Editorials
The 10 Best Stephen King Horror Film Adaptations (So Far)
With the Gingerbread Girl and In the Tall Grass getting back to back adaptation announcements, and Castle Rock dropping on Hulu in July, there are no signs of the recent King renaissance slowing down any time soon. The prolific author has written novels, short story collections, non-fiction novels, collaborations, and more for decades, with an extensive bibliography that also doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. This means that there’s also an extensive selection of made-for-TV movies, TV series, and theatrical releases that have already adapted his works, making a list of the best a difficult task. Even narrowing down the field to theatrical releases only, and eliminating the non-horror works like the Shawshank Redemption or Stand by Me still leaves a lengthy list of great (and not so great) King horror features. With It: Chapter Two and so many more stories on the way, here are the best Stephen King theatrical adaptations so far:
Cujo
A modest box office success upon release in 1983, Cujo ranks among King’s favorite adaptations. Dee Wallace gives a tour de force performance as Donna Trenton, the mother tasked with protecting her son from a rabid St. Bernard. That they’re stranded in a broken-down car with no water in sweltering conditions further elevates their situation from horrific to dire. Danny Pintauro also gives a fantastic performance as the traumatized and scared Tad Trenton, and he was only 7 years old at the time. Claustrophobic and harrowing, this adaptation alleviates a little of the tension by rewriting the novel’s bleak ending in favor of a more optimistic one.
Pet Sematary
Taking the box office by storm, and subsequently becoming a best seller on home release, this King story was adapted for screen by the author himself and directed by Mary Lambert. It was thanks to Lambert’s vision and direction that provided one of horror’s most enduring of nightmarish characters; Zelda Goldman. Lambert also went to bat to cast young Miko Hughes as Gage Creed when the executives wanted a more economical choice of twin actors. The result is an adaptation that manages to break hearts and elicit chills, as the unsuspecting Creed family moves next door to a “pet sematary” and Micmac burial ground. It doesn’t take long before they discover that sometimes dead is better. For those that feel this is one that could use an update, a remake is soon on the way.
It
For hardcore King enthusiasts, this entry might be a tough pill to swallow. There’s a lot that the screenplay by Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, and Chase Palmer omits from the 1,138-page novel, and a lot that it changes altogether. But King himself has praised the film, citing what really matters most; the characters. Updating the setting from late ‘50s to late ‘80s Derry, Maine, the band of outcasts known as the Losers Club still come together to battle the various evil forms of It, with more notable inclusions from the novel than the 1990 made-for-TV film. Bill Skarsgard manages the impossible in making his take on Pennywise the Dancing Clown instantly memorable, but it’s the cast behind the Loser’s Club that makes this adaptation so completely compelling. Kind was right, it’s the characters that are important.
Christine
The novel of the same name was released in April 1983, and the film adaptation arrived in theaters in December that same year, helmed by master of horror John Carpenter fresh off box office disappointment The Thing. Carpenter brought his style and vision to King’s source material, giving that haunted Plymouth Fury much more personality. The car also was evil from the day it was built, versus King’s story where the car was possessed by its previous owner. Cinematic and atmospheric, Christine was elevated from a concept that shouldn’t have worked to an enduring classic still influencing modern horror films today, like The Strangers: Prey at Night.
Creepshow
One of the most definitive horror anthology films of all time, Creepshow is unique in that only two of the five segments were based on previously published short stories. The rest were written specifically for the film by King. Directed by George A. Romero, the anthology is an homage to the horror comics of the ‘50s, and Tom Savini was hired to help design effects to give it that comic book feel. Between “Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate,” and “They’re Creeping Up on You,” it’s also the rare anthology without a single weak link among the segments, all tethered by a fun wraparound that sees a young boy (played by King’s son Joe) retaliate against his abusive father with the help of The Creep.
Misery
A film that King has also named high in his ranking of favorite adaptations, it’s easy to see why. This oppressive thriller that sees Annie Wilkes terrorize her favorite author, Paul Sheldon (James Caan), caught in her clutches earned numerous accolades for Kathy Bates as the iconic Annie. Director Rob Reiner keeps things small and hyper-focused on the number one fan Annie Wilkes, and her determination to get her way. Whether you’ve seen this mean thriller (though still not as mean as the novel), you’re still likely very familiar with the infamous scene involving Annie, her bedridden captive Paul, and a sledgehammer.
The Mist
Written and directed by Frank Darabont, this adaptation is a downer. Adapted from a novella, it makes a few changes, though none as major as swapping the open ending filled with hope for a definitive downtrodden shocker of an ending. Inspired by the work of Ray Harryhausen and the classic film Night of the Living Dead, The Mist manages to make its humans just as monstrous as the deadly, Lovecraftian creatures that lurk in the mist. Ballsy, emotional, and intense, Darabont took hold of King’s novella and made it his own, delivering one of horror’s most memorable films in the last 15 years.
The Dead Zone
Directed by David Cronenberg, and produced by Debra Hill (Halloween), this adaptation is one of the best all-time Stephen King film adaptations. Starring Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith, the poor teacher that gets into a car accident and wakes from a coma 5 years later with a new psychic ability, the Dead Zone gets increasingly tragic and dark as Jeffrey Boam’s three-episodic narrative progresses. This Cronenberg film may be light on his trademark body horror, but that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of his usual horrific imagery, especially as Smith is plagued by nightmarish possibilities of the future. This is one adaptation that King felt improved upon his original work.
The Shining
Opting for a more psychological descent into terror over the supernatural elements of King’s source novel, the author famously hated Kubrick’s vision of what’s now considered a masterpiece. Even despite the departure from the overt hauntings of the Overlook Hotel from the novel, Kubrick delivered long-lasting nightmarish imagery thanks to his surreal journey of Jack Torrance, played by scene-chewing Jack Nicholson. Gushing blood, creepy twins, the horror of room 237, and unnerving Steadicam shots meant an enduring horror classic that would terrify generations to come.
Carrie
Perhaps it’s no surprise that the very first King adaptation was based on King’s very first published novel, and boy did it set the path ablaze for all adaptations that would follow. A box office success, it’s also one of the few horror movies to earn multiple Academy Award nominations. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie deserved their nominations for Best Actress and Besting Supporting Actress as Carrie and Margaret White. Brian De Palma set the standard with his stylized take and the cast’s unforgettable, star-making performances. Laurie is petrifying as the petrifying religious fanatic Margaret, and Spacek is heartbreaking as Carrie. There’s really not a weak link among the cast. That killer ending ranks high among cinematic conclusions, and no one saw that final jump scare coming. King’s novel is among his best, but De Palma’s film also had a measured hand in the legacy that would see Carrie earn multiple remakes, a sequel, and stage productions.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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