The Best Stephen King Adaptations

It’s Summertime, so there’s nothing good on TV. There’s just reruns, boo!

I mean, sure, some great horror movies are coming out. But that means jack all nothing for those of us who don’t live anywhere near a movie theater. (I want to see Backrooms so bad, you guys.)

So, what’s a horror fan to do? Well, when I need a horror fix, I like to return to the classics. And who’s more classic than Stephen King? For horror fans, he’s more classic than a 1958 Plymouth Fury.

Yes, I am a bit of a fan. And luckily for us, there have been many, many screen adaptations of his work.

So today, let’s talk about my top ten favorite Stephen King adaptations. Yes, this is all based on my personal opinion. I just happen to think that I have fantastic taste. But if I left your favorite King adaptation off my list, please let us know about it in the comments.

The Langoliers (1995)

Based on a short story in the collection Four Past Midnight, The Langoliers was a mini-series starring Tom Holland (Not that one), Dean Stockwell, and Patricia Wettig. It’s about a plane that falls out of sync with time. While many of the passengers vanish, a few are left in this liminal space. Together, they have to figure out how to get back into their correct time before they’re eaten by the Langoliers, who devour all things eventually.

Yes, the monsters look like demonic cocopuffs. Yes, I laughed out loud the first time I saw them, and continue to find them very funny to this day. The terrible effects are part of the charm.

The Outsider (2020)

The book this was based on wrecked me. And let me tell you, so did the mini series.

I’ll warn you now, there is talk of child SA. Probably because it’s literally the worst thing most of us can imagine.

The series stars Cynthia Erivo, Ben Mendelsohn and Jason Bateman. It’s about a man falsely accused of murdering a child. The child was actually killed by a horrific monster, intent on spreading as much pain as it can.

The big favorite in this show is Holly. She’s a fantastic character that has clearly stolen King’s heart, since she’s now been in so many of his books. So if you finish the series and want more of her, check out the novels Holly, Never Flinch, If It Bleeds, and the Mr. Mercedes trilogy.

As an aside, The Outsider’s other main character is named Ralph Anderson. Later in this post, we’re going to talk about a mini series with another character who has the same name. This has always filled me with questions. Was it on purpose? Is it the same man? Did King just forget he’d already used that name? How many people have asked him this and not gotten a straight answer? Who can say?

Thinner (1996)

The film Thinner was written and directed by Tom Holland. No, not that one. Yes, the same one who wrote and starred in Langoliers. It’s based on the novel published in 1984, one of the books King published under his pen name, Richard Bachman. And it is one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen.

The story starts when the main character, Billy Halleck, runs over a Romani woman with his car. He gets away with it because he’s an attorney and friends with the judge. And of course, because he’s a wealthy white man. But the family gets their own justice, cursing him to waste away to nothing. It’s fantastic.

Storm of The Century (1999)

I’ll be honest, I’m cheating a little bit with this one. Storm of the Century isn’t technically a King adaptation. It was never a book or a short story; it’s a screenplay that he wrote. But I’m including it because, frankly, not enough people know about this mini-series.

When a winter storm arrives in a small island town in Maine, it brings with it a dark and sinister man. He knows things about people. Horrifying things.

He’s there with a purpose. “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away,” he says. Eventually, the town will have to decide what’s worse: allowing him to continue his reign of terror, or giving him the thing he wants.

11.22.63 (2016)

This mini-series starts with the most ridiculous premise I have ever heard of. Imagine if someone found a portal that would take them back in time to the year 1960. Then, imagine if that person decided to just stick around until 1963 and stop the Kennedy assassination.

If you can take the leap of faith with King, this is a really fun story.

I was also incredibly pleased with the 60’s atmosphere. The cars, the clothes, the hairstyles. Everything was really well done. If we could go back to those styles, without the rampant racism and sexism, that would just be keen.

The Stand (1994)

This is it. It’s the mini series that made me a King fan when I was a kid. From the very first scene, I was hooked. I actually watched this before I read the epic book.

I can’t believe you’d be reading this if you didn’t already know the story of The Stand. But just in case, it’s about a horrific plague that kills almost everyone on the planet. The survivors band together, forming into two groups. Those that follow Mother Abigale, who’s God’s messenger. And those who fall in line with the terrifying Randall Flagg.

The mini series has all the charm of a 90’s made-for-TV movie. It’s so well acted. Gary Sinise as Stu Redman was just perfect, and I can’t read the book without hearing his voice.

Better turn off the pumps, Hap.

Misery (1990)

Alright, we knew this one was going to be on my list. Being a writer myself, I love Misery. And the movie is brilliant.

Most of the film takes place in Annie Wilkes’s house, really in just one room. There’s really just the two main actors, James Caan and Kathy Bates. It’s almost like a bottle episode of a film. And both of them are just acting their asses off.

The story is simple. A writer named Paul has a horrible accident and is saved by his number one fan. All goes well until Annie finds out that Paul is killing off her favorite character.

She, um, doesn’t take it well.

It (2017-2019)

While I do love the original mini series with Tim Curry, I have to say that the new films were much better.

No shade on the 1990 mini series. For the time, it was great. But it’s hard to compare with the fantastic casting in the new one. Not to mention the creepy effects. The horror scenes remind me of the artwork from the original Scary Stories trilogy. They literally startled me.

Do I need to tell you what this movie is about? Just in case, it’s about a group of friends who survive an attack from a killer clown, then come back to their hometown as adults to face it again.

I thought it was clever to split the movies between the childhood adventure and the adults coming home. While I often think splitting one book between two movies is nothing more than a money grab, this one made sense.

The Shining (1980)

Alright, of course we had to talk about this one. Often seen on lists of top best movies, The Shining is just a fantastic film.

Based on the 1977 book and directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is about a man named Jack struggling with an alcohol addiction. He manages to land a last-chance sort of job as a winter caretaker to the Overlook Hotel. There, his son Danny discovers that he has a psychic ability called the Shine. Which is great, because the hotel is plagued with the restless dead. Poor Danny has to use every bit of his new power to protect himself and his mother from not only the spirits, but Jack himself.

This movie is full of iconic horror moments and endlessly quotable. Even after four decades, it’s still scaring the hell out of people.

The Green Mile (1999)

Now we come to my very favorite one. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen. The Green Mile.

Based on the serialized novel published in 1996, The Green Mile is about a man named John Coffee on death row for the murder of two little girls. His jailors, led by Paul Edgecomb, slowly come to the horrible realization that John is innocent. More than that, they realize that he has an amazing power for healing.

With Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan playing the lead roles, this movie just has so much heart. So much heartbreak, too. It’s got its funny moments. But I’d defy anyone watching it to not break down in tears at some point.

Want some more screen reviews from me? Check out my thoughts on Fallout, Season Two.