Stephen King’s Trucks:

The Series that Never Was

By Max McPike

 

Premiering on the USA Network on October 29, 1997 was Stephen King’s Trucks, a film loosely based off his short story of the same name, but in concept only. The film concerns a group of patrons trapped in a roadside diner by a group of murderous and driverless trucks.

Among the survivors are proprietor Ray (Timothy Busfield), his son (Brendan Fletcher), a tour guide (Brenda Bakke), an aging short-order cook (Victor Cowie), a new-age tourist (Jay Brazeau), an alienated father and daughter (Roman Podhora and Amy Stewart), two redneck truckers (Aidan Devine and Rick Skene), and a vacationing couple (Sharon Bajer and Jonathan Barrett).

 

            While it is never revealed how the trucks gained sentience or why they are intent on murder, the plot does point to several possible explanations including a recent comet shower as well as the diner’s relative proximity to Area 51. However, in Stephen Jones’ book “Creepshows: The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Guide,” King himself revealed that the film ‘was [a] pilot for a series that never happened.’ For those who have seen or grew up watching the film just as this author did, this explains a lot. The film ends on a positive, though extremely open and puzzling note, leaving the viewer to speculate the fate of the characters and the world around them. Had this film continued as a series, we could only assume that it would have answered these questions—not to mention the biggest one of all: “What brought the trucks to life?”

 

            Overall, Trucks is what one might expect for a low-budget made-for-TV horror movie, but what sets the film apart are its premise and the childhood nostalgia it holds for this author. The acting and actions of the characters are at times melodramatic, but Brian Taggert’s script offers several poignant and heartfelt moments between them. While entertaining (and liked by this author), this iteration of Stephen King’s classic story leaves much to be discovered. This adaptation of Trucks is preceded by King’s own version and directorial debut, Maximum Overdrive (1986), which is not only a superior film, but one of this author’s all-time favorites.

 

 

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Wrecker: A Review

By Max McPike

 

 

 

 

           With Wrecker, those expecting white-knuckle vehicular mayhem in the tradition of Duel are in for a major disappointment. In fact, the movie itself is a blatant rip-off of the film in question. The story concerns Emily (Anna Hutchison) whose repression and inability to stand up for herself keep her from leaving a bad relationship, and Leslie (Andrea Whitburn), Emily’s best friend who would just assume party and throw all caution to the wind. On their way to a music festival for a time of partying and drinking, these two friends quickly find themselves menaced by a psychopathic tow-trucker driver.

            Instead of crafting an original piece that pays homage to classic road rage films, writer/director Michael Bafaro is content with copying Duel scene-by-scene (Even the protagonists’ car is red) and only leaving brief clues as to what the film could have potentially been. Brief cutaways of the truck’s dirty interior show an upside-down cross and a pentagram hanging from the rear-view mirror suggesting that this driver does more than just run motorists off the road. Small clues like these are never explored and therefore serve very little purpose.

            In terms of filmmaking, Bafaro demonstrates only the basic ability at directing a feature film and none of the prowess that Steven Spielberg displayed with Duel. The same can be said for his weak and derivative script, which offers only basic character development and character arcs that can be seen from miles away. This does little to help the performances of the two leads, whom we cannot invest in and instead find ourselves questioning their lack of logic. All of this, together with sloppy, fast-paced editing makes for a film void of suspense, intelligence, or even decent cinematography—all the things that made Duel a classic. In fact, I was bored throughout the film and found myself waiting for the end knowing that if it continued on course it would undoubtedly copy the end as well. Eh…sort of. Instead of a spectacular end to the diesel behemoth we are treated to a quickly edited and mostly digital crash that is both disappointing and anti-climatic.

            “Imitation is the highest form of flattery,” as the old saying goes. Wrecker is one exception to this. The film fails where others such as Wheels of Terror and Joy Ride succeeded in that they managed to play in the same sandbox, but in a different corner. If there is anything to take away from this review it’s to just stick with Duel.

 

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