Stephen King’s Worst Movie Is Getting An Unbelievable Upgrade
Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive is getting a SteelBook Blu-ray edition at Walmart.
The Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive is getting a brand-new SteelBook Blu-ray release, and we can’t believe it. But Fangoria reports that the movie is now listed at Walmart and can be pre-ordered for your home viewing…pleasure? We’re not sure, but if you’re into crazy, off-the-wall ’80s horror, you’ll probably be delighted with this spiffy new edition of the film.
Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive isn’t exactly the stuff of John Carpenter or Sam Raimi and is, in fact, notoriously terrible, but apparently, that isn’t stopping the retail giant from giving us an early opportunity to buy a swanky new Blu-ray of it. The 1986 film is the one and only directorial effort from King, the legendary master of literary horror, and while his books have been turned into many film and television adaptations, including classics like The Shining and two versions of IT, his time at the helm of a film was not as successful. Still, its silliness and pure insanity have given it something of a cult following, especially as a party movie.
Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive may be what someone thinks the world needs right now: not necessarily a big rig that goes crazy and plows people down because it becomes infused with the energy of a comet because what else would you expect to happen, but a wild ride that can be enjoyed for fun with friends. After all, humans are spending time in each other’s presence now, and maybe an insane 18-wheeler with the face of the Spider-Man villain, the Green Goblin, strapped to its grill, mowing down pedestrians and causing extreme chaos is the sort of thing they’d like to gather around—possibly fueled by a few too many drinks. Or, maybe now is just the time for digging up ’80s memories and hoping some Gen-Xers will buy them.
It’s definitely at least one of those.
For all the talk of Stephen King steering Maximum Overdrive to minimum success, the movie seems to have the “so bad it’s good” vibe going for it, along with the “turn your brain off and have fun” mystique. That, combined with King’s name recognition and the ridiculously over-the-top vision of a semi with a face we all now hear laughing in the voice of an insane Willem Dafoe (is there another kind?) ripping through the streets of town could be enough to reel in nostalgic 40-year-olds and even garner some new viewers.
With a $20 price tag and a cover so crazy you just have to pick it up and figure out how this slice of insanity actually rated a SteelBook Blu-ray, Maximum Overdrive could be barreling off the shelves of your local Walmart before you know it.
If nothing else, we hope the Stephen King blitzkrieg of badness that is Maximum Overdrive can at least bring some fun to some people’s day and provide an escape from the real-world horrors (not to mention some of the horrible movies) we’re all having to endure these days. After all, how often do you get to see one of the most demented minds in popular culture really cutting sick with a horror movie about a killer motor vehicle? Okay, besides Christine.
This is more like Christine’s cocaine-fueled cousin, and you know what? We might be here for it.
