Our Favorite Stephen King Film Adaptations
The latest movie based on a King story opens in theaters this weekend
Stephen King’s massive influence on our culture is not showing signs of waning anytime soon. With over 100 film and TV productions adapted from or based on his published works, the King of Horror has inspired some of the most iconic movies of all-time derived from his truly nightmarish novels (The Shining, It) and his novellas and short stories (The Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me).
The latest King adaptation is based on his 1980 short story The Monkey, which is out in theaters this weekend written and directed by Oz Perkins (Longlegs). As we reflect on King’s stories, here’s a couple of our favorite King film adaptations throughout the years.
Drew recommends…
Carrie
Stephen King was only 26 years old when his debut novel Carrie was published. He was only paid $2,500 ($16,000 in 2025) for the film rights, but imagine the thrill that he must have felt as a young up-and-coming writer. Little did he know that 50 years later over 100 film and TV works would be adapted from his writing, but it was 1976’s supernatural horror freakout Carrie, starring Sissy Spacek and directed by Brian De Palma, that launched our obsession with King’s twisted mind.
King wasn’t the only legendary figure just getting started at the time. Carrie was De Palma’s breakthrough box office hit, Spacek’s first Oscar nomination, and young John Travolta’s second appearance in a movie. Spacek plays Carrie White, a bullied high school student with an abusive and religiously fanatical mother, who learns she has the power of telekinesis. Combining adolescent insecurities, familial issues, and supernatural powers turned out to be a winning formula for King’s bestseller and its terrifying film adaptation.
De Palma was really mastering his style around this time, and you can see that most clearly in Carrie’s two iconic scenes, the opening shower sequence and the centerpiece one at the prom, through the use of quick cuts, smart sound choices, and the slow motion terror. This set the stage for Spacek’s committed lead performance, which was Best Actress nominated, a rarity for a horror movie. In addition to Spacek, Piper Laurie was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for playing her maniacal mother.
Stephen King would go on to unsettle and frighten readers and viewers with many different stories over the next several decades, but it’s instructive to see the first film adaptation of his work. This weird guy from Maine wrote a novel about a persecuted but secretly powerful young woman in a small Maine town that immediately captivated audiences and became a horror classic.
Streaming on MGM+ and Pluto (with ads)
Billy recommends…
Gerald’s Game
This is a re-post from March 2019
Gerald’s Game is made as awesome as it is because of the performance by the actress Carla Gugino, who plays Jessi Burlingame. She is by herself for 90% of the movie. We watch her go into insanity after her husband has a heart attack after trying to spice things up in the bedroom. By spicing things up I mean that she is handcuffed to the bed, and left all alone with no way to get out of the cuffs. This movie may sound a little too racy, but I assure you it is not, and that decision was a smart one by director Mike Flanagan.
Racy material has its place in certain movies, but it does not belong in Gerald’s Game. Flanagan does a brilliant job with his direction. We get the sexy undertones early and that creates a relationship that hooks us from the beginning.
A connection has been created and the tragedy of Jessi’s husband dying hits us hard. The sadness doesn’t hit us, but the fear. That is where the intensity comes from. There are no doubt scary moments to Gerald’s Game, but the intensity we feel is atmospheric. Through imagery and an amazing performance the audience feels like it is descending into insanity along with our main character.
Gerald’s Game is sexy, terrifying, and atmospheric. Such a strange trio of feelings to wrap up in a movie and Flanagan navigates that brilliantly with his direction and Gugino’s performance. She brings to light the strange emotions we are feeling. Watch Gerald’s Game if you want a film that is more intense than it is horror-filled. You won’t regret it.
Streaming on Netflix
Links
In what was likely inevitable since they acquired MGM in 2022, it was announced this week that Amazon has taken creative control of the James Bond franchise, which had been owned by the Broccoli family for 60 years.
The Rock in a Martin Scorsese movie?? What may sound implausible is now looking realistic, as a project about organized crime in Hawaii is developing with Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt also involved.