Stephen King is the world’s second-most adapted author, behind only William Shakespeare, who some conspiracy theorists argue wasn’t even a real person. Why do movie and television producers love King’s work so much?
On film, the adoration makes sense, considering some of the greatest movies of all time were based on the author’s works. From Shawshank Redemption to The Shining, the list of successful big-screen adaptations is long. Producers and directors thus continue to try to replicate this glory. On the other hand, things haven’t always been easy on television. Not many Stephen King TV adaptations are major hits, yet more continue to be made. Still, the medium is always safer compared to cinema, where adaptations tend to fall into extremes (critically acclaimed or severely panned).
King, himself, isn’t always happy with all the adaptations. He famously hated Dreamcatcher, Graveyard Shift, and The Dark Tower, among others, feeling they didn’t capture the spirit of the books. But which are the worst ever movies and shows based on his work, according to critics? Rotten Tomatoes has the answers.
10
‘The Mangler’ (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 27%
Based on Stephen King’s 1972 short story of the same name, The Mangler takes us to a small New England town where several workers have died as a result of accidents linked to a steam-powered laundry press known as “the Mangler.” Police officer John Hunton (Ted Levine) believes these are more than mechanical malfunctions, and when he does some digging, he discovers that the machine is actually possessed. What now?
Over-exercising Creating Liberties
Robert Englund’s icy turn as a father from hell, who sacrificed his daughter to the machine for wealth and power, is one for the ages. Levine also does well as a protagonist, but this is far from a perfect film. There’s no consensus, yet many critics felt The Mangler was full of supernatural clichés and found the story unimpressive. This could be blamed on director Tobe Hooper’s choice to add too many new plot angles to King’s story, which, despite being great, is too brief, making it challenging to adapt. He’d have been better off relying on another source material. Still, Englund believes the movie deserves a second chance.
9
‘Dreamcatcher’ (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 26%
Dreamcatcher sees four childhood friends — Pete (Timothy Olyphant), Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Beaver (Jason Lee), and Henry (Thomas Jane) — reunite for their annual hunting trip in the snowy woods of Maine. Unfortunately, it isn’t fun as usual. Parasitic alien creatures known as “shit-weasels” invade, forcing Colonel Kurtz (Morgan Freeman) to impose a curfew. Worst still, Jonesy becomes possessed.
A Film That’s Too Long
By rights, Dreamcatcher’s plot should be as corny as hell, and yet it does the trick, as do the performances, because all the actors (including Freeman) feel not just grounded but engraved in their roles. However, critics felt that at 134 minutes, the film was way too long, describing it as “an incoherent and overly long creature feature,” in their Rotten Tomatoes consensus. Director Lawrence Kasdan would have done a better job of trimming King’s 620-page novel. Perhaps even make two movies, like It.
8
‘Riding the Bullet’ (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 23%
Adapted from Stephen King’s first mass-market e-book (published in 2000), Riding the Bullet dwells on the woes of Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson), a University of Maine student who is obsessed with death. When he learns that his mother has suffered a stroke, he decides to hitchhike home to see her. Along the way, he is offered a ride by a sinister man who is soon revealed to be a ghost. Predictably, the man forces him to make some tough choices.
Garris Failed to Strike Gold Again
Director Mick Garris had made a few Stephen King adaptations before, so expectations were high. Regrettably, he failed to hit the mark. On the review aggregator website, the summary from reviewers notes that the filmmaker “has lofty storytelling goals which ultimately flail and undercut the story’s terror.” All factors considered, Jonathan Jackson is the film’s only golden element. Despite his inner demons, Parker is innocent and above reproach, so we feel his agony at the hands of putatively upstanding characters, who are revealed to be closet sadists.
7
‘Thinner’ (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 19%
Thinner centers on Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke), a corrupt and well-connected lawyer who pulls strings to avoid comeuppance after doing a hit-and-run on a Romani woman. But he isn’t in the clear like he thinks. The woman’s father places a curse on him, causing him to rapidly lose weight. What’s he gonna do about it?
A Natural Yet Unpleasant Weight Loss Routine
Robert John Burke made a proper leap into Hollywood royalty with his convincingly raw performance — especially in one horrific scene where a ball bearing from a slingshot goes through his hand. It’s impressive considering he wasn’t Stephen King’s first choice to play the part. But like Billy, Thinner’s plot is actually thin, something the RT-certified critics noted in their finale word: “A bland, weightless horror film that seems to want to mock itself as the proceedings drag on.”
6
‘The Dark Tower’ (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 16%
Highly considered one of the least accurate Stephen King adaptations, The Dark Tower stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, a skilled gunslinger tasked with protecting “The Dark Tower” — a mysterious building that supports all realities. Matthew McConaughey also stars as his nemesis Walter Padick, aka The Man in Black.
Elba and McConaughey Labor Through the Mess
Despite having great leads, The Dark Tower is as bad as critics say. Its sense of despair is totally unearned, and it’s far too reliant on an arbitrarily manipulated story, as well as some very old-fashioned neo-Western mechanics. Have Rotten Tomatoes commentators ever been more brutal and comical in their assessment? “Go then, there are other Stephen King adaptations than these,” reads the hilarious consensus on the review aggregator website.
5
‘Maximum Overdrive’ (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes: 14%
No one can ever forget Maximum Overdrive, the movie Stephen King decided to direct by himself, based on his short story, Trucks. In it, most of the world’s machines (including vehicles) become sentient and go on a killing spree after the tail of a rogue comet hits Earth.
Should Have Left the Camerawork to the Experts
Maximum Overdrive’s plot is gripping, and so are the impeccable renditions of some of the short story’s ridiculous kills, but the horror flick is also notable because of its flagrant failure to adhere to basic filmmaking techniques. King — who earned a Razzie nomination for Worst Director — regretted making the movie, admitting he was drunk and high on drugs at the time. Consequently, he has never sat in the director’s chair again. Cross your fingers, because Stephen King’s son, Joe, intends to do a proper remake.
4
‘Children of the Corn’ (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 11%
Children of the Corn takes us to Rylstone, a small farming community whose principal food crop, corn, is withering despite frantic attempts to fix things using GMOs and herbicides. To escape their dreary reality, the adults agree to destroy all crops so they can receive a subsidy from the government. This infuriates Eden (Kate Moyer), an orphan, who ushers fellow children into a cult aimed at punishing adults.
The Most Unnecessary Stephen King Adaptation
Given how iconic the first adaptation is, it’s strange that Kurt Wimmer chose to make another one, especially when there are few other untapped Stephen King books he could have chosen. “Bereft of a single kernel of fear or excitement, this Children of the Corn suggests the franchise is irrevocably lost in a maze of sub-mediocrity,” notes the abridgement by certified critics. However, it would be unfair not to praise the performances. Moyer is brilliant, and so are Andrew S. Gilbert (as a sheriff) and Bruce Spence (as a preacher).
3
‘Cell’ (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 11%
Life suddenly gets turned upside down for graphic novelist Clayton “Clay” Riddell (John Cusack) in Cell after a mysterious cellphone signal causes New England residents to mutate into violent zombie-like creatures known as “The Phoners.” His desperate search for his family forces him to team up with Tom (Samuel L. Jackson), a train conductor he just met.
Jackson and Cusack Can’t Save the Movie
There is plenty of material for genuine scares here, yet the impression given by the movie is less one of an intention to entertain than one to critique phone addiction. Jackson and Cusack are perfectly cast, and they clearly do their best, but even the best swimmers struggle in muddy waters. The review aggregator website acknowledges this, its summary reading: “Shoddily crafted and devoid of suspense, Cell squanders a capable cast and Stephen King’s once-prescient source material on a bland rehash of zombie cliches.”
2
‘Firestarter’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 10%
Young Charlie McGee (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is struggling to control her pyrokinetic powers in Firestarter. Years earlier, her parents, Andy (Zac Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) participated in a government experiment that gave them psychic abilities, which were then passed on to their child. When Charlie uses her powers to stop a bullying incident, a secret government agency decides to go after her.
Second Time Still Isn’t a Charm
It’s always fun watching movies about children who aren’t okay with being prisoners of their intolerable situations. Even though the story had already been adapted in the ’80s, director Keith Thomas made a wise choice by giving it another treatment since the first movie had been panned. Interestingly, the newer version ended up worse, mainly because of a total lack of scares. Critics state that “there was plenty of room to improve on the original, but Firestarter trips over that low bar and tumbles toward the bottom of the long list of Stephen King adaptations.” Or maybe the book isn’t just interesting enough for an adaptation.
1
‘Graveyard Shift’ (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 0%
Set in a dilapidated textile mill in Maine, Graveyard Shift centers is about workers forced to clean a rat-infested basement during the July Fourth holiday. Foreman Warwick (Stephen Macht) insists that the cleanup keeps going even when new employee John Hall (David Andrews) raises concerns about a creature lurking below. Soon, the bodies start piling up.
More Could Have Been Done With a Story About Poor Working Conditions
Graveyard Shift is so despised that there is no consensus for it on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s bad. That’s all. Once again, the blame lies with the director and producers for choosing to adapt a short story that wasn’t succulent enough. Initially published in Cavalier Magazine, Graveyard Shift is less than 2000 words long. Interestingly, filmmaker Ralph S. Singleton didn’t give up on Stephen King lore. Two years later, he made Pet Sematary Two, which ended up getting panned, too.
