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Stephen King, The Master of Horror – The 10 Best Horror Movie Adaptations of His Work

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Since Stephen King published Carrie in 1974, the horror author has written about 65 novels alongside several collected works and screenplays. Dozens of big and small screen adaptations of King’s work have popped up since Carrie shocked filmgoers in 1976. Some talented filmmakers have worked on the Master of Horror’s material including Rob Reiner, Stanley Kubrick, Mike Flanagan, David Cronenberg, Frank Darabont, and John Carpenter. Sadly, many of these adaptations have been middling (The Dark Half) or outright bad (Graveyard Shift). But there’s been some classics as well, including the 10 movies listed below. Note that this list focuses on horror movie adaptations, so no Stand By Me or The Shawshank Redemption.

10 – Creepshow (1982)

Though anthology movies are inevitably hit and miss with their segments, Creepshow is a consistently fun homage to EC Comics and their tales of horror. Technically, Creepshow isn’t an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, short story, or novella – King penned the screenplay. And maybe it would be an overall better movie if you cut out the silly The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill, which also starred King. But director George A. Romero clearly had fun crafting some vintage, colorful horror. Both The Crate and Something to Tide You Over are classics that feel like something out of the original Tales From the Crypt. Still the opening segment, Father’s Day, stands out as the best of the bunch.

9 – Cujo (1983)

Many people will take issue with putting Cujo on this list at all. Some will cite the absence of Pet Sematary or The Mist. Take away the gut-punch of an ending and The Mist is a middling adaptation. And neither version of Pet Sematary is as good as their supporters believe. While Cujo is a flawed adaptation it’s also an effective and often relentless minimalist horror movie. Director Lewis Teague doesn’t quite mesh the novel’s parallel plots together and, as a result, Cujo feels disjointed. What we end up with are two different movies, with one of those movies being much better than the other. But when it’s not a family drama, this a monster movie about a big killer dog. The basic premise is a good one and Cujo becomes unbearably tense once it gets down to business.

8 – Christine (1983)

On one hand, Christine is a frustrating King adaptations that falls short of John Carpenter’s best work. Among its problems, Bill Phillips’ screenplay misses much of what made Christine one of King’s better novels. Miscasting and some flat performances don’t help. Yet too much here works so well to just dismiss this big screen treatment. Any time Christine is driving the action the movie clicks. Though he doesn’t always have a firm grasp of the material, Carpenter gets inventive and commits some visually impressive moments onto the screen. Both the scene of burning ‘Christine’ chasing down a victim and Moochie’s comeuppance in an alley are standouts. Moreover, Christine stands out as one of Carpenter’s better scores.

7 – Gerald’s Game (2017)

If The Stand, The Dark Tower, and It were challenging to adapt due to their massive scopes, Gerald’s Game presented the opposite problem. King’s story of a woman handcuffed to a cottage bed after her husband’s fatal heart attack seemed too ‘small’ for the big screen. In spite of this challenge, writer and director Mike Flanagan (Hush, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) finds the unnerving ‘psychological’ in this psychological horror movie. Similar to his other work, Flanagan relies on atmosphere over jump scares. Contrary to expectation, Gerald’s Game also boasts some big themes that outstretch its limited setting. Add a huge performance from Carla Gugino and Gerald’s Game was a surprisingly good King adaptation.

6 – Salem’s Lot (1979)

If you’re old enough, you may remember the days before streaming platforms and specialty channels when made-for-television movies were a different breed. Most of those movies weren’t particularly good. But Tobe Hooper’s (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) adaptation of Salem’s Lot is a classic. Some fans of the early King novel took issue with the onscreen portrayal of the vampire, Barlow. Nevertheless, Salem’s Lot presents some of the scariest incarnations of vampires in film backed by Harry Sukman’s creepy and nostalgic score. That floating bedroom scene – filmed in-reverse – is still the stuff of nightmares. Throw in a stacked cast of familiar faces anchored by James Mason’s stoic turn and Salem’s Lot is one of the best Stephen King adaptations.

5 – The Dead Zone (1983)

Despite the presence of Christopher Walken in front of the camera and David Cronenberg behind it, The Dead Zone is kind of a forgotten Stephen King adaptation. With The Dead Zone, Cronenberg eschews body horror in favor of an effective chiller that exhibits a lot of restraint. King’s story of high school teacher Johnny Smith waking from a coma only to discover he can see the future may actually be more relevant today. Johnny’s psychic flashes, particularly his first one, are both haunting and unnerving. Both Walken and Martin Sheen are fantastic in their respective roles. And the finale evokes some genuine pathos. Though it has has somewhat slipped into anonymity, The Dead Zone remains one of the better Stephen King adaptations out there and is worth re-discovering.

4 – Misery (1990)

Long before Star Wars fanboys and the ‘Restore the Snyderverse’ Reddit forums, Annie Wilkes was the original toxic fan. Aside from its prescient story, Misery was a winning box office Stephen King adaptation that earned Kathy Bates a deserving Best Actress Oscar. While William Goldman’s screenplay makes some changes to the novel, director Rob Reiner knows where to find the scares out of the isolated, wintery setting. Specifically, Reiner expertly mixes taut, edge-of-your-seat suspense and great jump scares. James Caan is at his cantankerous best as novelist Paul Sheldon. By the time you’re done watching Misery, you’ll never look at a sledgehammer the same way again.

3 – It (2017)

Stephen King’s massive generation-spanning novel, It, was always going to be challenging to adapt. While it has fans, the made-for-television miniseries from 1990 isn’t really that good with the exception of Tim Curry’s Pennywise performance. Flashforward 27 years and Andy Muschietti (Mama) nailed the novel … or at least half of it. On one hand, the 2017 theatrically released It benefits from a bigger budget and more freedom afforded by an R-rating. Yet Muschietti also demonstrates a better grasp of what made King’s novel terrifying. This version brings childhood nightmares to vivid life. Curry left big shoes to fill, but Bill Skarsgård more than capably transforms himself into a terrifying Pennywise. In addition, the young cast better fills the roles than the 1990 version where miscasting was an issue. Too bad It Chapter Two underwhelmed.

2 – Carrie (1976)

Carrie was King’s first publish novel – it also holds the distinction of being the first of his work to get adapted to the big screen. To date, an ill-advised, belated sequel and two remakes have tried to replicate Brian De Palma’s ‘lightning in a bottle’. Each of these efforts failed. Simply put, Carrie is a stylish, frightening interpretation of King’s work that captures the pains – and horror – of adolescence. In addition to Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie’s Oscar-nominated performances, the cast is filled with familiar faces and rising stars. Nearly 50 years late, the prom scene remains one of the best choregraphed horror moments. And that final jump scare will get you every time.

1 – The Shining (1980)

Yes, there’s a certain amount of irony to listing Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining at Number 1. King himself has made it no secret that he dislikes Kubrick’s vision, In fact, in the 1990s, King turned to a regular adaptor of his work, Mick Garris, to re-imagine his classic novel as a miniseries. To say it fell short would be an understatement. Maybe Kubrick missed some of the point of the novel. Maybe Jack Torrance’s descent into madness happens too quickly. Or perhaps Jack Nicholson just plays the character as ‘crazy’ straight out of the gate. Regardless The Shining is a haunting masterpiece of horror that stands among the greatest movies in the genre. Besides Nicholson’s performance is just too much fun to complain about how fast he succumbs to The Overlook Hotel. It’s worth it just for the ‘Here’s Johnny’ scene.

Leave Those Kids Alone: The ‘Social Outcast’ and the Bully Revenge Film

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Today, in Canada, it’s Pink Shirt Day. For those unfamiliar with the concept, it’s an event designed to promote anti-bullying in our schools. At some point in most of our lives, we’ve probably all had run-in’s with the schoolyard bully. Not surprisingly then, a sizeable number of horror movies have revolved around a picked-upon loner retaliating against their tormentors. In fact, the horror narrative of the ‘social outcast’ who discovers supernatural powers and uses them to exact revenge Has always enjoyed some popularity. For this edition of The Chopping Block, we we take a look at some of the better examples of the ‘social outcast’ horror movie. .

5 – Massacre at Central High (1976)

Massacre at Central High

With its grainy footage, wooden acting, and brutal violence, Massacre at Central High is the quintessential 1970’s exploitation flick. Not a horror movie per se, Massacre earns its spot on this list by virtue of its sadistic violence. Set at a fictional American high school, new student David fights back against a group of tyrannical bullies who rule over the school, only to be viciously crippled by them. David then executes methodical revenge, killing each bully one by one. Too bad their deaths create a power vacuum that is quickly filled by their former victims. Disgusted by how quickly the oppressed become the oppressors, David decides that no one at the school is worth saving and plans to kill everyone with a bomb.

While it’s clearly a B-movie, Massacre aspires to greater things with a much more clever script than you would expect to find in this type of film.

While it’s clearly a B-movie, Massacre aspires to greater things with a much more clever script than you would expect to find in this type of film. There is an interesting political subtext and observant film buffs will see Massacre’s influences on subsequent revenge films.

4 – Christine (1983)

Based on a Stephen King novel, Christine is one of horror master John Carpenter’s more middling-efforts. It’s also not necessarily one of the better adaptations of King’s work. To some extent, this is a function of translating a long novel to a 90-minute movie. Inevitably, details and secondary characters from the novel get reduced in their translation to the screen. Carpenter makes an odd choice in revising the origins of Christine’s evil. Inevitably, it’s a choice that somewhat reduces the emotional impact of bullied Arnie’s character arc.

Nevertheless, Christine is still one of the better examples of the ‘bully-revenge’ film. In particular, Keith Gordon’s performance as Arnie elicits a lot of sympathy. Regardless of your high school ‘cool’ credentials,’ it’s hard to watch as peers, parents, and other adults dump on poor Arnie. It’s perfectly believable when he desperately latches on to Christine; the audience can understand that Arnie needs something to call his own. Your empathy for Arnie gives the film a little more emotional resonance than what is typical of other horror films, particularly as he becomes increasingly corrupted.

3 – The Craft (1996)

While it wasn’t a box officer, juggernaut, this selection is an underrated gem. The Craft tells the story of four high school social outcasts who find solace in one another. The teens then later turn to magic and the occult, with predictably disastrous results. From racism to slut-shaming, each of the girls faces her own form of bullying. And it’s this aspect of The Craft, along with its focus on the girls’ friendship, that sets it apart. Younger audiences, particularly young women, may still find a lot to relate to in this 20-plus year-old film.

Younger audiences, particularly young women, may still find a lot to relate to in this 20-plus year-old film.

While The Craft does occasionally conform to some genre conventions, its four female protagonists are all fully realized characters. Each of the main actors’ performances heightens the emotional response as the girls are drawn further into dark magic. Like Christine and Massacre at Central High, The Craft also provides a nod, intentional or not, to the theme of the previously powerless and weak revelling in newfound powers – an allusion perhaps to the corruptibility of absolute power. The Craft also has one of the better alt-rock soundtracks from the 1990’s.

2 – Let Me In (2010)

Let Me In is the rare case of an American remake of a foreign horror film matching the original. Its story of a lonely, bullied 12-year-old boy befriended by a vampire is a well-crafted build of tension. The film has a sullen tone with strong, reserved performances from its child actors. Moreover, the violence, while never excessive, still manages to shock. Without spoiling anything, Let Me In maintains the original’s bleakness and raises interesting ideas about the desperation for intimacy that emerges from loneliness. And best of all – it marked the return of one of my favourite horror film studios, Hammer Films.

1 – Carrie (1976)

The second film on this list based on a Stephen King novel, Carrie, one of the best horror films of all time, sets the blueprint for most ‘bully revenge’ films that followed it. With stellar performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, Brian DePalma’s highly stylized film gives us one of the cruelest high school pranks in film history followed by an epic revenge set piece that will instantly help you forget your worst prom memories. Forget the belated sequel from the late 1990’s or the more recent remake effort, the original Carrie is the one you want to ask to the prom.

John Carpenter – The Horror Master’s Five Best Soundtracks

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Alongside Wes Craven and George A Romero, John Carpenter is one of the preeminent horror filmmakers from the 1970’s and 1980’s. After over 40 years, Halloween and The Thing remain among the best horror movies made. Even more moderate successes – Prince of Darkness, The Fog, and They Live – are considered cult classics. In addition to his prolific filmography, Carpenter has typically created the scores for most of his movies. Today, horror fans consider Carpenter’s music in as high regard as his movies. With so many soundtracks to consider, it was a difficult task to narrow it down to five choices. But for this edition of The Chopping Block, I highlight five of Carpenter’s better musical scores.

5 – John Carpenter’s Christine (1983)

To date, Christine remains one of Stephen King’s best works. At the heart of the ‘haunted car’ story, Christine is about the dissolution of childhood friendships as we grow older. Unfortunately, John Carpenter’s Christine isn’t one of his best movies. And it’s a middle-of-the-road King adaptation. Not surprisingly, Carpenter has a good handle on the horror. Comparatively, the horror master struggles with the story’s emotional core. Nevertheless, Carpenter’s score for the movie is damn good. In fact, it may be the best part of the movie; it’s definitely one of Carpenter’s best works. This is classic 80’s synth-horror music. Courtesy of Carpenter’s score, an average horror movie manages a few great scenes including the still impressive car regeneration scene at Darnell’s Garage.

Best Track: Moochie’s Death

Runner-Up: Show Me

4 – Prince of Darkness (1987)

John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness is a wild mix of pseudo-science and supernatural horror. Maybe not as well regarded as his other movies, Prince of Darkness boasts a stellar cast, several well-placed jumps, and an unsettling overall tone. You’ll find familiar themes that pop up in many of Carpenter’s movies. Most notably, Carpenter has always shown an affinity for westerns and, in particular, Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo. Several of his movies feature a band of survivors fighting off a siege. Though there’s less of ‘Western vibe’ to this soundtrack, it’s still a fittingly haunting work. Like its subject matter, The Prince of Darkness soundtrack is apocalyptic. Carpenter’s ‘This is Not a Dream’, which threads its way throughout the movie, is disturbing. It perfectly suits the movie’s grim closing moments.

Best Track: Darkness Falls

Runner-Up: Love at a Distance

3 – The Fog (1980)

Critics weren’t as in love with The Fog as much as Carpenter’s other movies. But it’s a brisk, fun B-movie with a ‘ghost story’ hook. Even if it’s not your favourite Carpenter effort, it’s an absolutely fantastic score. In fact, excluding the Halloween soundtrack, The Fog may be Carpenter’s eeriest movie soundtrack. The main theme, and tracks like Antonio Bay, are slow, setting an unsettling mood. With later tracks in the soundtrack, Carpenter increases the sense of urgency. Certainly, Carpenter’s work here elevates a good movie, making it an overall scarier experience.

Best Track: The Fog Theme

Runner-Up: The Fog Enters Town

2 – Escape From New York (1981)

‘The Duke is A-Number One’. And Carpenter’s score for Escape from New York is beyond cool. Over the last several years, it’s become fashionable to emulate 80’s movie aesthetics, including the infamous synth music score. Arguably, Carpenter’s work on Escape from New York played a huge role in shaping that sound. Though Carpenter isn’t the only influence, the DNA of his music is all over Stranger Things. This sound, in particular, found its way into a lot of 80’s action movies. And that’s not really surprising. Escape from New York’s main title is every bit as cool as the movie’s anti-hero, Snake Plissken.

Best Track: Main Title

Runner-Up: Chase Across the 69th Street Bridge

1 – Halloween (1978)

Outside of John Williams’ Jaws theme, is there any other horror anthem as iconic? Williams’ work instantly conjures up images of the Great White. Similarly, the Halloween anthem is instantly linked to ‘The Shape’. What separates this score from Carpenter’s other work – and other classic horror scores – is just how much we now associate it with the holiday itself. Think of it like the ‘Jingle Bells’ for October. From start to finish, the score is haunting, working both for background mood and startling jumps. Carpenter’s updating (and extension) of his work for last year’s Halloween 2018 stood well on its own, while reminding us how timeless the original score remains. Recently, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross remixed Carpenter’s theme and the result were, to say the least, impressive. Just another example of the timelessness of Carpenter’s work.

Best Track: Halloween Theme

Runner Up: The Shape Lurks

King of Horror: Picking Past Film Adaptations of Stephen King’s Work to Remake

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It’s ‘Master of Horror’ Stephen King’s 71st birthday today. His first novel, Carrie, was published in 1973. His works include Misery, The Shining, The Dark Tower series, and It. To date, King has published over 50 novels and collected works. One could easily make the argument that Stephen King is one of the most influential authors of the last 50 years or so. I remember reading my first Stephen King novel in Grade Six, and I haven’t stopped.

Not surprisingly, many of King’s novels have been adapted into feature-length films or made-for-television movies. King’s accomplishments in horror literature are giant, but the success of adapting his work to the big screen has met with mixed results. The Shining, Carrie, and Misery are rightly considered horror classics. Other movies like Maximum Overdrive or Graveyard Shift are critically reviled.

Now with King’s work experiencing a renaissance in Hollywood there’s talk about re-visiting otherpast adaptations. We’ve already witnessed Carrie and It get the remake treatment with Pet Sematary coming down the pipe. For this edition of The Chopping Block, I celebrate Stephen King’s birthday by proposing a list of film adaptions that I think would benefit from the remake treatment.

Stephen King’s The Stand

To date, The Stand remains my personal favourite among Stephen King’s work. It’s a massive story in terms of scope and characters that would understandably be a challenge to adapt into a movie. Now I’ll put this right out there for readers – I am not a fan of the original made-for-television version of It. Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise the Clown is terrifying, but the rest of the movie felt flat to me.

If you’re old enough you’ll know what I mean when I say, a “made-for-television” movie. These were movies usually produced by one of the major television networks for broadcasting during primetime TV hours. Typically, these movies had much smaller production values and starred recognizable TV or character actors.

When The Stand got the made-for-television treatment in 1994 it was well received and largely success. Yet in many ways, The Stand mini-series suffers from the same problem as the 1990 version of It. Key characters are woefully miscast with performers clearly in over their heads. While the expanded television format allowed director Mick Garris to keep much of the story intact, the budget limitations restrained much of the novel’s epic scope. In addition, The Stand watered down a lot of the novel’s content to meet primetime television standards.

Imagine a two to three season mini-series produced by Netflix or Amazon. A creative filmmaker wouldn’t be as handcuffed in what could or couldn’t be shown. Audiences have also proven to be much more patient in allowing creators to take their time exploring narratives. People are getting tired with The Walking Dead, so forget zombies and give us more Randall Flagg.

The Dark Tower

The less said about last year’s cinematic adaptation of The Dark Tower, the better. Wasting Idris Elba should be a crime. My problems with The Dark Tower adaptation are similar to my issues with the 1994 version of The Stand. We’re talking about not just one epic novel but a series of books. In The Dark Tower series, Stephen King has woven a very complex mythology that almost defies a cinematic adaption. But the same could also have been said about Game of Thrones. What could the right creative team do with The Dark Tower novels if they went to HBO and got a proper budget? This is a no-brainer – The Dark Tower deserves another chance to shine on screen.

Christine

John Carpenter and Stephen King, together. How could it not be an amazing horror film? Don’t get me wrong, Christine is not a bad film. Yet it’s definitely one of horror master John Carpenter’s more middling-efforts. It’s also not necessarily one of the better adaptations of King’s work. Christine features an emotional and heartbreaking character arc. It’s equal parts horror and coming-of-agestory about childhood friendships fading as we become adults.

Carpenter gets much of the horror right in his film. Christine also boasts a very underrated film score. Nevertheless, Carpenter doesn’t quite capture the more nuanced emotional core of King’s novel. In addition, he makes an odd choice to revise the origins of Christine’s evil in the film. This revision to the source material really reduces the emotional impact of Arnie’s character arc. There is a much better version of Christine just begging to be filmed, the shitter’s be damned.

The Dark Half

George A. Romero is another master of horror. But The Dark Half is not peak Romero by any stretch of the imagination. Like Christine, The Dark Half is not a bad movie. Sadly, it’s just underwhelming and very forgettable. To be fair, it’s not all Romero’s fault. Stephen King’s psychological horror novel about an author with a murderous pen name makes for a fascinating read. But it’s complex concept to translate from text to screen. To his credit, Romero illustrates a pretty sharp understanding of King’s dark psychology. In what turns out to be quite a surprise, Romero actually struggled with the supernatural and horror elements of the source material. Timothy Hutton is also miscast in The Dark Half, which didn’t help.

The Running Man

Yes, fans of ’80’s action films may take offence to this recommendation. I love Arnold Schwarzenegger films just as much as the next person. But the 1987 adaptation of The Running Man liberally borrows the title and premise from the Richard Bachman novel and not much else. In fact, The Running Man is the perfect example of why remakes aren’t always a bad idea.

The Running Man was years ahead of its time. Published a decade before Survivor and Big Brother became fixtures in primetime television, Stephen King’s novel seems almost eerily prescient now. Good popular culture ages well; it’s relevancy does not dwindle. King’s novel about a fascist government state using media to control and pacify its own people is more relevant now than ever before. Of course, the novel’s original ending would have to be altered. Nonetheless, the right filmmaker could adapt King’s source material and deliver a wickedly subversive thriller.