Welcome back boys and ghouls to the Tubi Terror at the drive-in. This time around the theme is Terror Behind the Wheel, 3 killer highway horror movies. The road can already be a dangerous place with road rage, drunk drivers, and accidents. The horror genre took upon itself to provide other fears, such as homicidal hitchhikers, log trucks losing their loads, modes of transportation coming to life to their own murderous device, and slashers using vehicles for their own sweet revenge.
The three highway horror movies on-deck at are Maximum Overdrive (1986), Blacktop (2000) and Trucker (2026). Each of these follow the main theme of terror behind the wheel in different situations, such as vehicles coming to life, a serial killer using his tractor trailer to stalk his victims, and finally a slasher using his tractor trailer to get his revenge. Let’s get on with the show folks.
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
June 1973 in an issue of Cavalier magazine a short story entitled “Trucks” written by Stephen King, not yet a king of Horror but an English teacher at an academy in Maine, is published. He would not be seen as The King until the following year, in 1973, with the release of Carrie. 1978 would be the year “Trucks” would be released with other early short stories in the book Night Shift.
“Trucks” would later be adapted into the 1986 cult classic Maximum Overdrive. He would famously direct it because earlier film adaptations of his work didn’t fully grasp the underlying meanings in the stories. One famous example is The Shining (1980) by Stanley Kubrick. Rumors suggest that first time director King may have been fueled by cocaine and booze during chaotic shooting of the movie.
Audiences and critics did not receive the film well and reflected polarized opinions both towards the movie and King’s decision to direct it.
You can’t! WE MADE YOU!
— Wanda June waitress (Ellen McElduff)
The movie starts on June 19th, 1987 at 9:47AM. A rogue comet has flown by Earth and its passing leaves a trail from its tail that will be hanging around for the next 8 days. Little things start going wrong with the machinery, such as the drawbridge going up while traffic on it, an ATM calls a man, King himself in a cameo, an asshole, and an electric slicer goes for blood. From there it continues to snowball into larger machinery moving with its own with murderous intent.
You get four perspectives of this machine uprising from the Dixie Boy Truck Stop group, Deke Keller (Holter Graham), the son of Duncan Keller (J.C. Quinn), one of the gas station attendants at the truck stop, the newlyweds Connie (Yeardley Smith) and Curtis (John Short) and finally Bible salesman Camp Loman (Christopher Murney) plus the hitchhiker he picked up Brett (Laura Harrington).
Each of these perspectives show just how widespread this uprising is, leaving chaotic destruction across the highway, in the suburbs and within the truck stop. Once they all converge together at the Dixie Boy. They have to depend on each other and follow the lead of the unlikely hero in recently paroled cook Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez).
They are held up inside the Dixie Boy as the semi-trucks led by the iconic Green Goblin-faced Happy Toyz truck circles like sharks. As the film goes on, secrets are revealed from above and below, multiple deaths by trucks, romance, refueling, and possible sailing away to safety with the band AC/DC rocking the soundtrack.
This film, since first viewing, is one that I keep in heavy rotation. One of my favorites in the highway horror genre. Which makes it a great fit for “Terror Behind the Wheel” because there is no way to know who, or what is behind the wheel, but malicious intent is understood.
Maximum Overdrive may not have the best lines or acting at times.
Just like Jaws (1975) and Psycho (1960), it unlocks a fundamental fear deep within the mind. The fear of semi trucks (semiochophobia) is a real everyday fear. Simply walking on the road or in a parking lot can make the heart thump a little harder. Any film that can tap into that sticks around long after it ends. That makes it a memorable “Terror Behind the Wheel”.
Blacktop (2000)
On October 20, 2000, right before Halloween, the highway horror movie Blacktop would premiere on HBO. Critics and audiences both saw it as a B-level made-for TV movie with a bland script.
The co-writer and director of the film, T.J. Scott, has had a lot of experience in the industry doing multiple jobs such as stunts, producing, acting and more. T.J. Scott, soon after this film, would go on to direct multiple episodes for some of the most popular television shows on TV — Gothman (7 episodes), Xena:Warrior Princess (7 episodes), Hercules: The Legendary Journey (3 episodes), The Strain (3 episodes), and many more.
Lochlyn Munro was working on this film close to his time on Scary Movie (2000) and his start of working with Wayne’s family on multiple projects and boosting his career. Unbelievably, his would be Meatloaf’s second semi-truck themed movie, the first being Black Dog (1998). Kristen Lee Davis would continue her career with her work on Sex in the City T.V. series and movies.
Oh no, Jack here is a regular 18-wheel guardian angel.
— waitress (Amanda Tapping)
David (Lochlyn Munro) is a comedian on tour with his girlfriend Sylvia (Kristin Davis). On one stop at a truck stop bar during his show, a trucker named Jack (Meatloaf) approaches Sylvia. David goes on the attack and makes Jack look like a fool. David books the bar for another weekend, which leads him and Sylvia to get into a big fight and pushes her to join Jack on his journey.
Sylvia doesn’t know that the kind-hearted trucker Jack is just acting and, beneath the surface is a sadistic killer playing a cat and mouse game with David.
Meatloaf playing Jack behind the wheel definitely is terrifying. He plays well as a wolf in sheep clothing. He easily makes Sylvia feel comfortable with him and projects this good guy image. But the whole time he is doing that with her, he is secretly baiting David for a final stand-off.
Along the way, he hints to Sylvia what his true intentions are. The fact that film feel so real makes it stick in the back of the audiences head. How many of us interact with psychopaths everyday, taken in by their faux kindness, ready to be taken advantage of in the worst ways.
Trucker (2026)
The movie is a recent addition to the Tubi underground horror vault. Trucker has a really interesting mixture of people involved.
This highway horror has a huge cast of up and coming actors and actresses such as Dwayne Hilton Jr. Who plays Dan. He was a pro wrestler in his youth for WCW, mixed martial artist, singer and actor.
Then you go to veterans who have worn many different hats within the entertainment industry. An example would be Chuck Cirino who plays Old Man Levy . He was the composer for Chopping Mall (1986), Death Stalker 2 (1987), Return of Swamp Thing (1989) and many more. He has also done special effects, directed, editor, and writer. There are also two veterans behind the camera as director in Errol Sack, with multiple acting roles, directing, producing, special effects and editing. And also the writer Steven Shaffer, who has the same experiences.
I think the trucker wasn’t the only one in the truck.
— Vanessa (Katherine Gibson)
This highway horror movie takes a basic slasher genre set up and runs with it on 18 wheels. Set in 1985, reckless teens out on a night ride cause a semi-trucker to lose control and run off the road. The cab is engulfed by flames, killing the trucker’s family. The teens are persuaded to do I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) by Dan, who wants them to go and not talk about it.
This leads to a one-year time jump in the movie,Vanessa (Katherine Gibson) comes back to town and meets up with the rest of the group. Her guilty conscience from that night is haunting her, and she decides to go back to the scene of the crime. What she and the rest of the group didn’t know was that during that year Old Man Levy had helped nurse the trucker back to full health but also helped plan his revenge. Once all the pieces are in place at Levy scrapyard, the trap is sprung and the teens go down one by one.
This movie has trucker in the title and appropriately, there are scenes of him hunting his victims in his reborn truck. There’s just enough to qualify for this Terror Behind the Wheel. The most terrifying scenes are likely the opener when the truck runs off the road and the trucker has to watch his family burn. This is the biggest Terror Behind the Wheel. This makes for a really cool switch; the future victims were actually the real villains of the movie.
Well, thanks for stopping by the drive-in again, the sun is setting and the creatures of the night are leaving. If you still have that hunger for other highway horror movies, try some of these:
- The granddaddy of the 18-wheeler cat and mouse movie, Duel (1971). Listen for the dinosaur noise near the ending.
- Another fun on the run 18-wheeler chase movie is Joy Ride (2001). After that, one couldn’t say candy cane without saying it in a southern accent.
- Want more self-driven car movies, then you’ll love The Car (1977). This car is just so malicious and smart in all its moves it does in the movie to haunt its victims.
- Another fun-come-alive vehicle movie is Killdozer (1974). A bulldozer taking down construction workers one by one on a small island.
There are so many highway horror movies that you just got hit on the breaks and check them out. Keep your eyes peeled. The roads are dangerous places, you never know who, whom or what may come and get you.