If there’s one person you can safely call the king of horror, it’s Stephen King. The man has been writing horror classics for over half a century, so naturally, many of them have been adapted into film. Here’s what we consider to be the best Stephen King film adaptations.
Thanks to Osgood Perkins’ adaptation of King’s short story The Monkey, as well as Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man, now is as good a time as any to talk about King’s contributions to the world of film. However, when you’ve been writing stories as long as King has, some of those adaptations won’t be all that good. Maybe they’re like Maximum Overdrive, which was the only film that King ever directed (and it shows), or maybe they’re like The Dark Tower, which was an extremely ambitious story that failed in its execution. The point is, we’re here to honor some of King’s greatest works that stand the test of time, both in terms of horror cinema and cinema at large.
So here are some of our favorite Stephen King movie adaptations that you should watch it you haven’t done so already!
It (2017)
If we’re going to talk about Stephen King’s contributions to the world of horror, none are more famous than It. While the novel was first adapted into a TV movie in the 90s, which was notable for Tim Curry’s portrayal of Pennywise the Clown, it wasn’t until the 2017 movie that the true horror of the concept really landed.
On its own, It is a great coming-of-age story as we follow The Losers’ Club and their efforts to overcome and defeat Pennywise the Clown and his disorienting brand of horror. While its sequel would arguably be a bit too bloated and lacking focus, the pacing of the first installment is tight and the horror is palpable. Bills Skarsgard made Pennywise into a horror icon, but the supporting cast all deliver solid and believable performances. To this day, it’s the highest-grossing horror film of all time, and for good reason.
Misery (1990)
If you’re going to watch Misery, you’re going to do it for one reason, and that’s Kathy Bates. Kathy Bates’ star-making turn as Annie Wilkes won her an Academy Award for Best Actress because of how unhinged her relationship with famed author Paul Sheldon, played by James Caan, is. The film sees Wilkes kidnap Sheldon and force him to write for her since she’s his “number one fan” and tortures him whenever he disappoints her. It’s a harrowing film, one that feels all the more relevant given how social media has weakened the barriers between professional and social lives and making Bates’ performance all the more uncomfortable. We all know or have seen someone like Annie Wilkes, and that alone should be terrifying.
The Monkey (2025)
It may be recency bias given that this film has only just recently been released, but The Monkey is arguably Stephen King at his funniest. The original short story isn’t all that funny, but Osgood Perkins’ interpretation of the concept certainly is. Theo James plays twin brothers who grow up enduring a wind-up monkey’s curse, wherein it will kill whoever it feels like if someone decides to wind it up. Every character is strange in a way that fits more at home in Twin Peaks or a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie, but wow does it work. Each line of dialogue is so oddly delivered that you can’t help but laugh at the surreality of it all, and that’s before we get to the cartoonish gore. It’s an absolute riot, and I look forward to recommending it to my friends and family.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
While Stephen King may be mostly associated with horror, he does branch out to other genres occasionally. In the case of The Shawshank Redemption, which was adapted into a film 12 years after its initial release, it was a huge success. Maybe not financially, since it was a box-office disappointment, but definitely critically, even if it was snubbed for Best Picture.
The film is painfully human, mostly thanks to Morgan Freeman’s performance as Red, a prison smuggler who develops a friendship with Tim Robbin’s Andy Dufresne as they try to survive together in incarceration. Red and Andy have wonderful chemistry, giving the film a nice heart, even in the face of the horrors that they experience throughout the film. Sure, it’s not a horror film per se, but it does show how horrific the American prison institution is, which is arguably more terrifying. That just makes the film’s climax all the more cathartic, giving us an ending that is one of the best conclusions to a film ever.
The Shining (1980)
Stephen King may famously hate Stanely Kubrick’s adaptation of his iconic novel, but it doesn’t change the fact that The Shining is one of the best movies of the 20th century. From the stark cinematography, to the iconic performances by Jack Nicholson and the late Shelley Duvall, to its insane warping of reality, The Shining is a masterpiece from start to finish. Even to this day, fans will still analyze the themes and beats of the film, like whether Jack’s descent into madness stems from the influences of ghosts of the Overlook Hotel or from cabin fever being isolated away from society for weeks on end. It’s honestly shocking that Stephen King hated Kubrick’s adaptation so much given how much the film does right and now it’s rightfully touted as one of the greatest films ever made.