The Best Stephen King Stories Turned Into Movies

Stephen King Stories Turned Into Good Movies

Stephen King is a prolific horror novelist who writes both books and short stories. He is a consistent number-one bestseller with close to 300 novels and short stories to his name. As one could imagine, the popularity of his novels has had a major effect on Hollywood as they have tried time and time again to turn his written word into a box office success.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, what Stephen King has on the page is most times lost in translation on its way to the big screen. There have been countless film and series adaptations that have missed the mark, and not by a little. But, for every five bad films, there has actually been a good one. We have found seven of those good films.

7. Carrie (1976)

One of the very first good movies that came from the works of Stephen King was actually the very first novel he published – Carrie. The film was directed by Brian De Palma and starred Sissy Spacek as the title character. This supernatural horror film told the story of a high schooler, Carrie, who is ridiculed by her peers, while also suffering at home with a domineering, religious fanatic of a mother.

De Palma does a great job presenting King’s material, showing the horrors of high school life and what happens when you cross a girl with telekinetic powers who’s finally had enough.

6. Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Stephen King stepped away from his usual horror to present a different type, one that revolved around domestic violence, sexual abuse, and alcoholism. Director Taylor Hackford and scribe Tony Gilroy parsed things down into this tidy psychological thriller featuring a very powerful performance by Kathy Bates as Dolores. Bates should have at least been nominated for an Academy Award for this performance.

5. Misery (1990)

Misery was the first Stephen King film that Kathy Bates starred in. It was such a bravura performance that Bates took home the Best Actress Academy Award. The story follows Paul Sheldon (James Caan) a bestselling author who writes Victorian romance novels. Wanting to move on from those tropes, his newest book is going to put his character Misery Chastain out of her misery.

But Paul is caught in a blizzard and wrecks his car. Coming to, he finds that he has been rescued by his biggest fan, Annie Wilkes (Bates), who is none too pleased to find out he is killing off Misery. Oh, the misery that follows for Paul.

4. It: Chapter One (2017)

With as large of a novel that It presented, there was no way to stuff it all into one film. So, director Andy Muschietti suggested two, and two is what fans got. It was Chapter One, though, that truly captured the horror of King’s novel. Bill Skarsgård portrayed Pennywise the Clown, a monster who haunts the children of Derry, Maine. You will never want to get close to a storm drain again.

3. Stand by Me (1986)

Stephen King’s 1982 book, Different Seasons, produced two of the best screen adaptations of his work. Stand By Me, based on the Different Seasons novella “The Body,” is the first of the two. The film (and story) is a coming-of-age film that explores the friendship of four teenage boys in Castle Rock, Oregon in the late 1950s. The boys find themselves on a journey to find the body of a missing kid who was supposedly hit by a train.

The Rob Reiner film is memorable, touching, horrific, and completely well-acted by the foursome of River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell.

2. The Green Mile (1999)

The Green Mile was interesting when Stephen King first published it as he published it as a serial novel. Presented in six volumes, fans would have to wait for each volume to be released to see where King was taking them. Frank Darabont, a frequent King collaborator, took on the directing and writing duties and put together one of the finest films (King or otherwise) ever.

The film tells the Depression-era story of death row prison guards who must deal with the strange happenings after the arrival of John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a man who possesses extraordinary powers.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption is the very first collaboration between writer/director Frank Darabont and novelist Stephen King and is considered to be the best film adaptation of King’s work. The film is based on King’s Different Seasons novella, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.” It tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who is wrongfully accused of murdering his wife and her lover.

He is sentenced to life at Shawshank State Penitentiary and over the next 20 years, we follow Andy’s trials and tribulations of being an inmate. Over time, he develops a strong friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman), one that leads to Andy’s dramatic and miraculous escape. The Shawshank Redemption is often considered to be one of the greatest films of all time.