10 Horror Movies That Dared To Kill Kids

Stephen King is a prolific author who specializes in all things that go bump in the night. Many of his stories have been adapted for the screen, with adaptations numbering well into the double digits. Despite the frequency in which his stories are brought to the screen, King himself has only ever directed one film, 1986’s Maximum Overdrive, based on his short story Trucks.

The advertising campaign made a big deal out of King’s decision to sit in the director’s chair, claiming that it would be the scariest film based on his written work to date. The story however, sounds more like the plot of a Treehouse of Horror episode than anything truly terrifying, as space dust from a comet causes the world’s machines to come to life. Of course, this wouldn’t be a Stephen King story unless the machines have homicidal tendencies, so they spend the better part of 90 minutes attacking and maiming human beings.

As silly as this is, King didn’t have a problem with dispatching everyone. In one scene, a little league baseball team is celebrating a win when a vending machine starts pelting them with cans of soda. The kids scatter, with one taking off on his bike. The boy falls off of his bike, his leg tangled in the frame, as a steam roller bursts through the fence and rolls straight over him.

Stephen King has since admitted that he had no idea what he was doing when he made the film, and that he was on a cocaine bender for most of it. When asked why he never directed another film, King responded, “Just watch Maximum Overdrive.”