Horror Movie Review: Trucks (1997)

After many adaptions that made Stephen King unhappy, the man himself decided to take over the directing chair for his 1986 version of his short story, Trucks. Called ‘Maximum Overdrive’ it was a hilarious mess of a movie that showed even King couldn’t make his stuff work.

Amazingly in 1997, writer Brian Taggert and director Chris Thomson would attempt to adapt Trucks again, this time going with the same name as the short story.

In a stunning turn of events, Trucks is just as bad as Maximum Overdrive but with none of the silliness that film had. Simply put, it is a lower-budget, worse-acted and mind-numbingly boring film.

In a small American town where the residents hope to forget the worries of big-city life the trucks all start to come to life. Why? It’s never explained but some form of chemical spill is alluded too throughout.

These trucks start rampaging throughout the town killing anyone they come across eventually trapping a handful inside a truck-stop. These survivors must work together to overcome the killers circling outside if they can just learn to trust each other.

It really is as boring as it sounds. The cast are so forgettable even though there are a few names you might recognise, namely Timothy Busfield and Brenda Bakke. Neither really makes much effort here though clearly aware of just how pointless it was putting the work in.

The real stars are the killer trucks and it’s here that the movie can’t seem to make its mind up. What starts as just trucks coming to life eventually leads to a toy car that attacks and kills a postman and in an even more confusing turn of events, a hazmat suit comes to life and uses an axe to kill two men.

The only think Trucks has going for it is the gratuitous level of gore. Unlike Maximum Overdrive that favoured tongue in cheek, Trucks layers the blood on thick and there are a few scenes that might make you wince. Hardly worth watching it just for that though.

Avoid, like so many Stephen King adaptions.

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