The Horror Movie That Emilio Estevez Regrets Ever Filming

By the mid-1980s, Stephen King was on top of the world. The horror novelist's books were turned into films almost as quickly as he finished writing them. He could already name over a dozen of his stories that had hit the big screen, including "Carrie," "Cat's Eye," "Firestarter," and director Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." When Hollywood approached King to direct his own feature film, why wouldn't he accept the offer?

King penned the script to "Maximum Overdrive," basing it on his own 1978 short story "Trucks." Published in his short stories collection "Night Shift," "Trucks" tells the story of a group of strangers stranded at a diner, fighting off self-aware machines that have turned on humanity. Sounds like a great premise for a horror movie, right? Unfortunately, King's creative talents didn't translate to the silver screen as the director of "Maximum Overdrive." The film received scathing reviews, and King was nominated as Worst Director for that year's Razzie Awards (Prince's "Under the Cherry Moon" won).

Hindsight is 20/20, and in an interview for Tony Magistrale's book "Hollywood's Stephen King," the author admitted he had no idea what he was doing as a director. King also confessed he was under the influence of cocaine throughout nearly the entire production of "Maximum Overdrive," which offers new perspective on the film, but he noted that he considers the whole thing a good learning experience.