Trucks - Out of Control

You heard me. It's so bad. The way the cars honk at each other to communicate will make you laugh. If you want to see a movie where a spirit possesses an unmoving object and kills people, see Child's Play. Don't waste your gas seeing this movie (pun intended).

Trucks does stephen king very little justice. It is a film about a small town of people terrorized by unmanned trucks. It is basically a standard length movie, it is compiled of a cast including sharon Bajer and Jay Brazeau. It also has a notable Cameo of Alexander Cowan who is the lead guitarist in the group "Michelle Bear" This film has a number of parts which somewhat resemble maximum overdrive, including the truckstop e.t.c. But I watched this film and now that it is over I am anxiously awaiting a sequel.

I guess it's safe to say that "loosely based" is a good thing. What I'm talking about is that, according to Wikipedia, Maximum Overdrive (which is an EXCELLENT movie) was "loosely based" on the short story "Trucks". I don't really know if this story was meant as a remake of MO, but it should have been left in the can and burned. The acting is deplorable, and overall just not worth wasting your time on. For a really good "killer vehicle" movie, take this back to the video store and exchange it for MO...you'll be glad you did. In fact, break the disc on the way there and tell them it was damaged when you got home..that way no one ELSE will make the mistake of renting it.

This movie is based on a Stephen King short story which surprisingly isn't about a writer in Maine who is stuck for ideas, which is his usual hero. Instead there's some people in a truck stop who get menaced by trucks that come alive. Already you've got a plot that wouldn't look out of place in a Garth Marengi novel.

In the short story there is little explanation as to why the trucks have turned hostile and that kind of works, well it works better than any explanation a rational person could come up with because it's patently a bit silly. Better to just leave it as a mystery hey? So what does the movie do? Delves right in there looking for answers.

Various explanations come up, each more risible than the last. One fat guy thinks the trucks have come alive because of pollution or something, someone else thinks its to do with aliens. What I love best about the explanations is the way the actors look totally shamefaced as they say their lines. They know this is the lowest point in their probably now dead careers.

You've already got one shiny nugget of comedy gold right there even before you factor in the bad acting but wipe it against your sleeve and you'll see it really shines with much more.

A guy gets attacked with the most rubber looking axe in the history of film making. Honestly, I swear I had to watch that bit five times. Another guy gets attacked by a toy truck he could easily drop kick across the street and has to pretend to be knocked over so it can ram him in the head a few times.

This is priceless straight-faced comedy the like of which you rarely see these days. It's so poor it really deserves a 1 but I can't bring myself to give it less than 2 because it made me laugh so much.

If you love bad movies this one needs to be on your shelf. I would love to have seen Stephen Kings face when he first saw this aired.

I recently bought this film on DVD, and I have to say it's a great movie. This film is some what a remake of Maximum Overdrive (1986), a film Stephen King wrote and directed, but disrespected the original story, Trucks. Now this movie is more like the story, and at least this time the same title was used. There was no Green Goblin truck this time, I thought that was stupid, and this time the lead truck so to speak is a huge white freezer semi. The film ended the same way I was gonna do if I were to write a Trucks 2 screenplay, with the helicopter, but I guess that's trash in my book. I watched it twice now, and have an urge to watch it again.