Maximum Overdrive) on DVD

3 from the Mind of Stephen King
Children of the Corn / Creepshow 2 / Maximum Overdrive
Actors: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, George Kennedy
Directors: Fritz Kiersch, Michael Gornick, Stephen King
Genres: Horror

R 2003 4hr 42min

Children of the Corn — The murder rate is as high as an elephant's eye in this flaccid adaptation of Stephen King's short story. While driving through Nebraska en route to a new job, medico Burt (Peter Horton) and his wife ... more »Vicky (a pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton) nearly run over a mutilated boy who staggers from the cornfields. Seeking help, they enter the town of Gatlin, whose under-20 residents have butchered their parents per the decree of junior-grade holy roller Isaac (John Franklin), who preaches the word of a being called "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." King's original story (from his 1978 collection Night Shift) was a lean and brutal mélange of Southern-gothic atmosphere and E.C. Comics-style gore, which scripter Greg Goldsmith effectively neutralizes by adding a youthful narrator (a grating Robbie Kiger) and putting an upbeat spin on the story's morbid conclusion. Fritz Kiersch's direction is TV-movie flat, with the sole inspired moment (hideous religious iconography glimpsed during a bloody "service") delivered as a throwaway. Aside from Horton and Courtney Gains (as Isaac's hatchet man Malachai), the performances are dreadful, and the depiction of the Lovecraftian monster-god as a sort of giant gopher inspires more laughter than terror. Amazingly, the film spawned six sequels; Franklin (Cousin Itt in the Addams Family films) later appeared in and wrote 1999's Children of the Corn 666. --Paul Gaita Creepshow 2

What is it about hitchhikers that makes them such a sure-fire bet for horror? This question is addressed in the final segment of Creepshow 2, another Stephen King-George Romero collaboration. "The Hitchhiker" is the simplest and best of the three tales on display here, with Lois Chiles as a cheating wife who just can't seem to get rid of a hitchhiker... no matter how hard she tries. The collection gets off to a slow start with "Old Chief Wood'n Head," a sleepy story of Native American justice. "The Raft" is a passable teens-in-peril number, but it worked better on the page than on screen. Romero adapted the King stories but emphatically did not direct, which accounts for the drop-off from the kicky fun of the first Creepshow. King appears as a dimwitted truck driver--a foreshadowing of Maximum Overdrive? In any case, this one's for diehard fans only. --Robert Horton Maximum Overdrive

"I'm gonna scare the hell out of you," intones Stephen King in the trailer for his sole directorial effort, the much-maligned Maximum Overdrive. While the end result doesn't live up to that boast, this sci-fi/horror tale isn't as awful as it's been described. King's script (based on his short story "Trucks") focuses on the patrons of a North Carolina truck stop, which comes under attack by a convoy of trucks and other machines animated by Earth's passage through the tail of a "rogue comet." King's fans, tired of half-baked screen adaptations like Cujo and Children of the Corn, expected a horror home run from Maximum Overdrive and instead got an old-fashioned drive-in movie filled with car crashes, cheapjack gore, and fart jokes. While the film is torpidly paced and often amateurishly acted, it's no worse than any direct-to-video thriller, and King's ear for dialogue occasionally shines through the gloom. Emilio Estevez and Pat Hingle register as a heroic cook and his black-hearted boss, respectively; the cast includes Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson's voice), Giancarlo Esposito, and Marla Maples (!) as a victim. --Paul Gaita

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Movie Details

Actors: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, George Kennedy
Directors: Fritz Kiersch, Michael Gornick, Stephen King
Creators: Stephen King, David Ball, George A. Romero, George Goldsmith, Lucille Fletcher
Genres: Horror
Sub-Genres: Horror
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen,Anamorphic - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 04/15/2003
Original Release Date: 07/25/1986
Theatrical Release Date: 07/25/1986
Release Year: 2003
Run Time: 4hr 42min
Screens: Color,Widescreen,Anamorphic
Number of Discs: 3
SwapaDVD Credits: 3
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 7
Edition: Box set
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

3 from the Mind of Stephen King, Decent Set but price blows

C. A. Luster | Burke, VA USA | 07/10/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Don't buy from these rip-off artists. You can go buy each of these movies individually for alot less money to make your own set. These crooks charging over $54 plus $2.98 or more for shipping this set is ridiculous I don't care what they think. There is reasonable demand and then there is highway robbery. "Children of the Corn" sells for $10.99, "Creepshow 2" $10.99, and "Maximum Overdrive" $8.49. So you're talking $30.47 plus shipping for your own set and keeping all your hair, well if you aren't bald already that is. By the way I recommend getting Amazon Prime to cut your shipping costs if you order a half dozen or more items each year. I order in the neighborhood of twenty to thirty usually. When you figure you save $3-8 with each order you save at least $18-110 plus each year after your membership fee. Did I mention Prime is two day shipping? It is very fast. If you enjoy these movies be sure to catch "Christine", "Misery", and "The Mist". - C. Luster"

Awesome box set!

Zacc | 03/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this movie for creepshow 2, but when i watched that i was a bit dissapointed, but it was still way good! but when i watched the other two i was suprised how good they where! maximum overdrive was funny as hell and children of the corn was scary as hell! and creepshow 2 was ok! if you love horror and stephen king, then buy this box set! it is definatly worth you money!"