The Best Stephen King Movies: 19 Stellar Stories from the King of Horror

Neil Bolt

October 21, 2023 at 7:00 AM·10 min read

Stephen King has been consistently writing for decades now and is still as relevant today as he was in the 1970s when Carrie exploded onto the scene.

His works have been the source of terror for several generations of horror fans who can’t look at clowns, dogs, mist, cars, hotels, and old men the same way ever again. But crucially, it’s the many adaptations of his novels and novellas that have helped grow his legend beyond the page. To this day, adapting a King story is a lucrative market.

There’s a lot that hasn’t worked over the years (four attempts at Pet Sematary and counting), but as you’ll see below, there’s a staggering amount of brilliant movies created from King’s work. Here, I’ve picked 19 (obviously) of the greatest page-to-screen adaptations of Stephen King’s work. Considering there’s a lot more than that to select from, it made for some difficult choices, but I’m sure we’ll all amicably agree to disagree on what is and isn’t here.

IT& IT Chapter Two (2017/2019 -Andy Muschietti)

The bigger a Stephen King story is, the harder it is to adapt. So, however you might feel about Andy Muschietti’s two-part IT conversion, he got far closer to the tone, content, and intention of the 1000+ page novel than the 1990 TV mini-series.

It succeeds more at fleshing out The Loser’s Club than it does Pennywise, but that’s the more important thing to get right in my eyes.

Christine (1983 – John Carpenter)

You may well look through the list of movies here and be a tiny bit taken aback by just how many notable names have adapted King for the screen. John Carpenter is one of those that feels like a great match.

Christine’s story of a killer car could have been awful in the wrong hands, but Carpenter embraces the ridiculous and comes through with a touchingly tragic tale of obsession.

The Shining (1980 – Stanley Kubrick)

Sure, there’s a more accurate and faithful adaptation out there, but it’s not rivaling Kubrick’s version in any other way.

Even with all the tales of King’s hatred of it, Kubrick’s The Shining is a mesmeric dread nightmare that features performances of the highest order from Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson.

The Mist (2007 – Frank Darabont)

A name you’ll see again on this list, Frank Darabont and Stephen King is a pairing that never fails to be excellent, even if it takes people a while to warm up to what they create.

The Mist has grown in stature since its 2007 release. It perfectly combines King’s relatable community dynamic and the horrors beyond our understanding. Oh, and that ending, changed from the novella, is still devastating.

The Dead Zone (1983 – David Cronenberg)

Christopher Walken? David Cronenberg? Stephen King? You want to see the result of that union, and surprisingly, it’s not one made of nightmares and body horrors. It’s an understated Cronenberg movie, but it’s still a good one.

The Dead Zone sees Walken’s Johnny Smith gain the ability to see people’s past, present, and future just by touching them. Of course, this leads him to see a doomy future in a politician. Don’t think you need powers to learn that, though.

Carrie (1976 – Brian De Palma)

The one that kickstarted an empire in books and film. Carrie remains a seminal work both on the page and on the screen. Brian De Palma’s visual flair unleashed on this tale of a quiet girl with a terrifying power.

Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek also help with superb performances that add to the tragedy and horror of Carrie’s story.

1408 (2007 – Mikael H?fstr?m)

It’s rarely mentioned in terms of top-tier King adaptations, but 1408 is a pretty popular movie with some familiar King stylings.

John Cusack plays a man specializing in debunking paranormal occurrences who checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. His cynical outlook is soon tested when the ”evil fucking room” begins to torment him with terrifying psychological warfare.

The Running Man (1987 – Paul Michael Glaser)

Written under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Running Man is about a man living in a dystopian world who is thrust into a deadly game show.

The movie gave us Arnold Schwarzenegger knocking off a variety of colorful deviant killers as he reeled off a barrage of quips. It’s a gloriously giddy sci-fi story that ranks among Arnie’s best efforts.

Stand By Me (1986 – Rob Reiner)

Based on the novella, The Body (one of three stories on this list from King’s Different Seasons collection), Stand By Me is an excellent example of King’s power beyond traditional horror, and director Rob Reiner expertly brings the tale of a group of troubled boys in search of a dead body to life.

It’s a sweet, emotional, and potty-mouthed movie that’s all about the journey rather than the destination. One of the film’s stars, River Phoenix, met his untimely demise a few years later, and co-star Corey Feldman’s own life troubles in the years since have added an extra emotional layer.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994 – Frank Darabont)

Talking about King’s stories and their power beyond traditional horror, here’s perhaps the greatest example from perhaps the greatest King adapter. Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption isn’t just a superb adaptation; it’s one of the most celebrated films in the medium’s history.

It focuses on the decades-long story of convicted murderer and former banker (which is worse, we don’t know) Andy Dufrene (Tim Robbins), who befriends an inmate, Red (Morgan Freeman) known for obtaining contraband items. There’s enough doubt about if Andy did his crime or not that you can empathize with him, but the key is the friendship between Red and Andy.

Gerald’s Game (2017 – Mike Flanagan)

If Frank Darabont is the original King of King adaptations, then Mike Flanagan is on his way to being the Prince of them. Even when he’s not directly adapting his work, the likes of Midnight Mass have a flavor of them (Salem’s Lot in particular), but this Netflix release shows a small-scale King story can work just as well as the sprawling epics.

Gerald’s Game is about an older married couple whose sex game goes horribly wrong and is largely confined to a bedroom. Flanagan and his star Carla Cugino draw every last drop out of the thin premise and keep things going at a smooth pace.

Creepshow (1982 – George A. Romero)

Stephen King has a heavy hand in this one, even starring in one of its segments. Creepshow is a cinematic tribute to the era of EC Comics, where Dawn of the Dead’s George A. Romero helms a set of creepy tales of terror.

The Crate is often cited as the killer story here, but there’s something to like about every single one of them. Plus, it’s got a fascinating cast that includes Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Ed Harris Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook, and Adrienne Barbeau.

The Green Mile (1999 – Frank Darabont)

Darabont’s Casino to his Goodfellas in terms of King adaptations. It’s a great film, a fantastic adaptation of King’s book series, but it’s a prison movie about a killer professing their innocence whilst forging friendships on the inside. As such, the gaping hole behind the Rita Hayworth poster that is The Shawshank Redemption will always overshadow it.

What separates this is its supernatural side and a majestic turn by the late Michael Clarke Duncan as a simple but special giant supposed child killer that eclipses greats such as Tom Hanks and Harry Dean Stanton.

Doctor Sleep (2019 – Mike Flanagan)

Doctor Sleep picks up the story of The Shining’s Danny Torrance many years later, and shows the impact of his special ability and that traumatic experience at The Overlook Hotel.

Mike Flanagan smartly adapts this. He keeps the visual stylings of Kubrick’s film, but plays it much closer to a King story. It’s a best-of-both-worlds epic that has become a favorite in King adaptations. Watch the Director’s Cut for maximum impact.

Misery (1990 – Rob Reiner)

Stand By Me’s sweet and sour recipe made for a memorable journey, but Rob Reiner returned to the world of King in a much meaner fashion. Misery sees a famous writer (played by James Caan) hurt in an accident that temporarily cripples him, but never fears for his number one fan finds him and vows to get him back to health.

Unfortunately, this fan (played by a sublime Kathy Bates) is a few pages short of a chapter. It’s one of the all-time villain performances on screen, and Bates makes damn sure of having the same impact as that sledgehammer she picks up.

Apt Pupil (1998 – Bryan Singer)

Before Bryan Singer and Ian McKellen teamed up on X-Men, they united for the third of the Different Seasons adaptations about a brilliant boy who suspects an old man he meets is actually a wanted Nazi war criminal.

Naturally, there’s a bit of a dark side to this, and if you want to see McKellen at his most chilling, this will do the trick. Also features a strong performance from the young Brad Renfro (Ghost World, The Client), who sadly died just ten years later.

Dolores Claiborne (1995 – Taylor Hackford)

Darabont, Reiner, and Flanagan aren’t the only ones to dazzle with multiple King adaptations, as after Misery, Kathy Bates strode into another mesmerizing performance in one of the most grounded King stories, Dolores Claiborne. It’s also probably the closest to capturing King’s tone on screen.

This story is about a battered wife who supposedly killed her abusive husband and was cleared of it, but a new murder has her name attached, and this time there’s an alleged witness. The story grows in mystery as the woman’s journalist daughter comes home to investigate it.

Cujo (1983 – Lewis Teague)

The movie version of Cujo is a touch more streamlined than the supernaturally-tinged book, but it resonated with audiences who were made to feel scared shitless of an adorable Saint Bernard.

This compact siege movie has a fraught intensity, steered by a great central performance from E.T. and The Howling star Dee Wallace as a terrified mother trying her best to battle a rabid hulking dog.

Salem’s Lot (1979 – Tobe Hooper)

Yes, another legendary horror director tackling Stephen King, and despite restrictions due to television, Tobe Hooper‘s Salem’s Lot still manages to capture the menacing mood of the book.

Salem’s Lot sees the town of Jerusalem’s Lot infiltrated by a monstrous vampire who slowly begins drawing the townsfolk over to the darkside. David Soul of Starsky and Hutch fame (he was Hutch) heads the cast, and amusingly would be joined in the King adaptation ranks years later by his televisual co-star Paul Micahel-Glaser (Starsky) when he directed The Running Man.