While not all of his numerous literary works refer to horror genre, Stephen King is widely known as the King of Horror. What’s true, however, is that he’s one of the most prolific popular writers of his time. Moreover, King beat many a record as a writer with the biggest number of works adapted for the screen. Over 30 of his novels, novellas and short stories were made into films, and that not including TV-series and various shorts. As for quality, it’s quite a different story. Some of those flicks are complete disasters, others are rather average and only a limited number is actually worthwhile. So here it comes – my top 10 of King’s best adaptations – ranging from simply good to greatest movies of the 20th century.
10. “The Mist” (2007)
One of King’s own favorite adaptations of his works and his third collaboration with Frank Darabont, “The Mist” is a truly scary and unnerving tale of a small town getting quickly flooded by thick mist filled with unspeakable monsters – apparently coming through a hole into another dimension caused by a recent storm. A group of shoppers stuck in a local supermarket, including David and his little son, can do nothing but wait, suspecting that their loved ones at home are already dead. What slightly spoils the picture for me, however, is the ending. In his apocalyptic stories, including this one – King makes sure to leave at list a flicker of hope. The film offers none whatsoever for its despaired characters.
9. “Dead Zone” (1983)
In David Cronenberg’s “Dead Zone,” Christopher Walken plays Johnny Smith, who is enjoying his life, his teaching job and his lovely fiancée, when a car accident puts him into a coma for many years to come. He finally awakens in the world where many things have changed and his girl is married to another. In addition to his troubles, he also appears to have developed psychic abilities and his visions won’t let him rest easy. Still, as honest man, Smith tries to put his gift to good use until, with nothing left to lose, he makes a final sacrifice to save the future.
8. “The Running Man” (1987)
In some not-so-distant future, society consumed by thirst for violent entertainment (we’re getting there I think), criminals convicted to death are no longer executed. Instead, they are brought on the show “The Running Man” where they are put into a labyrinth, hunted down and brutally murdered by gladiators armed with incredible futuristic weapons – to the cheers and applause of the crowd. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Ben Richards, unjustly convicted of murdering many innocent people during a military operation, tries to run but is captured and handed over to “Running Man’s” vile host to play with. Paul Michael Glazer turned the literary base into a dazzling cyberpunk packed with action in the same time offering a great insight into the bloodthirsty future of consumerism society.
7. “Dolores Claiborne” (1995)
One of the two SK adaptations starring Kathy Bates, this one directed by Taylor Hackford is a strong family drama haunted by the dark secrets of the past. A smalltown maid Dolores Claiborne gets arrested on suspicion of murder of an old woman she has been working for. The accusation is powered by the fact that the locals believe her to have murdered her husband many years ago. When her own grownup daughter, a big city reporter, comes back home to help her, Dolores begins her true painful story that has in it murder, child abuse and selflessness of a loving mother.
6. “Misery” (1990)
Now in Rob Reiner’s “Misery,” we see a completely different Kathy Bates – her character Annie is cheerful and benevolent on the surface, and a real psycho maniac inside. Writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) believes he’s lucky to have her as a fan when she rescues him from a car crash and lovingly nurses him back to health at her home. Little does he know that she has no plans to let him go, and once he shares with her that he decided to kill off the main heroine of his books, Misery, in his latest novel, Annie makes his life hell. Admittedly, she’s the worst nightmare of every famous writer, including King himself.
5. “The Green Mile” (1999)
Another superb collaboration of SK and writer-director Frank Darabont. The movie stays quite true to the original even if it does so at the expense of the screen time – it’s over 3 hours long. But those patient enough to watch the slow progression of the story will be rewarded in full. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) works as a prison guard dealing with convicts sentenced to death. Paul is content with his job, considering the hard times – The Great Depression – until a big black man named John Coffee arrived into his block, sentenced to death for the murder of two little girls. The “monster” proves to be a humble and calm though very sad man, who soon reveals to have incredible healing powers. Watching him perform several miracles, Edgecomb and his friends realize he’s no ordinary man and probably innocent too, but are unable to save him. Quite symbolically, John Coffee’s initials match those of Jesus Christ.
4. “The Shining” (1980)
After this movie was completed, Jack Nicholson vowed to never work with Stanley Kubrick again and he kept his promise. But it wasn’t just him – the whole crew was exhausted after infinite retakes and constant dissatisfaction of the director. SK himself kept getting calls from Kubrick at 3 in the morning. As a result “Shining” turned out to be much less of a King adaptation and much more of a Kubrick movie. Nonetheless the original story elements are still here. A struggling writer (Nicholson) with a wife and little son accepts a job watching a remote hotel during winter. It seems like a good idea and easy money until things go really bad. The little boy begins to see ghosts from hotel’s gruesome past while his father’s own hidden demons start to come out.
3. “Carrie” (1976)
“Carrie” is SK’s very first novel and the first work to be adapted for the screen – by Brian de Palma. Sissy Spacek did a convincing portrayal of Carrie – a quiet mousy girl, living under a dictatorship of a religious fanatic mother at home and bullied by the girls at school. Due to a particularly nasty incident in the showers involving her, the girls of her class are banned from attending the prom. One of the classmates, in attempt to redeem herself, convinces her boyfriend to invite Carrie to the prom, while another plans to mock her before the whole school. What they don’t know is that Carrie has a secret – her newly developed telekinetic powers – and pissing her off is a really bad idea.
2. “Stand By Me” (1986)
The film was adapted by Rob Reiner from novella “The Body” of “The Four Seasons” collection – one of the most heartfelt and humane of all SK’s works. It’s about childhood friendships that can’t be compared to anything else and can only sadly missed ever since they end. Four boys – Gordie, Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman) and Vern (Jerry O’Connell), go on a field trip after one of them gets a tip: there is a dead body lying in the woods – of a local little boy who recently went missing. Boys hope to make the official “discovery” and make it into the papers, unaware that a gang of older bullies, headed by young and wild Kiefer Sutherland, is headed in the same direction. Throughout their journey the boys face some serious grownup dangers and begin to see many things in life with different eyes.
1.“The Shawshank Redemption” (1994)
It’s hard to be objective when talking about your favorite movie, but I’ll try. While the original can hardly be called a masterpiece of King’s it certainly is the biggest achievement of writer and director Frank Darabont. Taking novella “Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption” he cut out its weaker points, enhanced its strongest points, and as result wrote a screenplay for one of the most incredible onscreen stories of survival, persistence, will and hope. Shot in a slow-paced mode, the movie didn’t do too well at the box office, but later went on to become one of the biggest rental hits ever. It’s also currently holding first place in the imdb’s top 250 movies of all time. If this doesn’t convince you the movie is a must see, I don’t know what will. Banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is unjustly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and sent to Shawshank Prison with two life sentences to serve. But instead of giving up, going mad or killing himself, Andy adapts in ways he can. He befriends Red (Morgan Freeman), provides free accounting services for guards and the warden, and hangs posters of beautiful ladies on the wall of his cell. That is until one day he quietly slips out of his cell – an operation that took him almost 20 years to prepare.
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