have been, this remake makes Maximum Overdrive look like Stewart's "It's A Wonderful Life," in comparison.
Aaaand, I'm not even a casual fan of Emillio Estevez but Timothy Busfield?! Jeez, why not get Steve Webber? Wait!!...you already DID that. *coughs* The 1997 Made 4 TV Shining Remake *coughs*
The cellphones are from the '80's as they attempted to "date" this piece to compete with Maximum Overdrive. Why, I'll never know. It's no where near the same level of excitement. Yeardley Smith MADE that movie. Without her, it's just some dumb truck movie.
It's probably not as bad as all that. But compared to the movie it's supposed to "remake," it ranks down there with Mom and Dad Saved the World.
Sorry Timothy Busfield fans...wait...are there any?, but it just reeks.
Amy Stewart's and Brendan Fletcher's characters were the only ones which had any depth or believability to them, whatsoever. Their performances were rich as French Roast in comparison to the rest, and that ain't saying much.
It has some good spots, but it just isn't much of anything. When the TonkaT truck is killing the Postal Guy, we laughed uproarously. It was campy and puerile and we couldn't help but laugh. We actually rented this movie, to write this review. Poor us. *lol* And tell me this...Just how many times can you chop someone with an axe in the SAME place without going more than 1" deep? C'MON! *lol* The axe actually FLEXED in it's plasticity right there in front of our EYES! WoW this movie was baaaad!! Okay, wow. And when the truck drove through the old man who'd been Ray's Father's service mate? The CGI is so bad, you can literally SEE the truck drive straight through the old guy, and the guy's feet are still THERE IN THE SHOT!! *lmao* We laughed SO HARD.
If you're bored and there's absolutely nothing else to do, clean your house, clean out the garage or worm your cat, but DON'T see this movie.
"They're getting smart!" "Well, we gotta stay smarter." *lmao* Wow, with dialogue like this, no wonder it currently has 3.3/10 stars with the IMDb.
The pivotal moments are weak and as flaccid as overcooked pasta, as the cast embers are picked off one at a time for utter stupidity.
And the ending? WHAT ENDING??? WT...?!?!
If you like this movie, see a shrink. Okay, okay, there's no accounting for taste. If you LIKE this movie, check out Maximum Overdrive. It's much, MUCH better.
I was going to give it a half a point out of 10. I don't know why it gets that much; perhaps in memory of Maximum Overdrive, a MUCH BETTER MOVIE!
But because of the really botched ending, it gets absolutely NOTHING (that's 0.0/10) from...
the Fiend :.
If you thought Maximum Overdrive was bad...
Mr Sloth20 June 1999
Say, do you remember that below par Stephen King flick about all machines going mad and killing people that King directed himself-- Maximum Overdrive? Well, take the same basic plot, remove Emilio Estevez from the lead, and King as director, and oh yea, one more thing, attempt to make a silly story into a serious film, and then you'll have Trucks! I wasn't a huge fan of Maximum Overdrive, but at least King redeemed himself by admitting he was merely attempting to make a junk movie for the fun of it. This appeared to be a serious attempt at making the King short story of the same name, Trucks, into something it was never meant to be. The homicidal soda machine and profane ATM provided moments of comic relief in Maximum Overdrive, Trucks however has nothing of this sort.(I doubt it had the budget for these types of special effects) If you catch this gas of a flick on TV just keep on Truckin' to the next channel.
Trucks REALLY sucks
groovyal18 April 1999
Okay, I watched this movie today, and I hated it. It's like someone thought that it was a good idea to take EVERYTHING that was bad about the far superior "Maximum Overdrive", and put it into this movie. It is my opinion that this movie is just one big carbon copy of Stephen King's aforementioned work... Only with a MUCH smaller budget, worse actors, and no AC/DC. Save yourself some time and rent the original.
"My dad's not a Redneck, he's from Detroit." Not sure about this one...
poolandrews25 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Trucks starts in a junk yard just outside the small American town of Lunar whose only claim to fame is that it is located near the infamous Government/Military facility Area 51. As Phil (Harry Neeken) the owner goes about his business an old rusty wreck of a truck suddenly develops a life of it's own & kills Phil. A short time after a large refrigerated truck seems to take control of itself & locks it's driver (Gene Pyrz) in it's trailer & sets off for the nearby town of Lunar where the local mechanic Ray (Timothy Busfield) his son Logan (Brendan Fletcher), two truck drivers Bob (Aidan Devine) & Pete (Rick Skene) are trapped inside the towns diner run by George (Victor Cowie) by the numerous trucks that have gathered & now circle outside ready to run anyone down stupid enough to leave the diner. Meanwhile a guide named Hope (Brenda Bakke) & three hikers on a camping trip Jack (Jay Brazeau), Thad (Roman Podhora) & his young bratty daughter Abby (Amy Stewart) stumble across Phil & are almost killed themselves by a truck, upon their return to Lunar & the diner they discover that all the trucks in the area seem to have a life of their own & aren't friendly towards humans...
This Canadian made-for-cable TV production was directed by Chris Thompson & is pretty average stuff although I liked it in a dumb sort of way, I suspect the only real reason I say that is because I was in a good mood when I watched it. The script by Brian Taggert based on the short story by Stephen King has obvious similarities to King's own Maximum Overdrive (1986) & in fact could easily be described as a remake. A remake of Maximum Overdrive? Great, just what the world needed! I will say no more & concentrate on the film in hand, Trucks moves along at a fair pace to start with but slows down considerably as our bunch of stranded clichéd character's emote with each other & seem to sort all their personal problems out, you know the sort of thing Father makes peace with Daughter whom he has neglected blah blah blah you can probably fill in the blanks yourself. Besides this no explanation is given for anything that happens in the film whatsoever, can someone please tell me why every truck in Lunar & the surrounding area suddenly develop the power to drive, think & even communicate with each other? Why can't they attack the diner & motel rooms? Why do they just circle it for hours? Why does this mysterious force not effect normal cars & motorbikes? What has the mysterious Area 51 have to do with anything? So many questions so few answers... Now for the (slightly) good stuff, namely the scene where the toy dump-truck comes to life attacks & kills an unlucky postman by ramming his ankles & then repeatedly driving into his head! This is a scene that words can't do justice to, by the end of the scene the toy truck is covered in blood & bits of flesh! There is another scene in which a contamination suit comes to life & hacks two men to death with an axe in the films only gory moment, I have no idea why an empty suit would inflate, start walking around & killing people with an axe I just don't & I doubt anyone involved with Trucks did either. What it all boils down to is that Trucks isn't a masterpiece but it just about kept me entertained for 100 odd minutes in a silly lame sort of way. Trucks was made-for-TV & it shows with it's bland cinematography, low key small scale stunts & action scenes which consist mostly of trucks smashing into plywood buildings, forgettable music & a general OK but nothing special feel about it. The acting is average & of TV soap opera quality. Maybe I'm being a bit lenient on Trucks but I found it a fairly decent watch if nothing spectacular, I don't think I'd sit through it again anytime soon. Worth a watch just for the scene when the toy truck smashes the postman's head in, although the scene itself is psychically impossible as a plastic truck simply wouldn't have the weight to generate the forward momentum need to crush someone's skull, would it? Then again it is only a film...
This Canadian made-for-cable TV production was directed by Chris Thompson & is pretty average stuff although I liked it in a dumb sort of way, I suspect the only real reason I say that is because I was in a good mood when I watched it. The script by Brian Taggert based on the short story by Stephen King has obvious similarities to King's own Maximum Overdrive (1986) & in fact could easily be described as a remake. A remake of Maximum Overdrive? Great, just what the world needed! I will say no more & concentrate on the film in hand, Trucks moves along at a fair pace to start with but slows down considerably as our bunch of stranded clichéd character's emote with each other & seem to sort all their personal problems out, you know the sort of thing Father makes peace with Daughter whom he has neglected blah blah blah you can probably fill in the blanks yourself. Besides this no explanation is given for anything that happens in the film whatsoever, can someone please tell me why every truck in Lunar & the surrounding area suddenly develop the power to drive, think & even communicate with each other? Why can't they attack the diner & motel rooms? Why do they just circle it for hours? Why does this mysterious force not effect normal cars & motorbikes? What has the mysterious Area 51 have to do with anything? So many questions so few answers... Now for the (slightly) good stuff, namely the scene where the toy dump-truck comes to life attacks & kills an unlucky postman by ramming his ankles & then repeatedly driving into his head! This is a scene that words can't do justice to, by the end of the scene the toy truck is covered in blood & bits of flesh! There is another scene in which a contamination suit comes to life & hacks two men to death with an axe in the films only gory moment, I have no idea why an empty suit would inflate, start walking around & killing people with an axe I just don't & I doubt anyone involved with Trucks did either. What it all boils down to is that Trucks isn't a masterpiece but it just about kept me entertained for 100 odd minutes in a silly lame sort of way. Trucks was made-for-TV & it shows with it's bland cinematography, low key small scale stunts & action scenes which consist mostly of trucks smashing into plywood buildings, forgettable music & a general OK but nothing special feel about it. The acting is average & of TV soap opera quality. Maybe I'm being a bit lenient on Trucks but I found it a fairly decent watch if nothing spectacular, I don't think I'd sit through it again anytime soon. Worth a watch just for the scene when the toy truck smashes the postman's head in, although the scene itself is psychically impossible as a plastic truck simply wouldn't have the weight to generate the forward momentum need to crush someone's skull, would it? Then again it is only a film...
To Sleep or Not to Sleep? (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
slbp_9922 October 2000
Warning: Spoilers
That is the question. What a nightmare, by which I mean, it is a very bad movie. Before I get to the bad points of the movie I will talk about the good (OK) parts, now let me think. (Two Hours Later) Now I have thought of something. This movie does have a plot and SOME ok effects. I would not call them special effects, just ok effects. Now for the bad part of the movie. The acting was bad, will mostly everything was bad, except the things I have list that was good (OK). SPOILER: What the heck was that ending about. I hate it when the ending leaves us hanging. SPOILER: What actually caused the trucks to go "crazy"? SPOILER: They never said what cause the trucks to go "crazy". SO if you cannot sleep or just want to waste your money on a video buy or rent this one. If not, STAY AWAY!!!
funny
blacklaetherglove29 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This was a movie I saw when it first came out. I believe it was straight to video or made for TV, because it was on basic cable in the same year IMDb shows it as premiering. Anyway, this is perfect for that kind of setting, with people coming in and out of the room all the time. It's not exactly something with a gripping plotling that makes you think. It comes with all the intellligence of a John Woo movie, but none of the delicious eye candy explosions. My friends and I made fum of it the entire time, especially at the end when some of the stupid redneck trucker characters got what was coming to them. It's bad, almost so bad it is good, but not quite. If mst3k still did shows, this is the kinda of movie they would be laughing at.
Area 51 is no where near Canada. Inventive murders.
henrybret-7714217 October 2020
This is some low budget Cheese core. Based on the same short story as Maximum Overdrive.
This movie is the poor 2nd cousin of MO. The acting and dialog make you root for the trucks. Its slow quite often so do t be affraid to Fast forward I promise you won't miss anything important as far as dialog or character development.
If your a fan of the genre definately watch it. Its still fun watching trucks try to kill people. The practical effects are decent and only a smidgen of mid 90s CGI.
Im not sure which is best, the RC dump truck scene or , the biohard suit. Both were CHOICE ! Brava. 👏🏻
This movie is the poor 2nd cousin of MO. The acting and dialog make you root for the trucks. Its slow quite often so do t be affraid to Fast forward I promise you won't miss anything important as far as dialog or character development.
If your a fan of the genre definately watch it. Its still fun watching trucks try to kill people. The practical effects are decent and only a smidgen of mid 90s CGI.
Im not sure which is best, the RC dump truck scene or , the biohard suit. Both were CHOICE ! Brava. 👏🏻
This is the Trucking Original
superman16 November 2008
It's not a remake of Maximum Overdrive, it's an unmake - what that film should have been.
Trucks is based pretty closely on the short story, which is one of King's best in his Nightshift collection.
The action is constant. It never lets up. And for a TV movie, there seems a lot of explosions, or budget in other words. Apart from The Car (1977), or Killdozer (1974), it's a unique movie - well, trinique - being the only films of vehicular possession that I recall. Woops I forgot Christine (1983). Quadnique.
A few times it snaps reality, when, I think, adding ideas King maybe didn't.
It was a relief and pleasure seeing the ideas King developed faithfully appear as the movie progressed, making me remember the story I read ages ago. The acting, especially at-times-terror-stricken Timothy Busfield, and character, is de-fine.
And about the people who can't believe it, or the intriguing and various hard trying attempts at explanation, which added more fun, depth, and reality to the black magic of the story, I think of what Stephen King said when he heard of people who can't believe in these stories:
I feel a kind of sadness.
Now if they just unmake The Mangler in the same way, which was the best story in that book...
Trucks is based pretty closely on the short story, which is one of King's best in his Nightshift collection.
The action is constant. It never lets up. And for a TV movie, there seems a lot of explosions, or budget in other words. Apart from The Car (1977), or Killdozer (1974), it's a unique movie - well, trinique - being the only films of vehicular possession that I recall. Woops I forgot Christine (1983). Quadnique.
A few times it snaps reality, when, I think, adding ideas King maybe didn't.
It was a relief and pleasure seeing the ideas King developed faithfully appear as the movie progressed, making me remember the story I read ages ago. The acting, especially at-times-terror-stricken Timothy Busfield, and character, is de-fine.
And about the people who can't believe it, or the intriguing and various hard trying attempts at explanation, which added more fun, depth, and reality to the black magic of the story, I think of what Stephen King said when he heard of people who can't believe in these stories:
I feel a kind of sadness.
Now if they just unmake The Mangler in the same way, which was the best story in that book...
A made-for-TV version of Maximum Overdrive.
BA_Harrison11 August 2018
In 1986, Stephen King turned director, adapting his short story 'Trucks' for the cinema; the result was Maximum Overdrive, a hokey horror with lots of silly deaths, an excess of vehicular destruction, a rockin' soundtrack, and a truck that looked like The Green Goblin! The film received negative reviews and was a box-office flop, although I actually found it to be a whole lot of fun.
Trucks is another attempt at bringing King's short story to the screen, this time by director Chris Thomson, and it too is extremely dumb, even more-so at times, with a couple of unbelievably silly killings (try not to laugh at the sight of an inflated unoccupied hazmat suit wielding an axe, or the killer toy truck!); as such, I also found it entertaining.
Sadly, there's no AC/DC blaring over the action, and the film suffers slightly from a noticeable lack of a big green-faced semi-trailer, but it's still worth checking out - especially for the surprisingly good ending.
Trucks is another attempt at bringing King's short story to the screen, this time by director Chris Thomson, and it too is extremely dumb, even more-so at times, with a couple of unbelievably silly killings (try not to laugh at the sight of an inflated unoccupied hazmat suit wielding an axe, or the killer toy truck!); as such, I also found it entertaining.
Sadly, there's no AC/DC blaring over the action, and the film suffers slightly from a noticeable lack of a big green-faced semi-trailer, but it's still worth checking out - especially for the surprisingly good ending.
"Just hang on, folks. I repeat, just hang on."
Bored_Dragon14 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"Maximum Overdrive" is considered a bad movie and one of the worst adaptations of Stephen King (which I firmly disagree with), although it was adapted by King himself. Chris Thomson and Brian Taggert were not satisfied with how badly this film was made, so they decided to show that it could be done much worse, adapting the same story a decade later, in the form of the movie "Trucks". Objectively, the film is in every respect cheap trash, and in addition, it lacks the AC/DC soundtrack, which has largely pulled out "Maximum Overdrive", but there are a few really memorable scenes for which I strongly recommend you to see this flick. The scene in which a small plastic remote control truck is killing a postman is at the same time one of the most idiotic and one of the most unforgettably hilarious scenes of death in the history of cinema, and the scene in which protective suit kills its owner with an axe does not fall far behind.
4/10
4/10
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