The Daily Beasts
For theme projects (like #Kaijuly, #Mocktoberfest, and #SeasonsBeatings—for example),
a new film/show is profiled every day by a different writer.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film is a true classic of cinema and the classiest pinnacle of truxploitation.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: The Trucks of Mad Max
The many trucks that populate the wasteland of the Mad Max films, as told by someone who was there.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: DUEL (1971)
Spielberg’s made-for-TV movie debut is an incredible thriller.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: ROADGAMES (1981)
A taut trucking thriller with Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis is also an undersung piece of Ozploitation.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: BREAKDOWN (1997)
Jonathan Mostow’s great action thriller with trucking at its center and Kurt Russell at the fore!
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: CONVOY (1978)
Sam Peckinpah’s tale of strength in numbers and trucker defiance still resonates today.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986)
It was a long, strange road to get to John Carpenter’s trucker vs supernatural martial artists film.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: HIGH-BALLIN’ (1978)
A rip roaring bit of Canuxploitation with Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda behind the wheel.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: TRUCKS (1997)
The second attempt at the Stephen King adaptation fares far worse than MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: ICE ROAD: VENGEANCE (2025)
Liam Neeson and director Jonathan Hensleigh return to drive on some new treacherous roads in a different locale.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: F.I.S.T. (1978)
The drama behind the trucking union movie is more interesting than the film’s plot.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: THE ICE ROAD (2021)
Liam Neeson gets his truckin’ on…in the frozen wilds of Manitoba.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977)
Hal Needham’s classic tale of truckers vs The Man reveals some insightful commentary upon rewatch.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986)
Stephen King’s directorial debut pits humans against sentient machines, including some pissed off trucks.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: SORCERER (1977)
One of Friedkin’s best works is also a trucking film.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: JOY RIDE (2001)
An early aughts thriller features one pissed off truck driver…
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: OVER THE TOP (1987)
A divorce drama wrapped in the sweaty world of arm-wrestling, delivered by multiple big rigs? That’s OVER THE TOP, baby!
Number 2 — TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT
The second-best horror movie of 1995 is a great siege film with a stellar cast from Ernest R. Dickerson.
Number 3 — TALES FROM THE HOOD
Rusty Cundieff’s movie remains one of the best horror anthology films of all time.