Stephen King is among the most prolific writers in historical past. Recognized primarily for his horror works, he is much more versatile than most individuals understand, having produced tales in lots of genres. Extra notable, nonetheless, are his glorious books. Consequently, there are a great deal of films primarily based on them.
On this piece, we’ll take you thru the 21 finest films primarily based on the works of the good Stephen King.
Pleasant reminder: Salem’s Lot (1979) and It (1990) had been miniseries, not films, and won’t be included right here. Different tasks of an analogous nature may also be excluded from this record.
1. The Mist (2007, directed by Frank Darabont)
The Mist is a sci-fi horror film primarily based on King’s 1980 novella. Its spectacular ensemble forged contains Thomas Jane, Marcia Homosexual Harden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, and Chris Owen. The plot issues the residents of Bridgton, Maine, the place a small band of residents gap up in a grocery store and combat for his or her lives as an unnatural mist full of Lovecraftian monsters descends upon the city.
It is an underrated film with a suitably creepy tone, some excellent performing performances (Harden is phenomenal), and one of the vital good bleak endings in movie historical past. Sadly, its often laughable CGI lets it down and removes some sincerity from a handful of scenes.
2. The Working Man (1987, directed by Paul Michael Glaser)
The Working Man is a dystopian motion film loosely primarily based on King’s 1982 novel of the identical title, revealed beneath the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, and Yaphet Kotto, the movie facilities round a fictional tv present the place convicted felony “runners” should escape dying by the hands {of professional} killers often known as “stalkers” in an deserted a part of Los Angeles.
It is an motion traditional and an excellent send-up of the world of tv. Schwarzenegger is nice, however Dawson steals the present because the charismatic however amoral gameshow host Damon Killian. We should stress, nonetheless, that the ebook may be very totally different (and much better).
3. The Darkish Half (1993, directed by George A. Romero)
The Darkish Half is a horror film primarily based on King’s 1989 novel. It stars Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Julie Harris, and Michael Rooker. The film’s story sees a author’s fictional alter ego trying to take over his life, whatever the price.
Hutton is terrific as either side of the writer’s character, and his efficiency and the wonderful script are the principle causes this film is so watchable. It is not a scary film by any stretch, however it’s intriguingly uncommon and one you will discover it troublesome to look away from.
4. Pet Sematary (1989, directed by Mary Lambert)
Pet Sematary is a supernatural horror film primarily based on King’s 1983 novel. It stars Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby, Blaze Berdahl, and Miko Hughes. It is a couple of grieving father who, after the tragic dying of his son, discovers an historical burial floor behind his residence with the ability to resurrect the deceased.
Regardless of its blended evaluations, it is change into a cult traditional. It has some fiendishly unsettling moments, is well-acted, and there is a nightmarish environment to the entire thing, however it’s removed from threatening the movies on the high finish of this record by way of high quality.
5. Pet Sematary (2019, directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer)
The second adaptation of King’s 1983 novel, the 2019 iteration Pet Sematary is a remake of the 1989 film, and it stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow. The plot is similar as the unique film, however the daughter dies on this one.
Though it is not fairly as beloved because the 1989 adaptation, this model of Pet Sematary holds its personal. It is properly crafted and sleeker than its predecessor, with some good performances, glorious modifying, and good use of sound.
6. Cujo (1983, directed by Lewis Teague)
Cujo is a horror film primarily based on King’s 1981 novel. It stars Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and Danny Pintauro. It is a couple of mom and son trapped inside their automotive whereas the eponymous Cujo, a rabid Saint Bernard, relentlessly assaults them.
Given its seemingly tame and even mundane idea, Cujo is surprisingly suspenseful and scary. Its intimate forged does a wonderful job of holding viewers entertained. It is considered one of King’s favourite diversifications of his books, regardless that this movie modified his ending – and never for the higher.
7. It Chapter Two (2019, directed by Andy Muschietti)
It Chapter Two is a supernatural horror film and the second of a two-part adaptation of King’s 1986 novel It. It stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Invoice Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Invoice Skarsgård. The film focuses on a bunch recognized from childhood because the “Losers Membership” (as adults) and their relationships as they reunite to destroy the eponymous evil entity as soon as and for all.
Whereas it is a larger and extra bold film than its predecessor, it is not essentially higher or scarier. Nonetheless, it is nonetheless well-acted, has some scary moments, and is disturbing general. Whereas it’s visually gorgeous, it’s, nonetheless, far too lengthy.
8. Christine (1983, directed by John Carpenter)
Christine is a supernatural horror film primarily based on King’s 1983 novel. It stars Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Roberts Blossom, and Kelly Preston. It is concerning the eponymous 1958 Plymouth Fury with a thoughts of its personal and a jealous, possessive character, which badly influences its proprietor.
It is a foolish, enjoyable film that may go away you smiling. There’s nothing scary about Christine, however its forged performs properly, the varsity scenes are notably good at getting the highschool environment throughout, and the truth that it manages to get you rooting for a bulldozer in a duel proves how profitable the film is in giving the automotive an evil character.
9. 1408 (2007, directed by Mikael Håfström)
1408 is a psychological horror film primarily based on King’s 1999 brief story, and it stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. It is about an writer who investigates allegedly haunted places – on this case, room 1408 at a fictional lodge, The Dolphin, in New York Metropolis, the place he will get trapped and experiences scary issues.
There is not any gore or violence in 1408, however the sheer psychological stress it creates makes it an excellent and scary viewing expertise. This film is brimming with King’s humorousness and satiric view of people, and it’s totally a lot within the mildew of The Shining, with out ever reaching its degree.
10. Physician Sleep (2019, directed by Mike Flanagan)
Physician Sleep is a supernatural horror primarily based on King’s 2013 novel. It is a sequel to The Shining and stars Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, and Cliff Curtis. It is set a number of a long time after its predecessor and focuses on Danny Torrance, the child from The Shining who has psychic talents and struggles with childhood trauma in maturity.
It is extra poignant and contemplative than its predecessor and lacks the sheer terror of it, however it nonetheless supplies loads of chills. It is a peculiar film with loads of enjoyable blended in. It additionally takes an trustworthy look and alcoholism and psychological well being. McGregor and Ferguson are nice in it.
11. It Chapter One (2017, directed by Andy Muschietti)
It Chapter One is a supernatural horror film and the primary of a two-part adaptation of King’s 1986 novel It. It stars Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Invoice Skarsgård. Set in Derry, Maine, it is concerning the “Losers Membership,” a bunch of seven outcast kids terrorized by the horrifying eponymous being.
It is a scary and unsettling film with a number of coronary heart, because the core story is emotional and affecting. It is brilliantly acted by its younger forged, and the cinematography, script, sound, and course are all excellent.
12. The Inexperienced Mile (1999, directed by Frank Darabont)
The Inexperienced Mile is a fantasy drama primarily based on King’s 1996 novel. It stars Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, and James Cromwell. Its story focuses on dying row correctional officers whose lives are affected by the arrival of a mild, enigmatic black man accused of kid homicide who has a mysterious supernatural present.
It is a hard-hitting and emotionally highly effective watch. With earnest course and fascinating performances from its all-star forged, The Inexperienced Mile is poignant, witty, unhappy, heartwarming, and gut-wrenching abruptly. Hanks and Duncan are distinctive.
13. Dolores Claiborne (1995, directed by Taylor Hackford)
Dolores Claiborne is a psychological drama/thriller primarily based on King’s 1992 novel. It stars Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, and David Strathairn. This movie follows a big-city reporter who travels to a small city the place her mom, a caregiver by commerce, is beneath arrest for the homicide of her employer.
Bates offers a wonderful efficiency on this movie which, regardless of not being a horror, does get more and more terrifying because it progresses. It deftly cuts between the previous and the current to create a splendidly suspenseful film that is compelling from starting to finish.
14. The Lifeless Zone (1983, directed by David Cronenberg)
The Lifeless Zone is a sci-fi thriller film primarily based on King’s 1979 novel. It stars Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, and Martin Sheen. This movie focuses on schoolteacher Johnny Smith (Walken) who awakens from a five-year-long coma to find he has gained psychic powers.
Walken’s good efficiency and Cronenberg’s tight course make this a compelling viewing expertise. Whereas it isn’t a horror movie or remotely scary, it has a really eerie really feel, that means you may reduce the environment with a knife whereas watching it.
15. Gerald’s Sport (2017, directed by Mike Flanagan)
Gerald’s Sport is a psychological horror-thriller film primarily based on King’s 1992 novel. It stars Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood. It is a couple of couple who goes to an remoted home for a vacation, however the husband dies of a coronary heart assault whereas the spouse is handcuffed to the mattress, prompting her to combat for survival.
This adaptation was lengthy regarded as unfilmable, however it’s unbelievable, regardless of its tiny scale. This film is suspenseful, terrifying, and considerably hypnotic. Gugino’s efficiency is excellent and career-defining, and you have to give her all of the credit score for the way good this movie is.
16. 1922 (2017, directed by Zak Hilditch)
1922 is a horror/drama primarily based on King’s 2010 novella. It stars Thomas Jane, Neal McDonough, and Molly Parker. It is a couple of farmer who conspires to homicide his spouse for monetary achieve, convincing his teenage son to help, and the results they face.
Thomas Jane is excellent within the lead function on this movie, depicting his character’s gradual, extended struggling expertly. It is a stable, well-crafted film with a perpetual menacing feeling that unsettles you whereas watching it – and we imply that as a superb factor.
17. Distress (1990, directed by Rob Reiner)
Distress is a psychological thriller film primarily based on King’s 1987 novel. It stars Kathy Bates, James Caan, Lauren Bacall, and Richard Farnsworth. It is about an obsessive feminine fan of a male writer who holds him captive and forces him to rewrite the finale of his ebook collection.
Bates received the Academy Award for Greatest Actress for this movie, which says all the things that you must find out about her efficiency. She and Caan are unbelievable, as is Farnsworth, who acquired a nomination for Greatest Supporting Actor. Distress is suspenseful and, at occasions, humorous, and the sledgehammer scene will go down in historical past as one of the vital troublesome movie scenes to observe.
18. Carrie (1976, directed by Brian De Palma)
Carrie is a supernatural horror film primarily based on King’s 1974 epistolary novel. It stars Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, P. J. Soles, and John Travolta. It is concerning the eponymous shy 16-year-old who persistently will get mocked and bullied in school however makes use of her budding telekinetic powers to hunt revenge.
This film appears to be like at social points like faculty bullying and teenage angst however offers the entire thing a supernatural twist, and it is unbelievable. Carrie is a scary, generally humorous, brilliantly acted film, with arguably the most effective and most memorable promenade scene in cinematic historical past.
19. Stand by Me (1986, directed by Rob Reiner)
Stand by Me is a coming-of-age drama film primarily based on King’s 1982 novella “The Physique,” with the title drawn from the Ben E. King track of the identical title. The movie stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell. It is set in Citadel Rock, Oregon, in 1959 and follows a bunch of 4 boys and finest associates who hike to discover a lacking boy’s corpse.
Teeming with nostalgia, and impressively carried out by its gifted younger forged, Stand by Me was the primary adaptation of his works that King thought-about successful. It is a movie beaming with childhood marvel and journey, and it has one thing for everybody and is a bona fide cinematic treasure.
20. The Shining (1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick)
The Shining is a psychological supernatural horror film primarily based on King’s 1977 novel. It stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. It follows an aspiring author and recovering alcoholic, alongside along with his household – together with his son, who has psychic talents – to an remoted lodge, the place the previous has taken a caretaker job for the winter. There, they encounter supernatural forces.
Nicholson and Duvall give iconic performances that assist to make this movie a real cinematic traditional. It is visually hanging, atmospheric, teeming with memorable moments, and, above all, genuinely terrifying. If you are going to watch one Stephen King horror adaptation, make it this one.
21. The Shawshank Redemption (1994, directed by Frank Darabont)
The Shawshank Redemption is a drama primarily based on King’s 1982 novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.” It stars Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, and Gil Bellows. It is a couple of banker wrongly sentenced to life in jail for the homicide of his spouse, his time in jail, and his final escape.
It is one of many most interesting films ever made, and why it did not win any Academy Awards from its seven nominations stays a thriller. It is brilliantly acted, inspirational, poignant, highly effective, and shifting. It would have you ever laughing and sobbing in equal measure. The Shawshank Redemption is undoubtedly the most effective Stephen King film adaptation.