The film industry's arrival in Wilmington in the 1980s put a spotlight on the Port City.
It also provided some films that became guilty pleasures.
A recent story from Netflix Junkie released a list of "10 trashy movies from the 1980s that are somehow still enjoyable today." Two of these "cheesy favorites" were filmed in Wilmington: "Maximum Overdrive" and "Cyborg."
Forty years after its release, "Maximum Overdrive" has become a cult favorite. It was the first -- and only -- time Stephen King directed a film. It's based on "Trucks," King's novella in which a passing comet somehow causes earthbound motor vehicles and other machinery to gain sentience. Naturally, the machines' first instinct is to murder any man, woman or child who crosses their path.
That instinct creates "a chaotic nightmare fueled by AC/DC and an unforgettable ice cream truck. The film earned just $7.4 million domestically, hardly a major success.
"Yet its outrageous energy, bizarre humor, and sheer ambition helped transform King’s only directorial effort into a cult favorite," according to the story.
Released in 1989, "Cyborg" starred Jean-Claude Van Damme, a mercenary trying to save what's left of civilization against a gang of ruthless killers. Filming locations include the former Ideal Cement factory.
During a fight scene in 1988 for the action movie, Van Damme accidentally hit another actor in the eye with a rubber prop knife.
Jackson "Rock" Pinckney, a real-life Army soldier playing a bad guy in the movie, later sued Van Damme and was awarded nearly half a million dollars in a settlement.
The other movies on the list are "Road House," "Howard the Duck," "Mannequin," "Hobgoblins," "Mac and Me," "Night of the Demons," "Body Double" and "Chopping Mall."
Owen Hassell is the local news editor for the StarNews. You can reach him at ohassell@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: These Wilmington-shot films are 'trashy' yet 'somehow still enjoyable'
