It contained black humor elements and a generally campy tone, which contrasts with King's somber subject matter in books.

At the Dixie Boy Truck Stop outside Wilmington, North Carolina, employee Duncan Keller is blinded after a gas pump sprays diesel in his eyes.

After an electric knife injures waitress Wanda June and arcade machines in the back room electrocute a customer, cook and paroled ex-convict Bill Robinson begins to suspect foul play.

Meanwhile, humans and pets are murdered by lawnmowers, chainsaws, electric hair dryers, pocket radios, RC cars and an ice cream truck.

As the survivors realize that their own machines have enslaved them, Bill suggests that they escape to Haven, an island off the coast, on which no motorized vehicles are permitted.

As the remaining people approach the marina, the ice cream truck appears, but Brett and Curtis open fire and destroy it.

The Green Goblin truck stalks them to the marina and kills Brad, a trucker distracted by a diamond ring on a corpse's finger.

Two days later, the machines go silent when a UFO hiding in the comet's tail is destroyed by a Soviet space platform disguised as a weather satellite, equipped with class IV nuclear missiles and a laser cannon.

[2] Principal photography began in early May 1985, in and around Wilmington, North Carolina, as De Laurentiis operated a large studio complex in the area.

De Laurentiis chose North Carolina because it was a "right-to-work state", meaning that he could hire non-union crews, which would greatly cut down on production costs.

[7] On-set translator Roberto Croci did not remember King's cocaine use, but recalls him drinking from early in the morning until late at night.

"[9] At a fan screening in 2021, Jock Brandis, the film's gaffer, told the audience that King rode a motorcycle from Maine to Wilmington, so he could ride alongside semi-trucks on the highway.

Nannuzzi had previously worked in Wilmington with De Laurentiis on Cat's Eye, and would struggle with communication throughout the film, often nodding and replying "yes, yes, yes," to every question.

[9] King did try to create a positive environment for the crew, at one point renting out an entire theater to screen classic films such as Godzilla and Night of the Living Dead.

[9] The "Dixie Boy Truck Stop" set was built alongside of US-17/74, just across the Cape Fear River near Wilmington, North Carolina.

One of the iconic Green Goblin heads from the cab of the Happy Toyz truck remained on the studio lot until the mid-90s, when it was sold to a private collector.

"[9] The special effects department had also suggested removing the blade for safety reasons, but King continued to insist that it remain, so the scene could appear more life-like.

[11] Nannuzzi continued to work on films after his accident, but believed he would never again be considered for big-budget projects, as producers wouldn't want a cameraman with no depth perception.

"[18] Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "As long as King is tinkering with his crazed machines, the film sustains a certain amount of ominous tension, but as soon as the author turns his attention to his actors, the movie's slender storyline goes limp ...

"[19] Writing in the Chicago Tribune, Rick Kogan gave the film 1 star out of 4 and called it "a mess of a movie", further stating that "King's direction is heavy handed and his dialogue hackneyed and stiff.

"[20] Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post wrote that the film "is like sitting alongside a 3-year old as he skids his Tonka trucks across the living room floor and says 'Whee!'

except on a somewhat grander scale", and added that as a director Stephen King "proves that he hasn't got an ounce of visual style, the vaguest idea of how to direct actors or the sense that God gave a grapefruit.

[6] John Clute and Peter Nicholls have offered a modest reappraisal of Maximum Overdrive, admitting the film's many flaws, but arguing that several scenes display enough visual panache to suggest that King was not entirely without talent as a director.

In October 2020, Stephen King's son Joe Hill expressed interest in writing and directing a Maximum Overdrive remake with some alterations to the original material.