No contemporary generator has seen his work made into more movies and TV display than Stephen King ( and many more , like The Dark Tower , are in the kit and caboodle ) . The fact that he ’s surprisingly fertile is certainly a contribute factor — as is the fact his work , horror and otherwise , be given to feel cinematic even on the page . But which of these many , many version reigns supreme ?
A disavowal : This list does not contain every single short film that has been accommodate from a King account . ( We ’ll make that list when we have access to all of them — and calendar month of sleepless nights to dispense with . ) What we have here is a ranking of every single feature article film or TV serial publication that was adjust from a King employment , excluding any original screenplays ( sorry , Sleepwalkers , Rose Red , and violent storm of the Century superfans ) and in - name - only sequels ( though the Naomi Watts - star Children of the Corn IV : The Gathering does have its merit ) .
58) Quicksilver Highway
A made - for - TV motion-picture show from director Mick Garris ( a frequent helmer of King adaptations ) about a aureate weirdo named Quicksilver ( Christopher Lloyd ) who wander around telling shuddery chronicle to anyone who will listen . A hitchhiking couple get King ’s “ Chattery Teeth , ” about a humankind whose horrific encounter with a set of current of air - up teeth is actually a blessing in disguise . The other story is ground on a short story by Clive Barker , which makes for a lot of authorial star baron … but valued few chills .
57) The Night Flier
Miguel Ferrer plays a sleazy reporter on the trail of the biggest scoop of his life : a successive killer who may or may not be a lamia who zips his individual planing machine around between gory crime scenes . The New York Times was unkind , saying the film was n’t “ top - draftsman or even second - drawer Stephen King . ” It fits quite nicely into the third drawer , however .
56) Thinner
A fat , sleazy lawyer begins to ravage off after being curse by a vengeful gipsy . An unpleasant movie about unpleasant people , with a li’l chip of racism to boot .
55) Cell
Cell phone make everyone who uses them turn into rabid killers , a construct that was much impudent in 2006 , when King wrote the novel upon which it ’s base , than in 2016 , when the movie descend out . cellular phone is a significantly less successful John Cusack / Samuel L. Jackson / King combo disc than 1408 , which is a few notch further down this listing .
54) Graveyard Shift
A basement - dwelling monstrosity massacres textile - John Mill workers who are unlucky enough to work you - know - which hours . When even Brad Dourif ( as a drawling , eccentric exterminator ) and a jumbo rat - squash racket special effect ca n’t save the moving picture … that ’s fairly stark .
53) Riding the Bullet
Mick Garris directs Jonathan Jackson , David Arquette , and Barbara Hershey in this adaptation of King ’s first vitamin E - book . It ’s about a hitchhiker who takes a foreign drive on the way to visit his dying mother … and you ’d be much better off reading the chronicle than watching the movie .
52) Big Driver
A rape revenge fib that stars Maria Bello as a mystery writer who suffers a horrible attempt , then turns vigilante . It send on the Lifetime channel , but had an unusually good supporting cast : Ann Dowd , Joan Jett , and Olympia Dukakis . But it also had a weirdly off - pose tone of pitch-black witticism , which is frankly stinking .
51) The Mangler
With Tobe Hooper , conductor of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist ( the latter under the watchful center of Steven Spielberg ) , and actors Robert “ Freddy Krueger ” Englund and Ted Levine ( Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs ) , this adaptation must ’ve seemed like a slam dunk on paper . But this is a movie about a laundry pressure that ’s been possess by a homicidal daimon , which is ultimately more cockamamie than shivery .
50) The Shining (1997)
Another one from Mick Garris , who is no Stanley Kubrick , starring Jake Weber , who is no Jack Nicholson . This six - hour TV remaking was touted for being more close to King ’s Quran ; King , who magnificently disliked Kubrick ’s interpretation , wrote the teleplay this prison term around . But how do you contend with a pre - existing masterpiece ? And why would you require to try out ?
49) Needful Things
Max von Sydow plays the proprietor of Castle Rock , Maine ’s new antique shop , whose fantastic wares have special powers — but at what price ? Even a slap-up cast ( besides von Sydow , it asterisk Ed Harris and Amanda Plummer ) ca n’t save this one , whose biggest job is n’t that it ’s beggarly - spirited ( which it totally is ) , but it ’s repetitive , too .
48) Maximum Overdrive
In 1986 , Stephen King made his directorial debut with this Emilio Estevez - starring motion-picture show about killer motortruck . It was also his directorial swan song . This is not a conjunction , though the cinema has something of a cult following in maliciousness of itself . “ Trucks , ” the King myopic report that spawned this oddment , also got a re - do as source fabric , in the form of 1997 made - for - goggle box movie Trucks . ( you’re able to skip that , too . )
47) Carrie (2002)
King ’s first published novel has been adjust several times , including this made - for - video version starring Angela Bettis as the telekinetic girl and Patricia Clarkson as her female parent . It was intended as a pilot for a TV series that thankfully never happened … so Carrie come through at the destruction . Problematic .
46) Silver Bullet
45) Under the Dome
Under the Dome , which was developed by television receiver and comics author Brian K. Vaughan ( Lost , Saga ) , would have been amazing as a mini - series about a township that suddenly finds itself seal off from the worldly concern . The first time of year was good . The 2d and especially the third , however , get increasingly more ridiculous .
https://gizmodo.com/under-the-dome-will-never-end-because-you-are-the-dome-1730641519
44) Hearts in Atlantis
The belated Anton Yelchin had one of his first child - star role in this drama , playing a nipper who befriend a mysterious serviceman ( Anthony Hopkins ) who take a room in his mother ’s house . It ’s beautifully shot and has some nice themes about friendship , but it ’s also sort of zzzzzz .
43) Bag of Bones
Pierce Brosnan stars in this miniseries adaptation of King ’s tale of a novelist with author ’s block ( so , entering strange dominion , Steve ) . After the death of his married woman , he decamps to his lake house , where he becomes enmeshed in an old mystery that is still touch on the community , with ghostly effect . Unfortunately , the ghosts do n’t offer up too many fear .
42) No Smoking
The only non - English - language King adaptation — unless there are ones that Imdb does n’t bonk about — hails from India and draws its story from “ Quitters , Inc. , ” which was also incorporated into Cat ’s Eye . It ’s about a man who ’s willing to do anything to chuck up the sponge smoking , until he realize how vivid “ anything ” really is . Local critics hate it and audiences give it a bye .
41) Desperation
Mick Garris directs this story of a Nevada sheriff ( Ron Perlman ) who kills and/or imprisons anyone that materialize through his town — the result of his being possessed by an ancient malefic spirit that ’s been lurking in a nearby abandoned mine . The spirit eventually possesses other characters , and ends up in a Cathartes aura . Yep , a buzzard .
40) Sometimes They Come Back
A high school instructor deliver to his hometown , where his brother was wipe out by bullies years before — and it seems like the yobbo , who are all supposedly also drained , have come in back for round two . This adaptation is middling half-hearted , but it did spawn two creatively - make subsequence : Sometimes They Come Back … Again , and Sometimes They Come Back … for More .
39) Dolan’s Cadillac
Revenge is a dish well service by a giant pickle in the ground when Wes Bentley traps ruthless gangster Christian Slater in his own railcar . A cunning plan , but not necessarily the most gripping affair to watch .
38) Mercy
Peter Cornwell ( The Haunting in Connecticut ) direct this Blumhouse Productions waiver — tidy revulsion cred that still delivered an unmemorable end product . The short storey it ’s adapted from , “ Gramma , ” about a little boy who gets roped into looking after his sick-abed - yet - still - terrifying granny , is way scarier — as is the New Twilight Zone episode ( script by Harlan Ellison ) that ’s also based on it .
37) The Lawnmower Man
Stephen King actually sue to have his name removed from the form of address , since the film only shares one scene with his short tarradiddle . That read , the 1992 movie — about a simpleton ( Jeff Fahey ) who becomes a test field of study for an challenging scientist ( Pierce Brosnan)—was one of the first to use virtual reality as a repugnance - movie plot gadget . So it has that going for it , which is nice .
36) Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King
An eight - part anthology series made for TNT , with episodes based on King ’s short stories ; it boasts a strong cast ( William Hurt , William H. Macy ) and a format that suits the material . “ Battleground”—in which Hurt ’s assassin fibre is targeted for some beyond - the - sedate payback by his latest dupe , a toymaker — is a peculiar standout .
35) Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
In this anthology film , George A. Romero adapts King ’s chronicle “ Cat from Hell . ” A hitman ( David Johansen ) is hired to vote down a cat , thinking it will be an well-heeled gig … until he meet the pussy in question , and realizes how outmatched he is .
34) The Langoliers
A two - part miniseries follow 10 multitude who are the only remaining passengers on a flight between LA and Boston — everyone else having simply vanished into thin air . Including the pilots . A decent thriller / mystery , with the added incentive of giant ( that ’s what the title refers to ) and the casting of Bronson “ Balki Bartokomous ” Pinchot as one of the survivors .
33) Carrie (2013)
Object - flinging , hog rakehell - bath Carrie White gets another shot at retaliation , this clip with Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore fill up the daughter and mother roles . It was n’t tremendous , just , you bed , blatantly unneeded .
32) A Good Marriage
Remember that abbreviated period when Joan Allen was in every flick ? Here , she ’s a wife who figures out ( after 25 years ) that her married man ( Anthony LaPaglia ) is a serial killer . Interesting idea — apparently inspired by the evenly unsuspicious real - life sentence household of the BTK Killer — but the carrying out is just so - so .
31) Apt Pupil
Bryan Singer directs his future X - Men superstar Ian McKellan as a different variety of villain : a Nazi warfare crook who ’s been living under an assumed name in Southern California for X . The late Brad Renfro roleplay the vicinity kid who becomes a slight too fascinated with the man ’s evil yesteryear . extremely unpleasant subject topic , and unmanageable to watch at times — which was sure the intention .
30) The Tommyknockers
This two - part miniseries stars Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger as a couple who chance on a unknown object buried in their Maine hamlet — which presently begins to impact the townspeople in alarming ways , admit inspiring some rather wild conception . originative ocular component make this tale — surprise , it ’s all thanks to aliens!—especially entertaining .
29) Haven
Syfy ’s TV show was nominally based on King ’s The Colorado Kid ; it ’s about an FBI agent who ’s dispatched to a small Ithiel Town to check out its many say supernatural happenings . It ran for five season , ending in 2015 , and was noted for often sneaking references to other King books into its storylines .
28) 11.22.63
Hulu ’s eight - part version , produced by J.J. Abrams , sent James Franco ’s English teacher character back in time to keep the assassination of JFK . Conspiracy idealogue might not appreciate its closing — and Franco haters wo n’t want to bother — but it still offers a plenty entertaining “ what if ? ” scenario .
27) 1408
A skeptical revulsion generator ( John Cusack ) checks into a supposedly obsessed hotel room , though the manager ( Samuel L. Jackson ) warns him against it . We soon see why , when the Edgar Albert Guest is subjugate to a dark of hallucination and psychological distortion . Well , he take for it .
26) The Mist
presently to be a TV show on Spike , King ’s novella of a mysterious mist that envelops a Ithiel Town was first a feature celluloid by Frank Darabont . In a departure from King ’s work , the picture show features a heart - wrenchingly ironical finish which is so impactful , it ’s what most people remember about this adjustment .
25) The Dead Zone (TV)
In this telly series , Anthony Michael Hall plays the reluctant psychic which Christopher Walken had in the original moving picture . It lead for six season and is a good lesson of how a support - alone movie can be expand and made into the footing of a satisfying goggle box series . ( Take note , The Mist . )
24) Secret Window
Johnny Depp plays a writer who start losing his wits when his married woman provide him , and really goes off the recondite close when he bulge out getting unwanted visits from a man ( John Turturro ) who claim he ’s stolen a story from him . The twist is obvious , but this was one of the last film Depp made before getting draw completely into the kingdom of Tim Burton / Jack Sparrow / over - the - top theatricality , and it ’s a reminder of what he was once capable of doing without layer of wacky stagecoach make - up .
22 and 23) Salem’s Lot (1979) and Salem’s Lot (2004)
King ’s second book , about a writer who realizes his hometown is being overtaken by vampires , has been adapt twice for television miniseries . In 1979 , Tobe Hooper steer David “ Hutch ” Soul and James Mason ; in 2004 , two years before he made Nightmares & Dreamscapes , Mikael Salomon direct Rob Lowe and Donald Sutherland in the same roles . Both adaptations have their merits and were well - received , and in fact are shockingly adequate . But if I had to nibble , the older rendering is the slightly well of the two .
21) Dreamcatcher
Evil aliens with the ability to body - swap crash a woodsy lam for a large number of acquaintance ( admit Damian Lewis and Timothy Olyphant ) , who then lead afoul of the wacky military commandant ( Morgan Freeman ) who happen to be in the region . This moving-picture show is all “ are you really you ? ” second - guessing and snowbound pursual scenes , and it ’s mostly nuts . The dear variety of bollock , though .
20) The Stand
Mick Garris strikes again , this time with a big - budget , four - part miniseries about the survivor of a devastating superflu outbreak that has maybe the gravid cast of any King adaptation to date . Gary Sinise , Molly Ringwald , Jamey Sheridan , and Rob Lowe have the big roles , but there are cameo galore , including King leading light Kathy Bates and Ed Harris .
19) Cat’s Eye
Once upon a time , repugnance anthology moving picture were all the rage , and Cat ’s Eye is one of the genre ’s most memorable . It ’s composed of three King stories , include one that was indite specially for the flick , all connect by the wanderings of a computerized axial tomography . Young Drew Barrymore , three years post - E.T. and one class pre - Firestarter , is a standout in the final section , “ General , ” in which the crafty felid salve the girl from a menacing troll .
18) The Green Mile
Frank Darabont channelize Tom Hanks , Oscar candidate Michael Clarke Duncan , and a terrifying Sam Rockwell in this narrative of decease row inmates ( include one who most for certain has healing powers , and is also most certainly innocent ) and their guards . Things get awful heavy - handed at times , but wizard shiner Mr. Jingles is awing .
17) The Running Man
Arnold Schwarzenegger , in full 1980s hero way , plays a man forced to vie in a fight back - to - the - death biz show in the scantily - conceivable , far - flung twelvemonth of 2017 . If that were n’t enough , the plaster cast also includes Yaphet Kotto , Jesse Ventura , Richard Dawson , Maria Conchita Alonso , and Mick Fleetwood .
16) Children of the Corn
Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton flirt a twosome on a route stumble who make an unexpected check in Nebraska , chance on a kiddie furore that worships a devil lurking in the cornfields . It ’s authentically perturbing . Fun fact : nestling of the Corn has breed nine subsequence , with a tenth one on the means next year .
15) Pet Semetary
A cautionary taradiddle about not burying your dead nipper in the haunted burial ground , because he ’ll amount back not quite himself . Featuring Fred “ Herman Munster ” Gwynne as the neighbour who sort of innocently sets that very regretful plan in movement .
13 and 14) Creepshow and Creepshow 2
George A. Romero helms these two anthology films , which each feature a mix of original and adapted King shortsighted story , but are also a love varsity letter to horror comic books . As such , it ’s creepy and scary , but also hilarious . In the first one , King himself plays a cracker who gets a little too close to a meteorite that set out spewing aggressive exotic industrial plant life story ; in the 2nd , a crew of kids take a raft to the middle of a lake and then are hem in by a blobular thing that wo n’t let them float back to shore .
Since both pic were made by the same squad with the same sensibility , there should be no surprisal that they ’re basically equally ranked .
12) Firestarter
Drew Barrymore act a pre - teenage pyrokinetic on the run from the government forces who would like to use her power for evil purpose . Netflix tally Stranger Things owes more than a passing debt to this conspiracy - drive tale .
11) Dolores Claiborne
Kathy Bates gives a arresting public presentation as an impeach murderer with a very riotous past times , which her grown girl ( Jennifer Jason Leigh ) has endeavor to outdistance herself from . A dark , haunt thriller with some seriously gothic chemical element .
10) Christine
John Carpenter target King ’s gory tarradiddle of the satanic Plymouth Fury that deform a nerdy high - schooler ( Keith Gordon ) into an malign he-man , much to the horror of his friends and odd Detective Junkans ( Harry Dean Stanton ) . This is nowhere near Carpenter ’s best film , but it ’s entertaining — and it foreshadows his own cinematic hat - tip to King ’s vocation , In the Mouth of Madness .
https://gizmodo.com/watching-in-the-mouth-of-madness-too-many-times-might-a-1763914959
9) It
Soon to be two major motion pictures , the It miniseries — with its unforgettable performance by Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown — continue the gold banner for made - for - TV King adaptations . Need evidence ? Look at that damn clown .
8) The Dark Half
Another George A. Romero joint . This sentence , he direct Timothy Hutton as an writer who ’s suddenly terrorized by a physical manifestation of his pen name ( also Hutton ) , who ’s none too pleased about being retire . Three words : evil bloodsucking counterpart . In a nice fleck of Hollywood echo - sleeping accommodation action , Hutton also appears in Secret Window , based on the similar fib Secret Window , Secret Garden , but as a presumptively sane supporting character or else .
7) Stand By Me
Forget sea wolf clowns . Kids face real - life horrors — tough , trains , angry dogs , leeches , dead bodies — in this nostalgia - fest from theatre director Rob Reiner that was an insistent coming - of - age - classic .
6) The Shawshank Redemption
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman star in Frank Darabont ’s other King - derive prison dramatic play , which might be the most - broadcast picture of all time — earnestly , think of how many times you ’ve flipped around the transmission channel and look Andy Dufresne crawling through that hideous sewer pipe to exemption . Shawshank is overly sentimental at times , but also has the power to stir up some existent emotion , no matter how often you watch it .
5) Cujo
permit us enjoy this moment before the remake — which is titled C.U.J.O. : Canine Unit Joint Operations , andI like I was kidding — comes out and cast this when - good - animals - go - bad classic in a whole new lightness . No robot canine tooth , or anything really , in the do - over could maybe top Dee Wallace , who give a fierce performance as a mother who must shield her son from a droolingly rabid blackguard - monster .
4) Misery
Kathy Bates won a well - deserved Oscar for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes , deranged superfan of author Paul Sheldon ( James Caan ) in theatre director Rob Reiner ’s suspensive adaption .
3) The Dead Zone
David Cronenberg directs Christopher Walken as a homo who emerges from a five - year coma with the gift of extrasensory perception … or is it a curse ? It ’s mostly a oath , to be honest , but the movie is excellent .
2) Carrie
Brian De Palma ’s take on King ’s publishing debut — the first moving picture adapted from any King study — is both terrific and weirdly poignant , thanks in no small part to iconic performances by Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie . The “ gotcha ” end is still startling , and it became a hugely influential horror figure of speech that ’s still used today .
1) The Shining
Stephen King did n’t manage for it , but Stanley Kubrick ’s take on The Shining is one of the great film ever made . Full stop . And it ’s the corking King adaption there is .
AdaptationsBooksHorrorMoviesShiningStephen King
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