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.