10 Stephen King Movie Adaptations That Stephen King Hated
1. Maximum Overdrive
In the now infamous trailer for King’s directorial debut Maximum Overdrive, the man himself tells viewers that many filmmakers had adapted his work, but “...if you want something done right, you oughta do it yourself.” A bold claim, considering by that stage he’d been adapted by Brian De Palma, Tobe Hooper, David Cronenberg and John Carpenter.
It turns out he actually wasn’t the best choice to helm a King movie since he had no experience directing, and was high as a kite throughout the entire shoot. He set out to make a silly horror movie with over the top acting and gore, but for a movie with killer trucks, it’s dull for long stretches and the campiness is just plain annoying.
His slapstick humour falls flat, and Emilio Estevez does not make for a convincing tough guy. It’s awful, basically, and King has since admitted in an interview for the book Hollywood's Stephen King he was "coked out of his mind" throughout production. He's also called it the worst adaptation of his work to date. He hasn’t directed since, which is for the best based on this evidence.