Stephen King’s writing has been the motivation for some of the greatest movies and TV shows of all time. So with the release of The Monkey, the latest King adaptation, we’re counting down 15 of the best shows and movies to be based off his work. Let us know your favorite @SiftPop!
Jessie (Carla Gugino) and her husband Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) head to a remote Alabama lake house for a bit of romantic fun. Within minutes, they find themselves in the bedroom, ready to enact Gerald’s more erotic fantasies. Jessie reluctantly agrees to let her husband handcuff her to the bed, but is met with the shock of all shocks when he drops dead of a heart attack. Gerald’s Game offers one of the simplest, most ingenious plots that Stephen King has ever constructed, brought to life by Mike Flanagan’s reliably awesome direction. Beyond being an incredible display of suspense filmmaking, the film is an outstanding showcase for the leads, Gugino in particular. If for nothing else, watch Gerald’s Game to see two of the most underappreciated working actors at the absolute top of their (Gerald’s) game. (Foster Harlfinger)
“Faith against faith!” Salem’s Lot, the measured and methodical miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s seminal vampire tale, would’ve scared the crap out of me if I’d seen it while I was younger. Tobe Hooper’s slow-burn filmmaking is top-notch, the creature makeup is unparalleled, and the trademark compelling King characters lend themselves very well to a tale about the inherent darkness of humanity (I will excuse protagonist Ben Mears from this assessment, as he isn’t nearly as developed as he should be in this adaptation). Salem’s Lot was one of the novels that first got me into King’s stylish interior storytelling, and Hooper’s television version is startlingly effective, evoking frights and scares from the very depth of my soul. The fact that this isn’t as beloved or fondly remembered as the IT miniseries is disappointing, but I understand. It’s not for everyone. I just happen to enjoy the hell out of it. (Rowan Wood)
Christine is a large book (not quite It-sized, but still hundreds of pages long) that can be quite convoluted, featuring plenty of mythos behind its killer car. But sometimes simpler is better. John Carpenter completely understands that idea, taking that route with his adaptation of Christine. There is no greater explanation than the gorgeous looking car being completely evil and seeking out murder and control over its human host. The way the car speaks through the radio is a clever element to bring life, and impressive practical effects draw the audience in. There are effective and relatable themes at work that center on coming of age and how bad a dark influence can be in your formative teen years. The cast might not be filled with big names, but the dark edge and an automotive star make this a worthwhile experience. All you need is a bit of Carpenter direction and score to make it that much more engaging. (Shane Conto)
David Cronenberg meets Stephen King, with a healthy dose of Christopher Walken for good measure, The Dead Zone quite simply rules. It’s got all the ‘80s Cronenberg vibes one could hope for, from the chilling Michael Kamen score to Mark Irwin’s atmospheric cinematography. Walken delivers one of the best performances of his career as a man who, upon waking up from a five-year coma, finds himself gifted with psychic glimpses into the lives of those he touches. As his abilities continue to develop, Walken’s protagonist comes into contact with all sorts of unsavory characters. Whether it be catching a murderer or preventing a crooked politician (a delightfully slimy Martin Sheen) from getting elected for President, The Dead Zone is all over the place in the best, most unabashedly Stephen King sort of way. (Foster Harlfinger)
Even if you haven’t seen The Mist, you’ve likely heard about the ending — one of the most infamous of the 21st century. However, the film is more than its ending. After the titular mist traps residents (and vacationers) of a town in the local grocery store, hiding from the horrors hidden in the fog, it becomes quite the social experiment. Watching how things devolve over time, and people separate into their camps, feels all too easy to buy into. Most notably, there are the initial skeptics and the town religious fanatic, who slowly grows in power as the situation gets more bleak and desperate over time. Largely taking place in the store, the film uses its main location to great effect, with everyone being trapped in the store to heighten the feeling of isolation and paranoia. It’s what allows the ending to hit as hard as it does. (Jake Bourgeois)
An entry from Stephen King’s more dramatic catalogue, Kathy Bates is back in the leading role of this 1995 thriller in the titular role of Dolores Claiborne — a role that’s her career favorite. 20 years after being accused of killing her abusive husband (David Strathairn), Claiborne is back in the spotlight as the prime suspect in the death of her husband. Her daughter, Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh), now a successful magazine writer, is forced to return home and confront the past. Both Bates and Leigh are spectacular as they confront the trauma of the past, with Ellen Muth putting in a stellar performance as a young Selena. Aside from our leads, there are a ton of recognizable names lending their talents to this one. Christopher Plummer sinks his teeth into the role of a detective determined not to let Claiborne get away with murder for a second time (at least as he views it), and a young John C. Reilly pops in as the young constable. Screenwriter Tony Gilroy deftly adapts King’s original work for the screen, balancing hefty emotions and the seamless transition of flashbacks, capably realized by director Taylor Hackford, and elevated by an excellent Danny Elfman score setting the perfect ‘90s thriller vibe. Though it doesn’t perhaps have the Q score of other King adaptations, for the fans of thrillers, it’s a welcome addition to the canon. (Jake Bourgeois)
Take Shawshank as an indicator — Stephen King isn’t just a beloved horror storyteller! Another miniseries adaptation, 11.22.63, one of my personal favorite King novels, debuted on… wait… what’s this… Hulu?! In 2016?! And no one has talked about it since? It’s a tragedy, but 11.22.63 (which interestingly substitutes decimal points for the hyphens of King’s novel 11/22/63) is a remarkably good adaptation, wisely moved to television instead of attempting to tackle the 849-page tome in a mere two hours. J. J. Abrams produced the series, alongside James Franco, who also stars as Jake Epping, an English teacher who discovers a time portal capable of bringing the user back to 1960. He becomes persuaded to prevent the Kennedy assassination, but becomes too enamored with the past, falling in love and creating a whole new life for himself. 11.22.63 takes its liberties with King’s text, but that’s part of what I enjoy — after all, a story about the “coulda woulda shoulda” of “practical” time travel will always be interesting to me, and when King is involved, you know it’s not going to go the way you think. (Rowan Wood)
Mike Flanagan undertook the unenviable task of making a sequel to the classic The Shining which also functioned as a spiritual sequel to the vastly different novel it was based on, while adapting the sequel novel, Doctor Sleep. Add into that mix of anxiety that Stephen King famously despises Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining. By some miracle, Flanagan achieved all that and created an amazing movie. He leans on his greatest skill of making the personal struggles of humans the true horror, as Danny Torrance battles generational trauma. Ewan McGregor is a perfect choice for an adult Danny, as he believably portrays both the degenerate trying to drown the literal ghosts of his past in booze and drugs, as well as the caring — albeit reluctant — sober mentor to Abra. This movie is light on traditional horror like jump scares, but it is heavy on atmosphere and dread. Never is that truer than the baseball boy scene, which may be the most brutal and bone-chilling piece of cinema ever. The True Knot is a terrifying antagonist as a group of soul-sucking vampires, because you believe they see nothing wrong with what they are doing, and you see they genuinely care for each other as a family. Rebecca Ferguson is great at providing both caring and intimidation to make Rose the Hat one of the better villains of this century. And Kyliegh Curran deserves a lot of credit for the exact same in her protagonist portrayal of Abra. I don’t know if it is a better movie than The Shining, but Doctor Sleep is definitely more enjoyable and rewatchable. (Jason Mack)
“I’m sorry for what I am,” is a line has stuck with me since I first watched The Green Mile. John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) is a misunderstood gentle giant — the product of a society that judges people by their appearance rather than who they are. Deeply metaphorical and beautifully performed, The Green Mile continues a streak of Stephen King dramatic novels being adapted to the big screen. Along with Coffey, all the police officers who support the inmates on death row are outstanding, with strong stories and beautiful characterizations. Tom Hanks, David Morse, and Barry Pepper are remarkable performers, but Duncan is the true star of the movie. As a story, The Green Mile a thoughtful allegory for giving grace and believing in something bigger than yourself. It will give you chills, and is easily one of King’s best film adaptations. (Mike Hilty)
As an avid avoider of all things scary, I have seen very few Stephen King film adaptations; however, as a lifelong lover of movies featuring writers and the literary process, I have seen Misery several times. Rob Reiner’s 1990 interpretation of the 1987 novel still has me squirming on the edge of my seat during a rewatch, and that is thanks to the only King adaptation to garner an Oscar win: Kathy Bates’ performance as the angrily obsessed Annie. When famed Victorian fiction writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) crashes his car on the icy roads of a remote Colorado town, I cringe knowing that’s the best his week is going to get. Annie “rescues” Paul by taking him back to the isolation of her cabin, where she later forces him to resurrect the lead heroine of his recently ended series of romance books. Annie is uncomfortably unpredictable in the lengths she will go to keeping Paul both captive and writing. The anticipation of her next move is as chilling as the desolate Colorado countryside, leaving Paul and his freshly broken ankles in both pain and crippling Misery. (Patrice Downing)
I spent a lot of 2024 diving into Brian De Palma’s movies, as I felt he was a sizable blind spot. One of the first movies of his I watched was Carrie, which immediately blew me away, as it’s both an effective horror movie and an all too realistic look at the kind of self-loathing that Christianity can unleash on women, both young and old. A Stephen King/De Palma collaboration is one that just works — thrills and catharsis abound. (Robert Bouffard)
I am not typically a fan of horror movies, nor am I particularly fond of clowns in real life, so I have to admit that I avoided even going so far as watching the trailer for It for years. However, a few years ago, a friend managed to convince me to watch both parts of Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of the King classic, and I’ve been enamored with Pennywise the dancing clown ever since. I’ve since read the novel and watched the 1990 miniseries as well, but my favorite iteration of the story still has to be this most recent set of films, in large part due to the incredible atmosphere and the pitch perfect casting. Bill Skarsgård is obviously incredible as Pennywise, but some of the real standouts to me are the kids, especially Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Finn Wolfhard. The film is certainly scary, but it never feels gratuitous — the supernatural horror is there as a stand-in for childhood trauma, and it wouldn’t hit home nearly as well as it does without the great work done by the young performers. It may give me nightmares, but it also makes me think, and that’s worth those nightmares. (Jake Hjort)
The first in a series of what was probably the greatest directing hot streak ever seen, Rob Reiner’s seminal coming-of-age feature Stand By Me released in 1986. Based upon a Stephen King short titled The Body, ittells the story of four friends taking a summer mission to see a live (pun intended) dead body. This is fundamentally a road trip movie, where the preteen boys wander off, facing many challenges, both physical and mental. Finding themselves creating bonds that would last a lifetime, Stand By Me is an extremely life-affirming, nostalgia fest of a film for people (like me) who grew up during a time where kids felt safe to leave the house and go trekking across the countryside to find adventure. I saw this for the first time when I was around the age of the kids in the film. (It was after ’86, okay? Relax, I’m not quite that old!), and it left an indelible mark upon me, with one quote in particular uttered by narrator Richard Dreyfus: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?” That quote still hits today, because it’s 100% true. I’ll maintain till the day I die that King is the greatest writer of characters there may ever have been, and this wee little masterpiece is a strong testament to that thought. (Adam Ritchie)
Is Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining a great adaptation of the story and themes that Stephen King navigates in his iconic novel? No, and that is why King has been so critical for years. But there is something special about what Kubrick does with the concept, setting, and setup of King’s story. The Shining has more atmosphere and mystery than the novel, but it is downright unnerving. Kubrick was known for adapting material in his own way, and the ability to deliver one of the most haunting horror films of all time is quite impressive. Jack Nicholson is downright unhinged and terrifying as a father and husband sent on a path of murder and destruction. The symmetry, camerawork, production design, and overall aesthetic of this film is legendary, and will sit with you for long afterwards. Is the film about ghosts? Is it about a man’s struggle with his vices? Is it just an unhinged man pushed over the edge? Kubrick keeps you in the dark, which makes it that much more terrifying. (Shane Conto)
An adaptation of a then-lesser known novella from Stephen King, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most beloved films of all time. Director Frank Darabont and cinematographer Roger Deakins capture such a gorgeous and rich cinematic experience full of visual texture and iconic imagery. The duo of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman deliver compelling performances, breathing life into this prison drama. The rest of the ensemble is top notch as well, from Willam Sadler, to Clancy Brown, to James Whitmore, to Bob Gunton. Shawshank has one of the most hopeful and inspiring climaxes ever, leaving viewers with a moving and poignant message. Scenes like “Brooks Was Here” are so harrowing and emotional. Darabont does not pull punches as he expertly captures the spirit of King’s novella like few filmmakers can. (Shane Conto)