Steven King is one of the most famous names
to be associated with the horror genera, both in terms of literature, and in
the movies. Some of his absolute greatest book-to-film adaptions include “The
Green Mile”, “Dolores Claiborne”, “Stand by Me”, and my
absolute favorite is 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption” … which is
personally one of my all-time favorite movies. However, it’s October, the
Halloween season … and as such, I’m narrowing my sights on his horror adaptions
into movies. While there have been some obvious stinkers adapted from his work,
his hits are some of the absolute greatest that the horror movie genera have to
offer. If your new to Steven King, but don’t know where to start, I hope I can
at least peak your interest with ten of my personal favorites. I’m not trying
to make anything official, this is just my own countdown of the Steven King
horror adaptions I love the most …
#10 The
Dead Zone (1983)
Christopher Walken plays a schoolteacher who’s just
awaken from a five-year long coma … and he’s got psychic powers now. Aiming to make good on his new gifts, he joins
the police, and helps unravel murder mysterious. However, the cases get darker
and more disturbing, to the point where he just can’t take it anymore. The real
terror comes from a third-party candidate for the United States Senate, who if
elected will eventually become president … and order a preemptive nuclear strike against
the Soviet Union … resulting in a nuclear holocaust!
Our Psychic avenger sees
this in a vision, leaving him the ethical challenge to kill this man while he
has the chance, and hopefully prevent a nuclear war. While this film is short
on traditional horror thrills, "The Dead Zone" compensates
with thought -provoking themes, and a captivating lead performance from
Christopher Walken. While we all love Christopher Walken for his quirky hummer
and unpredictable mannerisms, this is a rare case in which Walken plays it
straight, and it’s personally my favorite serious character performance of his … “THE
ICE IS GOING TO BREAK!” Truthfully, I’ve never really viewed "The Dead
Zone" as a traditional horror movie, but it’s branded as such, and
thus, it’s getting a spot on my list, because this is one of Kings absolute
best book to film adaptions.
#9 Carrie
(1976)
A frail teenage girl with psychic powers is picked on at school, and
relentlessly scolded by her frantically religious mother.
With
all that abuse building up inside of her, it all escalates to a fiery climax,
resulting in the most famous prom scene ever put to film. Bounded by two
brilliant performances from its two leading ladies, and with an intense focus
on the horror of how one innocent can be cruelly treated, “Carrie”
almost dose it’s job too well to the point where it’s difficult to watch … but
certainly worth viewing. While some horror movies are difficult to watch for
how scary they are, this one is frightening to watch simply by how it gets us
to care for our consistently tormented lead. No joke, the film is downright
unbearable at times, but it’s also the sign of a good film, when your emotionally
tied into the unfolding events. In many respects, “Carrie” should rank
higher, as it’s rightfully earned its status as a classic of the genera, but I
have these movies arranged by personal feelings, and how often I’ve re-watched
them. “Carrie”, while deserving of its acolytes, was a movie I only
needed to watch once, and that was good enough for me. It’s thankfully a
memorable experience, and really doesn’t require repeat viewings, but it’s
certainly worth a single viewing.
#8 Cat’s
Eye (1985)
Suspense, fantasy, comedy, horror, and one adventurous cat all
come together in this unique little anthology by Steven King.
When a stray
cat gets psychic calls from a girl needing protection, he sets-off to find her,
only to get caught-up in multiple suspense stories along the way, but with a
goofy edge to the whole thing. What we have is a trilogy of three unrelated
stories, which are all seen from the perspective of this one stray cat. You
must go into this film with sense of morbid fun, as it’ll make you laugh one
minuet, and have you gripping your coffee-cup through sheer suspense the next.
Anything goes here … you can have a grounded story revolving around a crime
boss seeking vengeance on a man trying to run out with his wife. Other
times, it can be something as goofy, yet still as exciting as a goblin sneaking
into a little girl’s bedroom. With talents like James Woods, Robert Hays, and a
little Drew Barrymore leading the charge, it’s hard not to enjoy this film for
the silly venture it is. One last thing to note are all the little nods to
other Steven King adapted movies … like one of the characters is actually
watching “The Dead Zone” on TV … and even Cujo makes a cameo. No joke,
there’s a chase scene, in which our lead cat is attacked by the exact same
rabid dog from the movie “Cujo”. When
a family move into a new house in the woods, they discover a mysterious barrel
ground for pets … and beyond that … an even more disturbing barrel ground that
can bring the dead back to life. The story is almost like a cross between a
zombie thriller and a chilling ghost story ... the result is a unique, yet
extremely disturbing mix of the two.
This was one of the first Steven King
adapted movies I ever saw, and it was subsequently one of the first pure-horror
movies I viewed back when I was just a young teenager. Needles to say, this
film bugged me out more than the contemporary horror films I was exposed to at
the time. Still to this day, the film has a relentlessly bleak and chilling
atmosphere, which is balanced out with deep discussions on life and death. The
film also contains some of the most disturbing nightmare imagery I’ve ever
seen, which has stuck with me for years. Usually I go into horror movies for
fun escapism, but this is one case in which it’s just as frightening and
atmospheric as it is sad and gloomy … so one really needs to be in the right
mind-set for this one. Time for
another horror anthology, but this time, it brings a new ingredient to the
table. This time, it’s presented in the style of a comic-book, with graphic
panels, colorful visuals that pop on screen, comic-book strip transitions, word
boxes, and animated segues appearing all throughout the film.
While many resent
superhero movies have emulated similar aesthetics and tones, it was “Creepshow”
that got the ball rolling, and can even be sighted as something ahead of its
time. As such, it’s one of those rare movies that has no limit to how wild,
fun, inventive, frightening or disgusting it can get. Horror Anthology’s in
general are always exciting, as you never know what you’ll get next, but this
is the one bound by no rules, and anything can happen. We have a vengeful zombie coming back from the grave, insects invading a mans clean room, a create with a mysterious monster, uncontrollable plant-growth, and a brilliant turn from comedian Leslie Nielsen in the role of a ruthless mastermind. The visuals are
memorable, the stories vary in both mood and thrills, and the personality of
the whole thing is so “its own”, I just can’t think of anything else like it.
#5 IT (2017)
Tim
Curry’s original portrayal of Pennywise the clown has always stuck with me as
one of the all-time greatest villains of the horror genera … yet, the 1990
adaption of “Steven Kings It”, was only half as good. The 2017 remake by
contrast features a passable wicked clown portrayed by Bill Skarsgard, while I
feel everything else on display is far superior to its predecessor.
Centering
all the focus on just the kids, their lives, and their struggles was very smart,
as the adult storyline from both the novel and Mini-Series never did anything
for me. The performances are all solid, the emotional beats worked, there’s
good old-fashioned haunted house scares, along with truly disturbing real-life
issues the kids face at home, and it makes for an effective balance. This
version also knows how to be a fun-scary venture, without getting too cheesy in
its presentation. All around, “IT” is one of those rare horror remakes
that’s arguably superior to its predecessor, and can be viewed as a small
decade classic.
#4 Misery
(1990)
Here is a very simple premise, and a perfect example of how true art
thrives on minimalism.
Our story
revolves around novelist Paul Sheldon, who’s just put his long running Misery
book series to rest, and is starting a new novel. During a snowstorm, he gets
into a near fatal car crash, is later nursed back to health, and finally awakens
... to the worst nightmare of his life. He was rescued by a seemingly friendly
nurse named Annie Wilkes, who’s looking after him in her secluded cabin. Soon,
he realizes that his care-taker is rather unhinged, and after she discovers
that her favorite character was killed off in the last book ... she flips out
something awful! Soon, Paul Sheldon becomes a prisoner in Annie’s house, and is
forced to write a new novel in which the character is brought back from the
dead. Now, our victim writer has to use his strength and wits to escape the
clutches of this psychotic fan, who’s threatening to kill him. As the Tag line
so eloquently puts it, “Paul Sheldon used to write for a living ... now he’s
writing to stay alive”. James Caan and Kathy Bates deliver
larger than life performances, and help elevate this simple concept into a
deeply and genuinely suspenseful experience. Kathy Bates especially shines as
one of my all-time favorite horror movie villains in this picture, and
everything else from the directing, to the cinematography, to its screen-play is
just top tear quality.
#3 Gerald's
Game (2017)
Not only adapted from the winning novel by Steven King, but
also directed by Mike Flanagan … who’s one of the modern-day titans of the
horror genera, comes “
Gerald's Game”.
This was one
of those special experiences in which a movie just snuck-up on me without warning, and
left an impact. It’s also another great example of how a horror film can accomplish
so much with so little. The premise is as simple as they get, in which a
husband and wife are about to have hand-cuffed sex, but the husband suddenly
collapses due to heart failure, leaving the pore woman chained to the bed ...
and that’s the whole movie. Yet through this premise, we embark on a
fascinating character journey, though one persons troubled life, and how her
current situation is likewise a metaphor of how she’s chained to the sins of
her past that she’s never broken free from. Mike Flanagan’s direction, editing
and creative camera tricks are aw-inspiring, and highlight how to make the most
of a single location. There’s also very high stakes, as she’s not only cuffed
to a bed, but also out in a secluded area, the house door was accidentally left
open, a blood hungry dog is on the prowl, and there’s an even greater danger in
the form of a mysterious “Moon-Light Man”, who may either be a frightening
illusion caused by dehydration, or a real life serial killer who’s closing in on
a helpless victim. The imagery and choice visuals are downright chilling
spectacles, and Carla Gugino's lead performance is down-right Oscar worthy.
#2 1408
(2006)
What’s scarier than a haunted house … how about a claustrophobic and
isolated hotel room … honestly, it’s the more frightening place to be trapped
in. Based on a story by Stephen King, “1408” is the tale of a down on
his luck author who publishes books on haunted tales. He learns of a supposedly
real haunted location, which comes in the form of a single hotel room in an
otherwise fine establishment. Things seem pretty standard at first, but
gradually the rooms evil presence begins to take shape. There’re so many brilliant things to highlight in this film, first of which is how the film can keep going with its simple concept, without falling into repetition. John Cusack also delivers a dynamite performance as the troubled writer, who thankfully is quite multilayered, and not just a victim to several frightening encounters.
This also marked the first time I ever felt trapped in a single
haunted environment. Other horror films have effectively evoked feelings of dread
and quiet eeriness, but this was the first time I ever felt caged ... and was
experiencing both the horror, and pain of our main character. Half the time it
messes with your head, and you begin asking yourself … just how long have we
been in here, has it been hours or days? Aside from crafting a very disturbing
environment, this film is yet another one that tackles real life horror, like
the guilt one family man could have over the loss of a child, or the fear that
one day any one of us might just die alone in an old folks’ home. It’s all
around a powerful, disturbing, and claustrophobic experience. It could have
almost been my favorite Horror movie based off of Stephen King’s adapted works
… had it not been for the next film on my list.
Before I
crown my number one Steven King Horror movie adaption, here are some honorable
mentions …
“Pet Sematary” (2019)
“IT” (1990)
“Cujo”
“The Mist”
“Salem’s
Lot”
#1 The
Shining (1980)
While other Steven King adaptions
of his books like “Carrie”, “It”, “Pet Sematary”, and “The Dead Zone” are all
very good ... none of them got under my skin the same way "The Shining"
did.
I really should give most of the credit to the films writer/ director
Stanley Kubrick, who basically took the format of Stephen Kings book, and then
crafted his own work with a unique vision. King himself has never liked this movie, which I can respect, as it's very different from his novel, but I just can't dismiss
this film as anything less then one of my all-time favorite horror movies. "The Shining"
revolves around a family who are watching over the isolated Stanley Hotel
during the winter season. Everything seems fine at first, but gradually their
time at the hotel takes a dark turn, with strange apparitions appearing randomly, and the father slowly getting unhinged. The brilliance of this film is that we
never get any clear answers ... is the hotel actually haunted, is the family
just going insane or is it both. The imagery and visuals in this film are some
of the most unforgettable I’ve ever seen in a horror film. The frightening
atmosphere is strong, the ideas are original, and from start to finish it’s
like being trapped in a nightmare. Of course, it's Jack Nicholson who steals
the show, and is every bit as funny as he is terrifying. It may not be that faithful
to the original novel, but the movie itself is still a classic in its own right, and one that never fails to leave an effect on the viewer.
Thanks for
reading my countdown, and be sure to treat yourself to one good scare this
October.
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