30. The Shining (1997)
A three-episode miniseries born out of Stephen King’s vehement dissatisfaction with Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation, it can be easy to dismiss 1997’s The Shining. Sure, King and director Mick Garris turn in a more faithful adaptation of the former’s text. But (and this might be the biggest “duh” of all time), this second go-round was never going to stand toe-to-toe with Kubrick’s classic. But as a “Stephen King movie,” the small-screen iteration of The Shining absolutely makes the cut. The 1997 The Shining is not nearly as bad as its reputation, offering more time and care to Wendy at the expense of, uh, everything else.
No matter how hard you roll your eyes into the back of your skull at the idea of a filmmaker trying to “right” a “wrong” made by a master like Kubrick, it bears mentioning that at the time of its premiere, the small screen The Shining wasn’t rejected outright, earning praise for its methodical creepiness and winning two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Makeup and Sound Editing. It goes without saying that any attempt to compare this adaptation to Kubrick’s masterwork is going to come up short in every respect save faithfulness. But taken on its own terms as a low-budget TV movie, The Shining has a charm, if not a morbid appeal, that makes it worth the time of the ardent King completionist. (Meg Shields)
29. Children of the Corn (1984)
Endlessly parodied, Children of the Corn is one of those films that you probably feel like you’ve seen even if you haven’t actually seen it. And indeed, the concept here does ultimately outweigh the execution. A film centering on a small town in Nebraska where children lurk among the corn fields and slaughter the adults should make for one hell of a devilishly entertaining gorefest. Unfortunately, while the film gets off to a promising start, the end result is too dull to have any true impact. But as a premise, we have to give it credit for sheer horrific potential. (Anna Swanson)
28. The Stand (1994)
Face it, my fellow The Stand stans. No movie or miniseries will ever be able to encapsulate the scope and depth of King’s arguably best novel. Even in its original, abridged version, King’s magnum opus is a literary undertaking. A cross-country road trip into the dichotomy of good and evil in a world decimated by a global pandemic, The Stand is as dense as it is rich with character and metaphor that has made it a fan favorite since it was first released in 1978.
An adaptation that affects us just like the book is simply not going to happen, unless maybe we get a three-season TV show that can have the time to devote two hours to, say, the Trash Can Man’s journey across the desert with the sadistic Kid, or an entire episode with just Lloyd Henreid starving to death in the prison. Because our appetites will never be sated, it’s unfair to judge The Stand’s original miniseries too harshly. They are facing an insurmountable obstacle, and Mick Garris’ adaptation does an admirable job attempting to scale King’s mountain. Without straying too far from the narrative path, but paring back King’s mayhem to make it palatable for early 90s audiences, The Stand miniseries weaves an engaging story that works within the limitations of the format, and what was acceptable on television at the time. (Jacob Trussell)
27. Cat’s Eye (1985)
When a movie opens up with “Dino De Laurentiis Presents” you know you’re in for a treat. When that is followed up by the name Stephen King, buckle in because you’re about to go on a wild ride. Such is the case with the 1985 anthology, Cat’s Eye. Written by King and directed by Lewis Teague, this anthology follows three Twilight Zone-like stories that are linked together by a cat and a young Drew Barrymore. The stories are a bit goofy, with various fun nods and winks to King’s other works, but they are undoubtedly effective. The best of the three is the middle story about a former tennis star (Robert Hays) forced to walk around the ledge of an Atlantic City high-rise apartment by the millionaire husband (Kenneth McMillan) of his lover. The cat opens this story by playing a high-stakes game of Frogger. Cat’s Eye isn’t the best King adaptation, but it may very well be the most fun. (Chris Coffel)
26. Creepshow 2 (1987)
Creepshow 2 is not Creepshow. You gotta get over that comparison immediately. And with that devastating contrast in your rearview mirror, you can now approach the sequel anthology with compassion and awe. Creepshow 2 scrapes the bottom of King’s short story barrel, but even these barnacles hide treasure. “The Raft” is a grotesque survival story, where a group of friends find themselves stranded on a lake with a monstrous black blob threatening to devour their soft bits. The ooze is a cheap effect but effective nonetheless. The trashy quality of the creation only enhances the dread that floats beneath. “Old Chief Wood’nhead” is less compelling, but hey, it’s got a dynamite young Holt McCallany riding shotgun. Years before Mindhunter, he was still intimidating every actor who stumbled into his personal sphere. (Brad Gullickson)
25. Firestarter (1984)
We’re not going to pretend that Firestarter is any kind of gem or misunderstood classic, but it’s landing at the exact middle of the pack pretty much says it all. It’s a generic, fairly simple little film that plays out pretty much how you’d expect outside of its unlikely, optimistic ending. And yes, we can all agree that had Universal not fired John Carpenter and writer Bill Lancaster from the project after The Thing tanked in theaters, the resulting adaptation might have been a bit more interesting.
So no, director Mark L. Lester and writer Stanley Mann didn’t make a good movie, but it’s arguably not a dull one either. The credit there, though, goes to the casting of Martin Sheen as the big bad and George C. Scott as a Native American assassin for the CIA. You read that right. Scott, of course, is not a Native American and had zero business in the role, but Hollywood gave no shits back in the 80s resulting in a batshit, twisted, and highly inappropriate performance from the legendary actor. Add in some fun pyrotechnics, a young Drew Barrymore learning on the job, and a bloody nosed David Keith, and you have a Stephen King adaptation worthy of landing square in the middle of a ranked list. (Rob Hunter)
24. It (1990)
Honestly, who didn’t hate clowns because of It? Tim Curry’s rendition of Pennywise the absolutely horrific clown was, and still is, the stuff of nightmares. His cackles and screeching of “beep, beep, Richie” is burned in my subconscious, floating up to the top of my brain every so often to remind me of that childhood fear. The two-part mini-series covers the epic 1100-page tome written by King in 1986, spanning the lives of a tight-knit group of friends that call themselves the Losers Club. They discover the existence of Pennywise the dancing clown, a demon they believe wakes up every 30 years to devour children. So in both child and adulthood, the Losers must come together to try and defeat this evil creature. Curry is what sets this version of It apart. He has an uncanny ability to create both a seemingly friendly person and horrifying bloodthirsty beast all the same time. (Mary Beth McAndrews)
23. The Mangler (1995)
There’s only so much you can do with a haunted laundry press. Or so you would think. The original short story operates like many Stephen King tales — it’s brief and nasty. Tobe Hooper attempted to do something a little more thoughtful and a whole lot whackier. He took the haunted laundry press, and he transformed it into a cataclysmic battle between cops and devils, with a little Robert Englund scholckery thrown in for good measure.
The Mangler is the kind of movie I dreamed of discovering as a kid while wandering the rental aisles, flipping every VHS box over in my hand, absorbing the tiny details before making my way to the counter. It sounds dumb and ridiculous, and you press play on the film eager to mock its earnestness, but then you discover a genuine thrill, featuring actors bringing it all when most wouldn’t have bothered. Englund doesn’t know how to phone it in, but this film truly belongs to Ted Levine as Detective John Hunton. He’s surly and gruff and deadened by all the horrors he’s already witnessed. Then, the mangler enters his life, and he’s out hunting for demonologists to lend their assistance. Glory be to him and the horror he’s about to squash. (Brad Gullickson)
22. Sleepwalkers (1992)
Charles Brady (Brian Krause) and his mother (Alice Krige) are the last of a dying breed. They are Sleepwalkers, beings only able to stay alive by feeding on the life-force of virgins. While stalking the country for prey, the mother-son duo descends upon a sleepy small town in Indiana, where a teenage girl named Tanya (Mädchen Amick) learns the hard way that predators come in all shapes and sizes. Sure, Sleepwalkers is pure, cocaine-dusted, unpasteurized cheese. But it also has instinctual, shapeshifting, energy-vampire werecats.
Speaking of cats, if you are a cat lover, for the love of god stay clear. That said, if you are a fan of random, unexplainable celebrity moments (Ron Perlman! Joe Dante! Clive Barker! Tobe Hooper! Mark Hamill!)… boy do I have a film for you. Directed by infamous Stephen King fan Mick Garris with an original screenplay by the man himself, Sleepwalkers is as batshit and entertaining as the 2006 Wicker Man remake or 1990’s Troll 2. Bring your preferred illicit substance, press play at the witching hour, and brace for a good goofy time. Also, all hail Clovis, one of cinema’s greatest cats. (Meg Shields)
21. The Night Flier (1997)
If you were flipping through late-night HBO in the early 1990s, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that The Night Flier, an adaptation of a King short story, was a very special episode of Tales from the Crypt. They both feature slick production values, an abundance of gore, and an undercurrent of grimy exploitation that feels right at home in this era of premium television. What The Night Flier also shares with Crypt is an oddball sense of whimsy that makes it feel as much like a classic horror comic book as it does a King story.
The humor is strange but stylized, like when reporter Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer), through a restroom mirror, watches the titular vampire invisibly relieve his blood filled bladder in a urinal. The big bad vamp himself even wears a ridiculously stereotypical Dracula cape ripped straight from Spirit Halloween’s Fall Collection. The film’s inherent cheesiness is buoyed by Ferrer’s hardboiled charm as an unscrupulous journalist that gives us a character to root for and against as he follows his leads straight to hell. The movie lives and dies on how much you appreciate his performances, but in this house we stan Miguel Ferrer. (Jacob Trussell)
Related Topics: 31 Days of Horror Lists
