The 20 best Stephen King adaptations, ranked

"Christine" is a rare example of a King adaptation released the same year as the novel. It's ultimately a story of a lonely outcast and the car he loves, and director John Carpenter gives "Christine" a horrific heart, highlighting the best of what King's novel originally presented while also producing a soundtrack that is every bit as instrumental (pun intended) to the dread as John Williams' score was for "Jaws."

John Cusack stars opposite Samuel L. Jackson in "1408," based on one of King's short stories about skeptical author Mike Enslin (Cusack), who investigates haunted houses. Soon his skepticism is melted away, as a hotel room he rents presents a phantasmagoria of horrors while Enslin questions his very sanity. "1408" succeeds in relying more on psychological horror than outright gore, largely buoyed by Cusack's performance as he reacts to his surroundings, aptly portraying a man whose cynicism nearly pushes him to a breaking point.

The eight-episode miniseries adapting King's 2011 sci-fi novel is about an English teacher (James Franco) who is given a unique opportunity to go back in time to attempt to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Franco gives life to his performance as James Epping, making his mark as one of the better and more memorable King protagonists. Making "11.22.63" a limited series gives it a proper chance to breathe, and unlike similar efforts such as "Under the Dome," the result stays close enough to the source material to remain recognizable yet enjoyable in its own right.

Based on King's novella "Cycle of the Werewolf," "Silver Bullet" takes a novel approach to standard horror fare by making the protagonist a disabled boy. While the film slightly strays from the source material enough for some to even consider it a parody, it stands as an underrated adaptation; one that perfectly balances a monster movie with a story of perseverance despite any disability. 

Chilling and genuinely creepy, this adaptation of King's 1983 novel about a doctor who runs afoul of an Indian burial ground is certainly your rank-and-file horror flick. But the direction from Mary Lambert, in her first major studio release, injects more than sufficient nightmare fuel as the scenes go from mildly grotesque to full-on gore, including a scene in the third act that features a scalpel cutting an Achilles tendon that is in no way, shape or form for the weak of stomach.

Another of King's favorite adaptations, "Cujo," a terrifying tale of a rabid St. Bernard holding a mother and child hostage in a car during a heatwave, has gained a cult following in the years since its original release. "Cujo" earns its place on our list due to its genuinely frightening nature and a feeling that is, in many ways, reminiscent of "Jaws," which is certainly more than a coincidence. That said, were it not for the performance of Dee Wallace as beleaguered mom Donna Trenton, the film wouldn't have held up nearly as well.

Originally meant to be a feature film, Warner Bros. and producers decided to make a miniseries out of King's 1975 novel, "Salem's Lot." With an astronomical-for-its-time budget of $4 million, the film, which is about a writer (David Soul) who returns to his hometown only to find it infested with vampires, aired in two parts on CBS and was an instant hit with critics and viewers. The miniseries was later condensed into a theatrically released version and would spawn a sequel in 1987 and a miniseries remake in 2004. 

Very loosely based on the last of King's "Bachman Books" — titles written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman — "The Running Man" is more Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle than King adaptation. But the core of King is there, and as one of King's few sci-fi efforts, it stands as a distinctive look at a future dystopia that is shockingly similar to our current reality. Regardless of the version or vision, it's hard not to be entertained by Schwarzenegger in his prime, competing in what amounts to the sort of reality television that is eerily reminiscent of our current obsessions.

The first of two adaptations of King's 1986 novel, the ABC miniseries "It" is best known (and beloved) for Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Although heavily altered from the source material, Curry manages to steal the show with his take on the malevolent clown, turning it into something that still makes audiences cringe as the miniseries took on a cult classic status in the years after its initial airing. 

Based both on horror comics of the '50s and '60s alongside a few of King's short stories, "Creepshow" is an All-Star Game of sorts, as King teams with horror master George A. Romero to present a quintet of terrifying tales, including one which King himself stars in. The rest of the cast includes notables like Adrienne Barbeau, Ted Danson, Hal Holbrook and Leslie Nielsen in a wickedly evil role with a memorable payoff. 

Frank Darabont's second adaptation of King's work "The Green Mile" would honestly rank higher on our list if not for one nagging issue: that of the "Magic Negro Syndrome," the trope in which a saintly black character exists only to aid in the happiness of white people. But despite the trope on display, the result is a powerful, moving film that, if anything, serves to enhance the source material. And even though Tom Hanks receives top billing, the true star of the show is Michael Clarke Duncan, whose portrayal of John Coffey is both tender and sadly touching, even within the trope that he is saddled.

Considered a bona fide classic by fans of film, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of King's "The Shining" is a polarizing subject as King and fans of the book do not hold this version of a writer (Jack Nicholson) mentally falling apart during a long winter in the same regard as cinephiles. King considers "The Shining" as his least-favorite adaptation, and in 1997, produced a more faithful miniseries version for ABC that more closely represented his vision. That said, Kubrick's version, for better or worse, remains in the hearts of many as a horror classic.

Director Frank Darabont's most recent King adaptation, "The Mist," is a slickly produced tale of a small town enveloped in a mysterious fog. The story follows a group of town residents who are holed up in a supermarket, and it's soon evident that the evil that brews inside the store is every bit as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than the supernatural evil outside. In a change from many King adaptations, Darabont decides to give the film a much darker ending than its source material, a choice that is as shocking as it is painfully ironic.

Director Andy Muschietti's 2017 take on King's novel is a step up from the cult classic miniseries, all while making subtle changes of its own. Freed from the shackles of network TV's Standards and Practices, this version of 'It' — which covers only the first half of the book (Part 2 is scheduled for a 2019 release) — manages to properly balance horror with the coming-of-age themes that serve as a bedrock of the story. Bill Skarsgård's take on Pennywise the Clown is inspired and successfully separates itself enough from Tim Curry's now-iconic performance.

The first of King's adaptations to be set in his famous fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine ("Cujo" was the first novel to feature the setting but was unnamed in the film), "The Dead Zone" tells the story of a teacher (Christopher Walken) who awakens from a coma to find he's gained psychic powers, placing him on a collision course with a presidential candidate (Martin Sheen), whose future promises nuclear holocaust. "The Dead Zone" is certainly a star-making turn for Walken, pushing what is on its surface a sci-fi flick into deftly more dramatic territory.

Kathy Bates' Oscar-winning performance as obsessed fan Annie Wilkes is a highlight of Rob Reiner's second King adaptation, "Misery." The film, about an author (James Caan) who falls victim to an auto accident and then subsequently is saved by Wilkes, who claims to be his No. 1 fan, is a taut thriller that features one of the more horrific scenes in any King adaptation, and that's saying something, even though the original novel was certainly much gorier.

An epic eight-hour miniseries produced by ABC, "The Stand" boasts a screenplay written by King himself adapting his own material. The result is a sweeping depiction of good vs. evil that represents the best of King's work. While the miniseries was naturally hampered by a smaller (yet huge for TV at $28 million) budget and the constraints of network TV, the miniseries stands as King's best work for television and one of the more faithful adaptations of his work to date.

In what is likely the most heartfelt of King's adaptations, director Rob Reiner took King's 1982 novella, "The Body," and turned it into "Stand by Me," a tale of a group of kids who go on a quest to see a dead body. The quartet is pursued by a group of older juvenile delinquents, leading to a confrontation that would define both groups forever. While not a horror film in the traditional sense, "Stand by Me" is a testament to the power of friendship over fear. At the time of its release, King stated that the film was the best adaptation of anything he'd written.

Based on King's first published novel, "Carrie" is the story of a teen (Sissy Spacek) who suffers merciless, unending bullying and torture not only from her classmates but also from her fanatically religious mother. Carrie's pain manifests in telekinetic powers that make her a danger not to those who abused her but to the entire town. Director Brian De Palma succeeds in creating a horror classic that represents the best of King's work.

Director Frank Darabont's first attempt at adapting King material remains not only the best of his three to date, but "The Shawshank Redemption" also is quite possibly one of the best films of the 20th century. Based on King's short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," Tim Robbins stars as a man who is sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, gaining a lifelong friend (Morgan Freeman) while searching for the freedom from a life of horrors he did not deserve. "The Shawshank Redemption" is not only at the top of our list, but it's also King's favorite adaptation (alongside "Stand By Me").