For 3 days in 1986, the earth passes through the tail of a mysterious comet. During that time, machines on earth suddenly come to life and terrorize their human creators. A small group of people in a truck stop, surrounded by "alive" semi-trailers, set out to stop the machines before the machines stop them. Directed and brought to the screen by the horror mastermind Stephen King, Maximum Overdrive stars Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club, Young Guns), Pat Hingle (Batman) and Laura Harrington.