Having watched my third Stephen King adaptation in the span of three months (The Life of Chuck, The Long Walk, and The Running Man, all of which were really good, by the way), I figured it was time to head back to the Derry, Maine Memorial Library and check out another book. In this case, it was the same book I’d checked out recently, since it’s packed with short stories. Personally, I find King’s shorter story adaptations more interesting. The creative teams usually have to dig deep to stretch them into feature-length films, which leads to some fascinating (and sometimes unhinged) results. Some of these adaptations already have legendary reputations. Children of the Corn went from less than 20 pages to a staggering number of sequels. The Mangler lives on as pure Tobe Hooper cheesy gold. But today’s entry is something else entirely. This one was adapted twice, a decade apart, features one of the greatest soundtracks of all time, and stands as the only movie Stephen King ever directed himself—even if it took a Tony Montana–sized mountain of “special sauce” to get him and the crew through it.
So keep an eye on those trucks as we find out Who Made Who… I mean, what happened to this adaptation.
The Movie
While Stephen King adaptations had been rolling out since the mid-1970s, the 1980s were largely dominated by producer Dino De Laurentiis. Under his banner, we got The Dead Zone (directed by David Cronenberg), Cat’s Eye (Lewis Teague), and Firestarter (Mark L. Lester… almost John Carpenter, but that’s a different story). In 1985, King signed a three-picture deal, and his directorial debut would be an adaptation of his short story “Trucks,” originally published in Night Shift.
Production took place in Wilmington, North Carolina, for a couple of reasons. First, Dino had a production facility nearby. Second, it was a right-to-work state, meaning unions could be skirted and hiring could be… flexible.
King has famously claimed he was completely out of his mind during production. On-set translator Robert Croci, however, didn’t see much in the way of harder substances. What he did see were beers starting at 6 a.m. and continuing until about 8:30 at night… which, honestly, is one way to survive this movie.
That translator was necessary because Dino hired Italian cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi, a veteran of Italian cinema in the ’50s and ’60s. He’d also shot The Birdcage and Silver Bullet, another King adaptation filmed the year prior under De Laurentiis.
King himself rode his motorcycle from Maine to North Carolina because he wanted to get up close with big rigs and understand how terrifying they could be in real life. When he arrived at the studio, though, he was so disheveled that security wouldn’t let him in at first.
For the record, King hates this movie now. At the time, though, he wanted to direct because he felt his work hadn’t been adapted particularly well. He figured if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That… did not pan out. But the movie did give us a few legendary things.
AC/DC, Evil Dead II, and Other Accidental Wins
The biggest win is the soundtrack. King personally asked AC/DC to handle the music. After he awkwardly sang one of their songs to them, they laughed and agreed, largely because he was clearly a genuine fan.
Most of the tracks are reused from earlier albums, and much of the original score wasn’t even used, but they did write “Who Made Who” specifically for the film. It’s an all-time banger.
Even stranger: we have Maximum Overdrive to thank for Evil Dead becoming a franchise. Sam Raimi and company were struggling to get traction, and King, who loved The Evil Dead, convinced Dino to finance Evil Dead II. Without this movie, that franchise might not exist as we know it.
Casting Chaos and On-Set Carnage
The cast includes some notable names: Frankie Faison, a very young Giancarlo Esposito, and Pat Hingle. King originally wanted Bruce Springsteen to star, but Dino shut that down immediately. Instead, the role went to brat-pack regular Emilio Estevez, future Mighty Ducks coach and part-time director. Some believe this is where the light left King’s eyes, but he powered through by teaching and entertaining the cast. He screened movies like Night of the Living Dead and Godzilla, offering commentary along the way.
Pat Hingle loved Wilmington so much that he moved there after production and stayed until his death in 2009. Unfortunately, tragedy also struck when cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi lost an eye after a piece of wood flew into it during the lawnmower scene. He later settled out of court but continued working until shortly before his death in 2001.
Release and Reception
Maximum Overdrive hit theaters on July 25, 1986, and was a failure with both critics and audiences. It made $7.4 million on a $9 million budget and was absolutely eviscerated by reviews. Over time, its reputation softened into cult-classic territory, especially compared to its 1997 made-for-TV remake Trucks, which starred Timothy Busfield and is somehow even weirder and less fun.
King himself has never softened. He regularly cites the film as the reason he never directed again. Still, the trailer remains legendary, featuring a wide-eyed King promising to “scare the hell out of you.”
The Story
“Trucks” was originally published in the June 1973 issue of Cavalier magazine before being collected in Night Shift in 1978. That collection is a breeding ground for adaptations, with over half of its stories eventually making it to the screen. As mentioned, “Trucks” has been adapted twice: once by King in 1986 and again in 1997 for the USA Network.
King’s influence also extends to his Dollar Babies program, where students can adapt his short stories for $1. This program helped launch Frank Darabont, who went on to direct The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile after adapting The Woman in the Room from Night Shift. Neat.
What’s the Same?
All versions share the same core idea: machines, especially vehicles, suddenly gain sentience and start killing people. There’s always a central truck stop or diner where survivors hide. Someone gets horrifically injured by a semi. A bulldozer attacks the building. One vehicle communicates via Morse code, revealing the horrifying truth: humans must refuel the machines forever, even when tankers arrive to keep the nightmare going.
What’s Different?
Both movie adaptations expand the story in different ways. The 1997 Trucks shifts action to Nevada near Area 51, adds rogue equipment like radiation suits and pickaxes, and hops between multiple locations. Maximum Overdrive leans into spectacle. We see King himself battle an ATM that calls him an asshole, kids get wiped out at a baseball field, and suburban neighborhoods turn deadly thanks to lawnmowers, hair dryers, and anything else with a plug.
King’s version also adds subplots: a runaway son, a hitchhiker romance, and a diner owner who may or may not be a drug runner.
The endings vary wildly. Trucks ends with survivors escaping in a helicopter, only to realize no one is piloting it. The short story ends with humanity fueling machines forever. Maximum Overdrive is the only one with an explanation and a happy ending, blaming a comet and a blown-up UFO for the chaos before letting the survivors escape to an island. It’s weird. But AC/DC plays over it, so it works.
Legacy
None of these versions hold a dominant place in horror history. The short story is overshadowed within Night Shift. The TV movie is mostly forgotten. That leaves Maximum Overdrive, a bad movie, but a fun bad movie. Between the soundtrack, the behind-the-scenes insanity, its role in saving Evil Dead II, and the answer to why Stephen King never directed again, it wins by default.
Now we know Who Made Who. And if you’re going to watch one story about killer trucks, make it the coke-fueled comet movie starring Emilio Estevez and directed by Stephen King himself. Just… keep an eye on the road while you do.
A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Adaptation? can be seen below. To see the other shows we have to offer, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
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