Stephen King is one of the most prominent names in modern literature. He has received many prestigious awards in his career, and in 2015 was given the National Medal of Arts by President Obama, the highest award given to artists by the American government. There have been over 70 Stephen King books and novellas ever since he released his first novel, Carrie, back in 1974 — he has a breathtakingly prolific average of two Stephen King books per year.
Because Stephen King’s books are extremely visually descriptive with great original ideas, the author is a golden source for adaptations. There have been more than 75 adaptations of his stories for the big screen and television, and King is not afraid to say if he liked them or not. There have been various images seared into the cultural imagination that have come right out of the pages of Stephen King’s books. The orange and red carpet in the corridors of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. The impossible escape of an innocent man in The Shawshank Redemption. The weird clown in the gutters of It.
Recently, the number of adaptations of his works has increased. Whether it’s TV shows or movies (released almost every year), there are a lot of good recent adaptations from both his newer and older books. Some of the most recent ones have been the new Firestarter to the anticipated reboot of his second book (and great Tobe Hooper miniseries), Salem’s Lot. While there have been some great adaptations of Stephen King’s books over the past five decades, here are a few of the best.
Updated May 2023: If you are a fan of Stephen King’s books and their adaptations, look no further. This article has been updated with additional content and entries by Amira Abdel-Fadil.
13 Chapelwaite
Chapelwaite is based on the short story that is the prequel to the Stephen King book Salem’s Lot. The series is very loosely based on King’s work, and because of that, there were very drastic changes regarding the plot, but it actually worked well. The show has a gothic atmosphere: dark scenarios, low-saturated cinematography, and a haunted house. Even though the show had excellent actors, such as Adrian Brody, the slow pace of the narrative was tiring to some viewers after a few episodes.
Nonetheless, it is a story that has all the classic elements of Stephen King’s books, like grief, family, prejudice, and fear, of course. In it, Captain Charles Boone travels to relocate his family, wife, and three children to his ancestral home in a small town in Maine. After death desolates the family, Captain Boone will have to fight more than just his grief to keep his family safe when the night comes.
12 Creepshow
Following the footsteps of the 1982 movie, the anthology series delivers the horror stories found in the Creepshow comic book. Each episode offers two dramatic stories that are full of suspense. The comic book that has a subtle moral commentary is perfect for those who love the short story horror format. The first two episodes are some of the best in the anthology.
11 In the Tall Grass
In the Tall Grass is a suspenseful supernatural and disturbing film that dives into the life of two siblings whose lives become so much darker as they set out to rescue a boy crying for him in a wide field of grass. It has more mood than a plot that will highlight the feeling of being trapped. The camera work was also excellent in conveying the mysteries in the film.
10 Castle Rock
Castle Rock is an interesting take on Stephen King’s universe. The psychological and eerie series takes some of King’s most loved stories and characters and puts them in the fictional town of Castle Rock town that King has used in several of his stories. It is perfect for those who love some suspense intertwined with the supernatural. It doesn’t reveal answers too soon and thus is for those who can deal with some confusion for a while. The Hulu series was unfortunately canceled.
9 Lisey’s Story
The author has said that his favorite of the Stephen King books was a not-so-well-known work, Lisey’s Story. The miniseries adaptation tells the story of a couple (Julian Moore and Clive Owen) with a deep connection struggling through feeling incredibly apart from each other. King himself wrote all the screenplays, adapting his story to another format.
This is not so much a horror narrative, but it is a tale about secrets and how to deal with grief. The show focuses on metaphors and fantastical elements rather than logistical ones, which can be a bit confusing at times. In the miniseries, Lisey is still grieving two years after her husband’s death. Lisey starts to sort through Scott’s endless boxes of research for his books in order to try to move on. What felt like a journey to recovery quickly turns into a deadly quest.
8 Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
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In Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, a young teen befriends an old wealthy man who dies. When he sends him a message after his burial, he receives a text back. It doesn’t rank high on the horror scale, however, it is an intriguing and thoughtful tale about technology and friendship. For those who want to see something different from the typical horror stories of the author, this one is a different one, much like The Green Mile. King expressed that he found the movie adaptation to be brilliant.
7 1922
Set in 1922, the Netflix-produced film tells the story of a farmer who plans to kill his wife for his financial gain. He doesn’t only want to do it himself, but he also convinces his teenage son to aid him in the act. The drama is a slow burn that perfectly encapsulates what manipulation means. This decision, however, costs them a lot. The subtle movie is very similar to the events of the book and is supported by fine acting and direction. Thomas Jane gives one his best performances as the protagonist Wilfred James. King revealed that he was weirded out and haunted by the adaptation and has deemed it one of his favorite recent adaptations.
6 Mr. Mercedes
Mr. Mercedes had its third and final season in 2019. A gripping detective story about getting older and the banality of violence, this is one of the most adored trilogies of Stephen King’s books. The series is an overall very good adaptation, but sometimes the gore and violence are almost too explicit.
The show is worth the watch (the author agrees with that statement) but it is definitely not for the faint of heart. A person eating poisoned meat and dying in a very long scene is only the beginning of the brutality shown in the series. Years after a man ran over people with his car, the detective on the case, Hodges, is retiring in Mr. Mercedes. Never being able to close the case that haunted him, he may finally have a shot: upon his retirement, the murderer sends him a letter enticing him to find out just exactly who he is.
5 11.22.63
A more fun and adventurous watch, 11.22.63 is a miniseries that takes us back in time to the sixties. A good adaptation that may have lacked a few aspects that made Stephen King’s book shine (granted, it is 700 pages), 11.22.63 is an entertaining watch. With James Franco as the protagonist and J.J. Abrams as the producer, the audience ends the series practically believing in time-traveling and conspiracy theories.
In the nine-hour epic, Jake Epping, a divorced English teacher, finds himself surrounded by the past when he discovers a portal back to 1960 and goes on a quest to stop President Kennedy’s assassination. What he wasn’t expecting was the adventure he would encounter, as well as love and heartbreak.
4 Doctor Sleep
The continuation of the classic film The Shining, Doctor Sleep shows a grown-up Danny having to deal with trauma. The second adaptation of Stephen King books by filmmaker Mike Flanagan is a great cinematic version of an already intense story. Even though they changed the ending (with King’s blessing) and a few elements regarding the ghosts and the energy vampires, this movie is not only terrifying but also sad and yet, at the same time, hopeful.
Flanagan mentioned that if The Shining was about alcoholism, this movie is about sobriety. It takes a lot of courage to face your ghosts, even more when they are trapped inside the walls of the most haunted hotel of cinema and literature combined. Decades after the tragedy at the Overlook Hotel, Danny has to live with the traumatic things he saw and his gift. When kids that have the shining start to be brutally murdered, Danny finds out that he may be the only person who can help them.
3 Gerald’s Game
Another Mike Flanagan adaptation, Gerald’s Game is a hard watch. This is a story about abuse and trauma, as well as the desperation from unbelievable situations that feel too real to be comfortably watched. The film captures all the tension of the source material and was a very bold adaptation of maybe the least adaptable of Stephen King books: the story happens in one location, and one actress alone has to take the audience on this journey, all while being unable to move.
Flanagan took all these potential problems and not only overcame them but also showed that jump scares are not needed in a horror movie. A couple decides to spend a few days in their summer cabin during the winter to relight the passion between them. An accident happens and Jessie is handcuffed to the bed, alone. While struggling to find help, there is someone or thing that appears to be lurking in the shadows of her bedroom.
2 It (Chapters 1 and 2)
In one of the most beloved fictional towns in Stephen King’s books, Derry, we are transported to the world of six pre-teens who have to deal with hardships even adults would have trouble with. The story in the book is structured a bit differently, having multiple chapters going back and forth in the timeline.
Nevertheless, these two movies did a great job of portraying this coming-of-age story. Leaving a few controversial parts of the story out, it was such a success that It is now the highest-grossing horror movie of all time. After the tragic disappearance of Bill’s younger brother, Georgie, he starts to investigate what happened to his brother. Bill and his friends will soon discover that there is a lot more than children disappearing happening in the sewers of Derry.
1 The Outsider
The Outsider is a mixture of two aspects of Stephen King’s books that the author is a master of: investigative fiction and horror. Of the many recent adaptations of Stephen King’s books, this is one of the most faithfully adhering: the plot, the tone, the characters, and the (shocking) ending are all the same. The HBO miniseries is a must-watch for those who enjoy King’s work. With the appearance of one of King’s favorite characters, Holly Gibney, this story is impossible to stop watching.
In The Outsider, a young boy is found murdered and shows signs of sexual abuse. The DNA of the kid’s baseball coach is on the scene, sending the town’s citizens into a kind of revolt. However, there is undeniable proof that the same man was in another town when the murder happens. How can a person be in two places at the same time? The series, like great Stephen King books, explores the answer in haunting, viscerally entertaining ways.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
