Stephen King is best known for his work as a horror author, but he has also branched out to other media in different roles, but he has only directed one movie: Maximum Overdrive, but why hasn’t he directed another movie? Thanks to his novels and short stories from the horror genre, Stephen King has earned the title of King of Horror, and given the popularity of his works, many of these have been adapted to TV and film, sometimes more than once.
Stephen King rose to fame after the publishing of Misery have been successfully adapted to TV and film, but not all of King’s stories have been well received in these formats, as happened with the 1986 movie Maximum Overdrive.
Based on the short story “Trucks”, first published in 1973 in Cavalier magazine and later in the 1978 collection Night Shift, Maximum Overdrive was not just another adaptation of a story by Stephen King, but it was also his directorial debut, and so far, it remains as his only work as a film director.
Why Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive Flopped
Maximum Overdrive is set in a time when machines – from cars and trucks to arcades and vending machines – go sentient after Earth crosses the tail of a comet. The machines begin to attack humans all over the world, and survivors team up to keep themselves safe from a mass of homicidal trucks. Leading the group of survivors is diner cook Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez), who eventually figures out what has turned the machines into homicidal objects looking to enslave humans. Maximum Overdrive was a critical and commercial failure, so much so that it was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Director. Critics mostly pointed out King’s direction, Estevez’s performance, and the movie’s campiness as its biggest weaknesses, with many simply calling Maximum Overdrive “a mess”.
since Maximum Overdrive happened, Stephen King has been firm in his intention of not directing another movie again but continues working as a producer and more in different projects.
