The Time Is Right To Remake Stephen King’s Worst Movie Adaptation

In the era of remakes, especially in the horror genre, the worst movie adaptation of a Stephen King story can finally get a chance to succeed. Stephen King’s novels and short stories have been a source of inspiration for many artists for decades. Many of King’s works have been adapted to film and TV, some even more than once, but not all of these adaptations have found the same success as their source material. Stephen King’s first published novel, Carrie, was also the first to get a film adaptation, and since then, many of his stories have been brought to life.

Some of the best adaptations of King’s works are The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Misery, but as life is all about balance, many others are remembered for how bad they are. Some of these bad adaptations have already gotten remakes that didn’t succeed either, as was the case of Children of the Corn, while others wait to get another chance. Among them is Maximum Overdrive, considered by many the worst Stephen King movie adaptation, but it can finally have a chance to succeed if it is remade now.

Stephen King Has Apologized For How Bad Maximum Overdrive Was

Stephen King Admits Maximum Overdrive Wasn’t Good

Maximum Overdrive was released in 1986, and it’s a loose adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “Trucks”, found in the Night Shift collection. Although King is often involved in the adaptations of his works, whether as a writer or producer, Maximum Overdrive was the first and only time that he took over as director. Maximum Overdrive is set in a world where, after Earth crosses the tail of a comet, inanimate machines suddenly become sentient – and even worse, they begin to attack humans all over the world, creating chaos and triggering panic everywhere.

Maximum Overdrive currently holds a 14% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics saying King failed to make his own story believable despite the premise having potential, and criticizing King’s direction, script, and the performances of the cast. Maximum Overdrive went through various issues during production, with King admitting that he was struggling with substance abuse disorder during the making of this particular film, even saying he was “completely coked out of his mind” (via /Film). King is aware that Maximum Overdrive didn’t go as it should have, and has repeatedly apologized for it.

King has disowned Maximum Overdrive and has called it a “moron movie” (via Hollywood’s Stephen King), and has apologized to Emilio Estevez over the years. Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2021, Estevez admitted regretting starring in Maximum Overdrive, sharing that, the few times he has interacted with King since the movie’s release, he has asked him to forgive him for making the movie. Despite Maximum Overdrive having its supporters, King is painfully aware of how bad it was and the terrible experience it was for everyone involved.

Maximum Overdrive’s Themes Of Vehicles Gone Awry Fits Today’s Techno-Horror Trends

Maximum Overdrive Was Made At The Wrong Time

Despite the changes made to the source story, “Trucks”, Maximum Overdrive kept the same idea: sentient machines that want to destroy humanity, though in the short story, it was only semi-trailers and other large vehicles, while in the movie it was every previously inanimate machine, including ATMs, gas pumps, and even electric knives. This idea of machines of all types going awry after suddenly becoming sentient fits modern trends of techno-horror that, unfortunately, weren’t around with the same strength when Maximum Overdrive was in production.

Movies like Ex-Machina, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Choose or Die, Cam, and most recently M3GAN have helped develop the branch of techno-horror more and have offered different stories and scenarios where technology becomes humanity’s biggest threat. Because of this, Maximum Overdrive would have better chances of succeeding if it was remade now, though it would also have to have a better production team to ensure that it wouldn’t make the same mistakes as the original version.

Maximum Overdrive Could Be A Much Better Adaptation With The Right Team

An Experienced Horror Director Can Save Maximum Overdrive

One of the biggest reasons why Maximum Overdrive crashed and burned so badly is that it didn’t have the right production team. King has served as a writer in many of the adaptations of his works, but when he combined this with directing duties, he failed to translate his own words into images. Producer Dino DeLaurentiis brought a crew of mostly Italians and erroneously believed that film gaffer Jock Brandis spoke Italian, so there was also a language barrier not only with the crew but also with cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi.

If a Maximum Overdrive remake was to happen now, it would have bigger chances to succeed with a more experienced director and a production team that can freely and safely communicate with each other, as well as with a much safer environment during production. In 2020, writer Joe Hill, King’s son, expressed interest in writing and directing a Maximum Overdrive remake, but that would risk repeating one of the biggest mistakes of the first movie, as Hill has never directed a film before. Maximum Overdrive’s future is uncertain, but it’s finally a better time for it to be (re)made.

Sources: /Film, Hollywood’s Stephen King, Vanity Fair.