The best and worst Stephen King adaptations

Famously, King loathed (and presumably still loathes) Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his book. Knowing that, it’s not surprising that King’s own work is such a mixed bag. Before people used the phrase “elevated horror,” Kubrick delivered a sterling example of that concept. Many consider it the best movie by one of the best filmmakers, and that’s saying something.

Yes, The Lawnmower Man has an early-‘90s idea of computer technology and overly ambitious visual effects. However, all that aside, it’s just a dumb, poorly made movie. This time you can’t blame King, though! The Lawnmower Man has nothing to do with King’s short story. It’s quite clear what happened. Originally, the producers wanted the film’s official title to be “Stephen King’s The Lawnmower Man.” Basically, they bought the rights to his story just to try and use King’s name to get people to see the film. King sued to have his name removed, and he was successful.

Carrie was King’s first published novel, and it’s, fittingly, the first King adaptation. It’s also one of the best. Brian De Palma directed it, so it’s pretty bananas at times and pushes the line on being lurid semi-frequently. That being said, it’s no trashy exploitation film. It’s a compelling film with excellent turns by Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, the latter of whom got an Oscar nomination.

Okay, this one King gets all the blame for. Well, King and cocaine. That’s not telling tales out of school. King wrote and directed this adaptation of his own story. He has said that he was pretty much coked up and checked out the entire time he was making Maximum Overdrive, has called it a “moron movie,” and decided to never direct again after the experience.

King has said that his novel Misery was partially inspired by his struggles with drugs and alcohol, but it yielded a fine thriller on a non-allegorical level. In Rob Reiner’s adaptation, James Caan plays an acclaimed, but weary, author who is rescued after an accident on a remote road. Annie Wilkes, his presumed savior, happens to be a fan. Like, a huge fan, but certainly not in a healthy way. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her turn as Annie.

There have been jokes made in the past about some of King’s, shall we say, less ambitious ideas. At times, it feels like he’s doing that bit from hacky comedies where he makes up something on the spot by looking around the room and naming stuff he sees. Cell has that feel to it. “I don’t know, what if cell phones were evil?” is the gist of it, and the uncertainty of phrasing it as a question feels present in the quality of the story as well. John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson signed on for this movie adaptation, but with all due respect, those two don’t have reputations for being choosy about projects.

If we didn’t include the greatest success story of basic-cable airings, what would we be doing? The Shawshank Redemption did fairly well in its day, and it got some Oscar nominations. However, through constant airings on cable, Shawshank developed something akin to a cult. Famously, back when people noted such things, it was the highest-rated movie on IMDb. Now, we are saying it’s the best movie in history, but it is one of the better King adaptations.

Much like King himself, screenwriter David Koepp has a lot of variance in terms of quality. He’s excellent at crafting a propulsive plot, but his films sometimes make you think he has no idea how human beings act or talk. Koepp both wrote and directed Secret Window . It would be nice if the psychological thriller starring Johnny Depp were a fascinating fiasco. Sadly, it’s just kind of dull.

On the flip side of Secret Window, here is a circumstance of a director bolstering material that is not remarkable. Christine is about an evil car. It could have been silly. Fortunately, for all parties involved, John Carpenter handled the director. The king of vibes-based horror, Carpenter made Christine into something, even if it is more of a cult hit than anything else.

Okay, so Carpenter managed to make the evil car movie work. He was smart enough not to try and make the evil laundry press movie work. Tobe Hooper, no horror slouch, didn’t make anything compelling out of The Mangler, either. It’s fully not trying to be silly, but the execution doesn’t avoid that reality. Remarkably, two direct-to-video sequels have been made.

You can choose your fire vis-à-vis It or It Chapter Two . Do you prefer the kids being the focus of the story, or their adult versions? Obviously, the acting cache in the movie with James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain is better. On the other hand, It has more oomph to it, and also the benefit of first introducing this newest iteration of Pennywise. Both largely work, though. Also, wisely, neither film includes the part of King’s book that is maybe the weirdest thing he’s ever written. If you know, you know.

Neither Firestarter is good, but the first one had Drew Barrymore as the pyrokinetic young girl. This one’s big swing was having Zac Efron as Charlie’s dad, but the kid who can start fires with her mind is kind of the more important role. This movie isn’t bad. It’s just dull as all get out, even though it’s about a kid starting fires with her mind.

You need to cast somebody to play a man who wakes up from a coma with psychic powers that come across as unhinged to those around him? Casting Christopher Walken is a good idea! The Dead Zone is also maybe the most normal movie David Cronenberg has ever directed? By no means did he phone it in, though. There was also a USA TV show based on King’s novel that ran, remarkably, for six seasons.

The Dark Tower series is King at his worst. It’s overly long, meandering, and makes you just want to yell into the void, “Edit yourself for once!” Trying to turn it into a movie was never really going to work, but the first foray also landed with a bigger thud than anticipated. Part of it is the overstuffed nonsense of the series, but the execution was also legitimately poor.

Osgood Perkins followed up his breakthrough movie Longlegs, a strange but serious horror movie, with an over-the-top horror-comedy. That was pretty much all one could do with The Monkey. It is, after all, about an evil monkey doll that kills people. The movie is basically a Final Destination film, but, honestly, better.

In terms of the worst King adaptation, the general consensus has landed on Dreamcatcher. You will find no argument here. The book is bizarre nonsense, and nobody should have tried to adapt it. Then, the adaptation was also a fiasco. Dreamcatcher is see-it-to-believe-it bad. To even explain the plot is to run the risk of nobody believing you.

We’re ending with The Running Man, and not because Glen Powell is starring in another adaptation of the story in 2025. The Running Man threads the needle. It’s both good and bad, you know? Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a man in a dystopian future who is sentenced to vie for his life in a game show with lethal stakes. Richard Dawson plays the show’s host. It’s fun, but it is so stupid. We enjoy The Running Man, but we also acknowledge its flaws, and there are several. In a way, it contains all that is good and bad in King adaptations.