Image via Warner Bros.
The release of the horror smash It this weekend marks the latest acclaimed film based on a story from the sick and twisted mind of literary legend Stephen King. Taking in a whopping $114 million bucks, that massive haul makes It the third biggest opening of 2017, the biggest September opening of all time, and the biggest horror opening... ever. Of course this isn’t the first time a tale ripped from King’s pages became entrenched in pop culture. From subtly scary flicks, heart-pounding thrillers and thoughtful character studies, the unique author’s vast catalog of novels have been ripe fruit for Hollywood for over four decades by eliciting tears and thrills, warming hearts, and producing some of the most memorable moments in cinematic history- and giving plenty of children nightmares along the way. In honor of It’s critical acclaim and box office success, these are the 10 best film adaptations based on King’s weird and wild body of work.
Cujo (1983)
Director: Lewis Teague
Starring: Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly
When Cujo was released, its reviews were scathing with Gene Siskel going so far to say that “It’s one of the dumbest movies ever made, and the only feeling it engenders is pity for the poor dog.” However, in a 2013 interview King pointed to Cujo, based on his 1981 novel of the same name, as one of his favorite films while also conceding “it doesn’t get a lot of play” with moviegoers today compared to his other films. Upon closer inspection, it’s easy to see why the legendary author has a soft spot for the flick that centers on a rabid Saint Bernard who raises gruesome havoc in a story that has a slow simmer of dread punctuated by moments of violence. Rawly directed by Lewis Teague (himself a mentor of Roger Corman and it shows), Cujo is terrifying campiness at its best.
The Dead Zone (1983)
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt
Released the same year as Cujo, The Dead Zone is what happens when the twisted mind of legendary filmmaker David Cronenberg teams up with the equally twisted King. Powered by a performance from the equally weird Christopher Walken, its bizarre story based on a 1979 King novel focuses on a psychic schoolteacher and goes haywire from there. Walken was a far cry from King’s personal choice of Bill Murray to play the embattled lead. Regardless, The Dead Zone’s subject matter proved so ripe it later spawned a TV series that starred Anthony Michael Hall in 2002. It ran for three seasons. In King’s literary canon, The Dead Zone is also notable for being the very first film to take place in the fictional town of Castle Rock, which would become the setting for numerous future stories.
Children of the Corn (1984)
Director: Fritz Kiersch
Starring: John Franklin, Linda Hamilton, Peter Horton
There’s no better flick to watch on a dark and stormy night than the foreboding Children of the Corn, a staple in the horror canon which has grown in cult status in the three decades since its release. Speaking of a cult, the film’s story zeroes in on one made up of a group of kids in Nebraska, making Children of the Corn one of the few King tales to take place outside of his familiar literary stomping grounds of Maine. One of the loosest adaptations of a King novel (the film version is vastly different than the 1977 short story it's based on), Children of the Corn is nevertheless an effective flick. Noted star Julie Maddalena about the movie’s creative departures, “I really do remember that there was not much in regards to the background of the children and not much involving the kids at all, that is was mainly the two adults dealing with them. So it was very exciting to see what the filmmakers were going to do with these evil cultist children.”
Misery (1990)
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall
No film has captured the feeling of pure agony much like Misery. Directed by Rob Reiner and starring James Caan and Kathy Bates, who could have guessed Misery’s simple premise of a hapless author held captive could be so... captivating? According to Reiner, he tackled the film as if it were Hitchcock. “I said if I’m going to make this and it is in the middle of a thriller, I’ve got to be true to this genre,” he told Uproxx in a 2010 interview. ”There is a grammar to the genre. I watched every Hitchcock film. I watched every, you know, one of those types of movies to see how they did these things so I could tell this story without bastardizing the genre and so that’s what I did there.” The resulting madness earned Bates a Best Actress Oscar, giving Misery the dubious distinction of being the only film based on a King flick to win an Academy Award. Now that’s truly scary.
It (2017)
Director: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis
Mere days after its release, It is already regarded as one of the very best King films and for good reason. Not only holding the distinction of having the most viewed trailer in YouTube history, over the weekend the remake became a bona fide box office smash. “You would never walk into a studio and try to pitch a movie where they’re fighting an evil clown who eats children, and there’s sexual abuse, but also very funny bits,” director Muschietti recently explained. “It’s a bit ridiculous as a concept for a movie, but the truth is that Stephen King made an incredible, memorable, and beautiful story, and I tried to stay true to the spirit of it.” So what makes It so darn great? For starters, there’s a powerful combination of stellar casting, ghoulish effects, and an enthralling story. In addition, the film is simultaneously void of tired horror cliches while also saluting and expanding the genre thanks to its genuinely inspired frights and downright creepiness. Throw in some layered characters, gorgeous cinematography and pops of humor and you have yourself one of the best films to come from the author’s cannon.
Carrie (1976)
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta
Based on the very first novel King managed to get published, Carrie was an instant classic upon its release, shocking audiences with its heart-wrenching tale of a bullied high school student you really shouldn’t have messed with. Boasting scenes which have been seared in the public consciousness, including the unforgettable prom sequence, Carrie nabbed Oscar nominations for stars Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, catapulting the careers of the two actresses, as well as a young John Travolta. King was 26 years-old when he sold the film rights to Carrie, the premise for which first came to him while working at a high school and cleaning the girl’s bathrooms. Lest we forget the wonky 2013 remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz which was as shoddy as the original is scary.
The Green Mile (1999)
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan
Directed by frequent King collaborator Frank Darabont (he also helmed the film adaptations of the similar The Shawshank Redemption, as well as The Mist), The Green Mile stars Tom Hanks in a heartfelt prison-set story about a jailed man with mystical powers. Consistently listed by King as one of his favorite film adaptations, The Green Mile scored multiple Oscar nominations thanks to its nuanced performances, specifically a tour de force from the late Michael Clarke Duncan as a mentally challenged man on death row. The entire opus is classic King: heartfelt, dramatic, tense, and raw.
Stand By Me (1986)
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman
An 80s classic that made a star of River Phoenix, Stand By Me has maintained cult status thanks to its precocious story, nostalgic soundtrack, stellar cast (which also included early turns by Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell and Kiefer Sutherland), and tender direction at the hands of Rob Reiner. (The film made such an impact on the director’s career he named his production company Castle Rock after the story’s fictional town). Based on King’s 1982 novella The Body, Stand By Me is, at its core, a coming-of-age story of a group of children in rural Maine. In a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, King talks about seeing a cut of it for the first time: “It was supposed to be one of those things that opened in six theaters and then maybe disappeared. And instead it went viral. When the movie was over, I hugged him because I was moved to tears, because it was so autobiographical.”
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
Let’s face it: you and everyone you know have listed this period prison drama as one of your favorite movies. An outlier in the King cannon, Shawshank trades horror and fantasy for the heartwarming and real, and has been consistently at the top of IMDB’s ranking of movies. It’s easy to see why, considering the film’s touching story of friendship between the film’s hopelessly incarcerated Andy Dufresne and Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, subtly played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Oddly enough, the film didn’t become the cult-classic it’s regarded as today until it was shown on TNT ad nauseam. Even King didn’t have much faith in it originally, telling the Huffington Post: “I thought, ‘Oh man, no chance they’re going to make a movie out of this puppy. It’s too talky. It’s great, but it’s too much talking.’”
The Shining (1980)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall
Here’s Johnny! One of the most terrifying films ever made, legendary auteur Stanley Kubrick's movie classic is not only the single best King adaptation, it’s one of the best horror flicks in the history of the entire genre, inspiring a generation of filmmakers who have since tried to replicate the stomach-turning jitters the director managed to elicit during its hefty 2 hour and 40 minute runtime. Solely taking place at an immense hotel somewhere in the Colorado Rockies and featuring isolating, aching performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, The Shining is part-character study, part-psychological thriller, and all-bone chillingly disturbing. Entrenching itself in pop culture ever since thanks to the litany of catchphrases its brilliant screenplay launched into the lexicon (Redrum!), The Shining has successfully stood the test of time by continuing to feel as both fresh and ominous since its 1980 release. Even more mystifying is that King didn’t “get” Kubrick’s vision, noting “there are a lot of things that I don't get. But obviously people absolutely love it, and they don't understand why I don't. The book is hot, and the movie is cold; the book ends in fire, and the movie in ice.”