Stephen Edwin King (21 September 1947) is known as the “King of Horror.” He is one of the most important authors of the horror and crime genre of the 20th and 21st centuries. His works have been extensively adapted on television and films, with several projects becoming iconic parts of pop culture. Not all of his adaptations are instant commercial success. Some got mixed and critical reviews like The Shining. Here is a list of the top 10 Stephen King movie adaptations according to their release years.
Carrie (1976)
Carrie was both Stephen King ’s first published novel and a book-to-screen adaptation. The story follows 16-year-old Carrie White, who is smothered by her mother, kicked around by school peers and horrified when her first period comes in school. Sissy Spacek’s Carrie soon realizes her rage and embarrassment turn into telekinetic powers. King once disliked the story so much that he threw it in the trash bin. Fortunately, Tabitha, his wife, found the few pages and urged him to continue. The film received multiple nominations for the 49th Academy Awards.
Salem’s Lot (1979)
Directed by Tobe Hopper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), the plot revolves around a writer who returns to his hometown and learns that the citizens are turning into vampires. Based on the novel of the same name, the film stars David Soul and James Mason. Salem’s Lot includes some scary scenes, like Mike Ryerson (Geoffrey Lewis) simply sitting in a rocking chair or Ralphie Glick (Ronnie Scribner) floating at a window.
The Shining (1980)
‘The Shining’ is the result of King and his wife’s spooky stay at the Stanley Hotel near Boulder, Colorado. In 1974, King picked a random place in the atlas to write his book. With the woman in the bath, blood pouring from the elevator, the twins in the hall, and a door splintering as Shelley Duvall’s Wendy shrieks, Stanley Kubrick created a masterpiece. Wendy, Jack (Jack Nicholson), and Danny (Danny Lloyd) are tasked with looking after the hotel for the winter. The result of this adaptation was so horrifying that Robert De Niro had nightmares for a month after watching it.
Stand By Me (1986)
Based on King’s novella The Body, inspired by Ben E. King’s song “Stand By Me,” the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. On one summer day, a group of misfit kids set out to find fame by recovering the body of a missing boy that some bullies had chanced upon. The cast includes River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell.
Misery (1990)
Based on King’s 1987 novel of the same name, James Caan’s poor old legs and Kathy Bates with the sledgehammer will always remain unforgettable. After a serious car accident, novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by nurse Annie Wilkes, who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie’s obsession turns dark when she learns Sheldon is killing off the favourite character from his novels. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her performance of Annie Wilkes in Misery at the 63rd Academy Awards.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption revolves around crooked prison wardens, sadistic guards, brutal inmates, and the horror of being in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is a banker thrown into the web of a double life sentence when found guilty. He finds strength when Red (Morgan Freeman) decides to help him out of prison. Based on the novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”, the film won a total of seven Academy Award nominations.
The Green Mile (1999)
Based on King’s 1996 novel of the same name, ‘The Green Mile’ is the 1930s lime-green death row of Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Michael Clark Duncan is imprisoned here for the alleged killing of two girls. Tom Hanks is an officer in the film who realizes that Duncan’s healing powers mean he can’t be a murderer. More about fantastical elements and melodrama, the film contains some horror moments with the electric chair. Director Frank Darabont is meticulous with his work, hence the three-hour runtime.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Based on King’s novel of the same name, the story was long thought to be unfilmable. Jessie Burlingame reluctantly endures a bondage sex game with her husband Gerald, who drops dead of a heart attack, leaving her handcuffed to the bed at their remote cabin. Mike Flanagan’s massive win was Jessie’s actor Carla Gugino. Gugino has been a mainstay in Mike Flanagan’s work (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Bly Manor, and The Fall of the House of Usher).
It Chapter One and Two (2017-2019)
Based on the novel of the same title, the story follows seven young outcasts who are about to stand in front of their worst nightmare – a shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town’s children. They all must overcome their personal fears to fight the bloodthirsty clown known as Pennywise. After 27 years, when Pennywise returns to haunt the town of Derry, Maine, the seven kids are now adults. They are on their own as adults, but when Mike Hanlon calls others again, they unite again against the evil clown.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) lives in New Hampshire, working in a hospice where his psychic abilities help ease terminally ill patients’ end times. The antagonists are an itinerant cult called True Knot, headed by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). They travel to the States in Winnebagos and feed on Steam, psychic essence, which they harvest by killing children. The film is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ (1980).
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