- 10 months ago
From nightmares to masterpieces, the Master of Horror's work has experienced quite the journey on screen! Join us as we count down the triumphs and tragedies of Stephen King adaptations. Our picks alternate between the very best and absolute worst transformations of his literary genius into feature films. Which cinematic vision captured King's essence, and which ones missed the mark entirely?
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00:00It is the duty of each of you to witness his punishment.
00:04However, those of you with small children are excused.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for feature film adaptations of the works of legendary author Stephen King,
00:14alternating between the most and least satisfying.
00:17TV shows and miniseries are not included.
00:24Number 30. Worst. The Running Man.
00:26One of the boldest novels under the pen name Richard Bachman follows a desperate worker competing in televised blood sport to get his daughter medical treatment in a dystopian future.
00:36That hardly sounds like the movies Arnold Schwarzenegger was doing in the 80s.
00:39So, when The Running Man came to the screen, the hero was retooled into an insubordinate police captain framed for a massacre.
00:45Listen very carefully, man.
00:47How would you like a three-year contract? Guaranteed. A cadre credit line and a beachfront condom.
00:56Sound impossible?
00:57Ban is a standard deal for a network stalker.
01:00This makes him more qualified to kick butt and drop cheesy one-liners as he plays the game for his freedom.
01:05Stephen King felt that such drastic changes not only eliminated his everyman narrative,
01:10but contradicted his critique of sensationalized violence and consumerism.
01:14While the movie can be enjoyed as campy fun, Schwarzenegger's schtick runs way behind King's vision.
01:19Number 29. Best. The Life of Chuck.
01:26Writer-director Mike Flanagan has become a favorite interpreter of Stephen King's distinct horror drama.
01:31But what about one of his straighter dramas?
01:33Even then, The Life of Chuck incorporates sci-fi fantasy into several defining moments in an ordinary man destined to die with the entire universe.
01:41And it all unfolds in three acts and reverse chronological order.
01:52Flanagan stays stylishly true to King's bizarre short story, with deep characters and philosophies to focus the storytelling.
01:59An all-star cast, headed by Tom Hiddleston, certainly give their all in this existential epic.
02:05The Life of Chuck ultimately plays to the underappreciated artistic prowess of both King and Flanagan as a viewing experience unlike any other.
02:14I deserve to be wonderful.
02:18And I contain multitudes.
02:20Number 28. Worst. Salem's Lot.
02:23CBS's 1979 adaptation of Salem's Lot holds up as a sprawling horror classic.
02:29Or remake for TNT, not so much.
02:32But at least the miniseries format showed more respect for the scope of Stephen King's novel than the feature that streamed on Max.
02:38Running under two hours, this version drastically condenses the ensemble drama into a boringly formulaic, disjointed vampire hunt.
02:45At least the cheap jump scares and gore livened things up from the flat characters.
03:01Sure, King's themes about the evils of stalking a quiet community were a bit more creative when he wrote them five decades earlier.
03:07That's still no excuse for the lack of nuance and imagination that made this third adaptation as bloodless as it is pointless.
03:23Number 27. Best. 1408.
03:28There was never much creativity in the premise of a paranormal debunker enduring a genuinely haunted hotel room.
03:33Of course, King's short story 1408 wields an emotional depth that the film adaptation dared to expand.
03:41How did I dare you?
03:49Dad.
03:52It's Michael.
03:53There's certainly no shortage of terrifying imagery to make this single room feel both overwhelming and claustrophobic.
04:00It's just that there's as much tension in the tragic psychological drama that John Cusack conveys devastatingly.
04:06King himself wrote in later editions of Das Macabre that the performance was Oscar-worthy.
04:11He gave the film overall a rare public approval.
04:13From the crackling standoffs between Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson to the emotional resonance of either cut's ending,
04:20the film 1408 is a haunting stay all its own.
04:25Yes, of course.
04:33Number 26.
04:34Worst. A Good Marriage.
04:36At least Lifetime movies can be entertaining in their over-the-top camp.
04:40Peter Askin's A Good Marriage just can't measure up to the elegant suspense in King's novella
04:45about a woman who finds evidence that her seemingly perfect husband is a serial killer.
04:50Petra.
04:51Darcy.
04:53Darcy.
04:54Darcy.
04:56Darcy.
04:58A script written by King himself may be structured accordingly,
05:02while actors on the caliber of Joan Allen and Anthony LaPaglia certainly give their all.
05:06But the production is as frustratingly cheap as Askin's direction is atmospherically shapeless.
05:12With the story already starved of creative ideas and accessible themes,
05:15the slow burn approach is ultimately just dull.
05:18As with Marriage, the best of intentions don't always make for a good movie.
05:23It's a stretch of road up north in Maine
05:28That's never, ever, ever seen a smile
05:32And if they buried all the truckers lost in...
05:38Number 25.
05:39Best. The Long Walk.
05:41It's certainly been a long wait, this adaptation of a book King published as Richard Bachman in 1979.
05:46But 2025's The Long Walk was worth the wait.
05:49You're gonna keep walking, listen to Pete, okay?
05:52She'll keep walking, you're with us, she's with us.
05:53Come on, keep walking.
05:54From the director of most of the Hunger Games films
05:57comes a dystopian footrace among teenagers who are killed if they walk out of pace.
06:01The Twisted Game is hardly as frantic as The Running Man,
06:04but there's much more suspense packed into the filmmaking,
06:07social commentary, and exquisitely acted character arcs.
06:10It's also bleak beyond any expectations.
06:14Still, after decades of filmmakers competing over the first novel King wrote,
06:17Francis Lawrence crosses the finish line with his own endlessly relevant instant classic.
06:23You got it!
06:24Warning, number seven.
06:25Good morning.
06:26Get up, kid!
06:27Get up, young man!
06:28Get up!
06:31Oh, it ain't fair!
06:35Number 24.
06:36Worst. Needful Things.
06:38Is it too much to ask that one of King's most popular novels be done justice?
06:42It wouldn't be for the proprietor of an antique shop that grants customers their deepest desires
06:46in exchange for committing mischief around Castle Rock.
06:51You!
06:52The little pickwork for you!
07:00Unfortunately, the film Needful Things is just a dour drag with little tension and no real bite to its themes.
07:07There are some detractors from critics like The Disappointed King himself.
07:10The performances are definitely solid, particularly that of the always intimidating Max von Sydow
07:16as the mysterious antagonist.
07:18But with the characters themselves falling as flat as everything else in Needful Things,
07:22there is no need to dust off this cinematic antique.
07:25Not in Castle Rock!
07:27Not me!
07:28Not you!
07:29Not anybody!
07:30This shit stops now!
07:32Number 23.
07:33Best.
07:34Dolores Claiborne.
07:35Kathy Bates can sure deliver the dread in King's vision of an unhinged loner posing a threat to a captive with a disability.
07:45Go on back to bed, honey.
07:47Your father and I are just having a little discussion here.
07:49With Dolores Claiborne, however, it's a more complicated case.
07:53The mysterious death of a servant's elderly employer keeps the suspense consistently taught.
07:58Along the way, the ambiguous protagonist's reunion with her daughter unfurls more dramatic mysteries within their relationship
08:04and the death of an abusive patriarch.
08:07The filmmakers incredibly nail the dramatic thriller's kingly tapestry of tones and genres.
08:12At the head of it is a performance that Bates herself has called the best of her career.
08:16While the standards on that count are too high to call,
08:20Dolores Claiborne really raises the standards for Stephen King-style screen drama.
08:23That's what happened.
08:26Plain and true.
08:28And I don't care no more who knows it.
08:31Guess all I do care about.
08:34All I ever cared about
08:36is that you're safe and sound.
08:39Number 22.
08:40Worst.
08:40Dreamcatcher.
08:41King himself has dismissed the ramblings of the novel he wrote while recovering from an infamous 1999 car accident.
08:47And even then, everyone agrees that Lawrence Kasdan's Dreamcatcher is a messy adaptation.
08:53It's almost two and a half increasingly convoluted and corny hours of four telepathic pals facing an alien invasion.
09:08And Donnie Wahlberg playing the man with disabilities at the center of everything is just offensive on every level.
09:14The film bombed at the box office and with critics,
09:18despite King's initial assurance that it did right by his work.
09:20He later reminded Time Magazine that he was not in his right mind at the time.
09:25The blurb about Dreamcatcher being, quote,
09:27a train wreck is harder to argue with.
09:30I bet it.
09:40Number 21.
09:41Best.
09:42The Dead Zone.
09:43With his mastery of mind and stomach-bending sci-fi thrillers,
09:46David Cronenberg was bound to do right by the Dead Zone.
09:49But not even the protagonist could have foreseen the adaptation being this successful.
09:53He ain't here.
09:55Well, his patrol car is out here.
09:58Well, his car is here, but he ain't.
10:00He's here.
10:02I saw it in the window.
10:03The curse to envision the future of anyone he touches sets up a trippy blend of murder mystery and chilling political cautionary tale.
10:10It's all held together by the movingly tragic lead character development behind an outstanding performance from Christopher Walken.
10:16Cronenberg's The Dead Zone was not only a critical and commercial success,
10:20but a pop culture phenomenon that even inspired a six-season TV show starring Anthony Michael Hall.
10:25Of course, the original film is still regarded as truly visionary.
10:29The original Children of the Corn is certainly a cult classic in some circles,
10:45and it spawned numerous sequels on home video.
10:48Who are you?
10:51What do you want?
10:56We want to give you peace.
10:58However, it hasn't aged very well,
11:00thanks to its generally cheap appearance and long periods of tedium masquerading as suspense.
11:04Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
11:09The idea of he who walks behind the rose is outstanding,
11:13but the final execution leaves something to be desired.
11:16What has the Lord commanded?
11:18In the dream, the Lord did come to me, and he was a shape.
11:24It was he who walks behind the rose.
11:26The child acting is almost universally good,
11:29while leads Linda Hamilton and especially Peter Horton
11:32struggle to connect with their audience.
11:34What do you think you're doing?
11:35My passage. It's my birthday.
11:38You got a pretty sick way of celebrating it, pal.
11:41There's certainly some nostalgic value to Children of the Corn,
11:43but it's important not to let those rose-colored glasses
11:46cloud a modern appraisal of this film's flaws.
11:49Number 19. Best. Gerald's Game.
11:52Gerald's Game, both the novel and film adaptation,
11:55are definitely not safe for work.
11:57Because we were happy once.
11:59Of course.
12:02Weren't we?
12:03Yes.
12:03In fact, Stephen King's original novel was considered at one point to be unfilmable,
12:12due in part to the graphic sexual situations that sit front and center of its plot.
12:17Expecting more novelty things like with velvet or silk or something.
12:22No, no.
12:22No, it's the real deal.
12:24That said, Netflix's adaptation earned rave reviews for its handling of a couple's troubled marriage,
12:29the attempts to fix it,
12:30and a whole load of trauma that makes Gerald's Game such a unique and memorable story.
12:36Who are you?
12:36Carla Gugino in particular deserves all of the praise she received for her work in the film,
12:50while noted horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan handles the directorial duties with a keen eye and steady creative hand.
12:57There is little connection between the film that eventually became The Lawnmower Man
13:14and the events that take place within Stephen King's original story.
13:18In fact, King was reportedly so upset at the lack of cohesion
13:29that he successfully sued the filmmakers to get his name taken off the finished product's title.
13:34I'm going to help you, Dr. Angelo.
13:37I'm going to help all of you cleanse this diseased planet.
13:41That said, the idea of a sentient cyberspace-centered villain was somewhat unique in 92,
13:47and Jeff Fahey goes all in as the titular Lawnmower Man.
13:51Lawnmower Man's in your head now, Jake.
13:54There's no escape, ever.
13:57The CGI is, at times, surprisingly decent,
14:00and others horrendously dated,
14:02but the film, on the whole, feels disjointed and unfocused.
14:06The Lawnmower Man swings for the fences, but whiffs and strikes out.
14:10Oh, this power isn't meant to be in the hands of one person.
14:13You're wrong.
14:15You need to be led, just like everyone else is a facing.
14:19Number 17.
14:20Best, 1922.
14:22Netflix strikes again with yet another critically acclaimed Stephen King adaptation,
14:26this time from the man's 2010 novella.
14:29These just go on to your mother's in Lincoln.
14:31Leave you my father's land, I suppose?
14:34That'll never happen, Wilf.
14:35Thomas Jane has always been somewhat underrated as an actor,
14:39and he's allowed to shine here in a deliciously villainous role.
14:42No!
14:441922 is a grim tale, with an equally dark ending.
14:48Two men who started the year with wives,
14:51ending the year without them.
14:54Yet at the same time, the quality of the filmmaking shines through,
14:57and makes the best of the budget by creating a world that feels lived in.
15:01That is aided by the strength of the performances.
15:03What I did for us.
15:06Now what good for 180 acres if I got no one to pass on to?
15:121922 may not be as well known as other Stephen King adaptations on this list,
15:17but maybe that should change soon.
15:18We're not sure if hopes were high prior to the release of the 2022 version of Stephen King's Firestarter.
15:33I do something bad, but you still love me?
15:39Oh, Charlie.
15:41After all, the original adaptation from 1984 is still well regarded by fans,
15:47thanks largely to the performance of a young Drew Barrymore.
15:50The lead actress here, Ryan Kira Armstrong, certainly seems up for the task.
16:08And the early character building scenes between her and screen dad Zac Efron are nice.
16:14The goodwill is short-lived, however.
16:16With Firestarter soon devolving into parodic horror scares and unimaginative dialogue cliches.
16:22You made me this way.
16:24Charlie, please!
16:25I hate who I am!
16:26The CGI fire effects look terrible, and the film just feels rushed and lifeless.
16:31Our advice?
16:32Stick with the OG.
16:33It wasn't supposed to be this way.
16:36It wasn't supposed to be this difficult.
16:39Number 15.
16:40Best.
16:41The Mist.
16:41What could have been?
16:43No, no, no.
16:44Oh, no, no.
16:47We wish that the monsters of The Mist could have been done with more practical effects,
16:51but it was 2007.
16:53CGI creatures were all the rage.
17:03Otherwise, The Mist still rules thanks largely to the strength of its cast.
17:07Do you see?
17:10Now do you believe?
17:11This ensemble is totally game to ramp up the tension, as they're confined largely to
17:17one space.
17:17We want the boy!
17:19Now you give us your shit!
17:20You get back!
17:21Come on, get up!
17:22Get up!
17:23Grab that boy!
17:25Grab it!
17:25Get up!
17:26Get up!
17:26Get up!
17:27Meanwhile, other worldly monsters await these characters within a mist that's enveloping
17:31the town.
17:32A mist that feels straight out of the mind of someone like H.P. Lovecraft.
17:36Finally, the gut-punch new ending no one saw coming makes The Mist one of the most memorable
17:44Stephen King adaptations ever brought to the screen.
17:46Number 14.
17:59Worst.
18:00Cell.
18:00Cell wasn't the only Stephen King film adaptation to receive a limited release in theaters,
18:05but it might be one of the most poorly conceived.
18:08It's all jumbled up.
18:10Scramble.
18:11Why don't you stick my phone in the freezer?
18:13Makes the battery last longer.
18:15The idea is very, well, of its time, as a signal broadcast over a cell phone network
18:21is turning people into mindless zombies.
18:31King's original novel was published in 2006, but by the time this film adaptation came around,
18:36this plot, which was already thin, feels like it's practically skating on melted ice.
18:40So now they're psyched.
18:42Telepathic.
18:43Like, like maybe the pulse flows through them like they're this big, organic, you know,
18:49network.
18:50Like a hive mind.
18:54Yeah.
18:55John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson go through the motions, but even they can't save Cell from
19:00being perhaps one of Stephen King's more forgettable movie adaptations.
19:15Number 13.
19:17Best.
19:17The Green Mile.
19:18Director Frank Darabont has directed a number of Stephen King adaptations over the years,
19:23but his version of The Green Mile is one of the most unique in the pantheon.
19:26Do you leave the light on after bedtime?
19:32Because I get a little scared in the dark sometimes.
19:36If it's a strange play.
19:38Even if the film feels over long at over three hours,
19:41the performances of Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan more than make up for this extended set.
19:46Whenever he's sucked out of her, he's choking on it.
19:49John.
19:51I'll be fine.
19:53Just let me be.
19:54Duncan in particular was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as John Coffey,
19:59a mysterious death row inmate whose incredible powers reveal the complexities of morality.
20:04You saw what?
20:05Take my hand, boss.
20:14You see for yourself.
20:16There's no getting around this one.
20:18The Green Mile is a tearjerker,
20:20but its intensity and philosophical ambition are distinctly Stephen King.
20:24Are these angels?
20:28Angels just like of them.
20:35Number 12.
20:41Worst.
20:42Riding the Bullet.
20:43Mick Garris is another well-regarded horror director
20:46who's tried his hand at developing multiple Stephen King properties,
20:49with varying degrees of success.
20:51Even a man of your apparently limited intelligence
20:53should be able to see that your experiences with a few battered babies and drug abusers
20:58doesn't justify your embrace of a monster.
21:02His TV version of The Stand was excellent,
21:04while his 1992 feature Sleepwalkers is probably best left forgotten.
21:08People really should learn to keep their hands to themselves.
21:11Here's yours.
21:12Unfortunately, Garris' 2004 adaptation of King's Riding the Bullet,
21:16a novel released back in the year 2000,
21:19falls into the latter category.
21:20Nice to meet you.
21:21Hector.
21:23Name's George.
21:26George, stop.
21:27The ghost story idea and themes of regret and fear are interesting,
21:35but the execution fails to drum up the excitement required to keep the audience invested.
21:40Riding the Bullet is an interesting failure, but a failure nonetheless.
21:44Pleasant dreams, Al!
21:45Horror fans growing up in 1990 saw the two-night miniseries It as a formative experience.
22:00That said, later generations were captivated by a big screen take spread across two years.
22:05The first installment of It exceeded expectations,
22:08with Bill Skarsgård's menacing demon clown Pennywise and the tragic teens he targets.
22:12Where are you going, Ed?
22:15If you lived here, you'd be home by now.
22:18Chapter 2 picks up with the Losers Club as adults
22:20and polarized viewers with its drawn-out runtime of almost three hours.
22:24Put the tokens in the thing.
22:26That's good, right?
22:27We did it, right?
22:29Ah!
22:31Thankfully, the set pieces are just as scary,
22:35and the character development and acting even deeper.
22:37The project feels like a capitalization on the Stranger Things craze,
22:41complete with actor Finn Wolfhard and the HBO spinoff Welcome to Derry.
22:45But there's nothing wrong with matching large-scale nostalgia
22:47with the nuance of two new horror classics.
22:59Number 10.
23:00Worst.
23:01Graveyard Shift.
23:02Many of Stephen King's older stories are simple affairs,
23:05with an equally simple execution.
23:07There's already been one accident.
23:09This place has to be cleared before another worker steps foot in this death trap.
23:16Unfortunately, that doesn't always sit well with some modern viewers,
23:19which explains why not everyone is on board with the 1990 film adaptation
23:23of King's 1970 short story Graveyard Shift.
23:26Even King himself didn't care for the final results,
23:45although fans of quick and cheap exploitation cinema
23:48likely enjoyed the visceral violence and sleazy thrills on display.
23:51The killer rats in the film often take a backseat
23:58to the human drama that's going on behind the scenes
24:00of a dilapidated textile mill.
24:02Together!
24:08And not even the film's energetic climax could save Graveyard Shift
24:12from suffering the slings and arrows of critical abuse.
24:14All right.
24:17Show's over.
24:19What can we say about Brian De Palma's 1976 masterpiece
24:25that hasn't already been said?
24:27We're all sorry about this incident, Cassie.
24:30It's Carrie!
24:31Carrie is, without question,
24:32one of the greatest horror films of its decade, full stop.
24:36Did any of you ever stop to think that Carrie White has feelings?
24:42Do any of you ever stop to think?
24:45As a matter of fact,
24:46De Palma's film is also one of the best Stephen King adaptations, full stop.
24:50I thought you said they were gonna win.
24:52They won't even be close.
24:55I called in a few favors.
24:57Sissy Spacek is magnetic as the troubled and doomed high schooler
25:01with telekinetic powers,
25:02while De Palma's strengths as a visual storyteller
25:05are set on full display.
25:06The director combines soft focus sensuality
25:19with split-screen photography before the final fiery climax,
25:22while that ending jump scare
25:24just has to be one of the best actualized frights
25:26ever to make us jump out of our collective skin.
25:29Number 8.
25:42Worst.
25:43Thinner.
25:43It could be argued that the late 90s
25:45weren't exactly the best era
25:47for Stephen King's horror tales being adapted to the screen.
25:55Thinner feels more like a direct-to-video effort
25:58than anything intended for movie theaters,
26:00possessing a certain laziness
26:02that struggles to get out of first gear.
26:04In the death of Suzanne Lemke,
26:06which is hereby ruled accidental,
26:08this hearing is closed.
26:10The already, well, thin premise
26:12of a man suffering from a curse
26:14that causes dramatic and deadly weight loss
26:16is not helped by garishly exaggerated effects
26:19on lead Robert John Burke.
26:20I say you are a demon!
26:22And we should kill you!
26:24Is that what I am to you?
26:27A demon?
26:27Look at me.
26:33Thinner might have worked
26:34as a short segment for an anthology series
26:36like Tales from the Crypt
26:37or Tales from the Dark Side,
26:39but it struggles to find its creative feat as a feature.
26:51Number 7.
26:52Best.
26:53Misery.
26:53Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress
26:56after wowing critics and audiences
26:58with her performance in Misery.
27:00Misery.
27:01Yes, I told you I was your number one fan.
27:04Bates' captivating presence proved
27:06that Misery wasn't just about the shock value
27:08of the iconic hobbling scene,
27:10but also about the character study
27:11of a deeply disturbed woman losing touch with reality.
27:14Don't even think about anybody coming for you.
27:16James Caan makes a great straight man
27:25as the helpless victim to Bates' rage,
27:28an author who suffers a crippling car accident
27:30while driving home through the Colorado snow.
27:32Oh, you bought the wrong paper, Annie.
27:34I can't write on this paper, Annie.
27:36Well, I'll get your stupid paper,
27:38but you just better start showing me
27:39a little more appreciation around here, Mr. Man.
27:44King himself has never shied away
27:46from saying exactly what he thinks
27:48about most film adaptations of his work,
27:50and he had nothing but praise
27:52for the end results of Misery.
27:53I don't, I don't know what you're talking about.
27:57Ceramic pangolin.
28:00Is this what you're looking for?
28:02Number six, worst, The Mangler.
28:05The Mangler seemed doomed from the start,
28:08right from its wonky premise
28:09of a demonically possessed laundry press.
28:15Yeah, that is the actual main antagonist here,
28:18and it's about as scary as it sounds.
28:20A woman's dead, Mark.
28:23It folded her like a sheep.
28:26Not even horror icon Robert Englund
28:28could assist The Mangler
28:29in reaching audiences back in 1995,
28:31although he definitely feels like
28:33he's up for the task.
28:34Breaking and entering is a serious crime.
28:37Officer!
28:38Perhaps I should have you arrested, huh?
28:40The actor's enthusiasm
28:41ultimately can't save The Mangler, however,
28:44nor can the directing prowess
28:45of the man in the chair, Tobey Hooper.
28:47Yet somehow, despite such a poor reception
28:56in the press and at the box office,
28:57they made two straight-to-video sequels.
29:03Number five, Best, Stand By Me.
29:06Look over there!
29:07I see him!
29:08I see him!
29:08Some of the best Stephen King adaptations
29:11often have little to nothing to do
29:14with the world of horror.
29:15We had all followed the Ray Brower story
29:17very closely because he was a kid our age.
29:19Three days before, he had gone out
29:21to pick blueberries,
29:22and nobody had seen him since.
29:23I think we should tell the cops.
29:25Stand By Me is definitely
29:26one of those adaptations,
29:28a coming-of-age story that may center
29:29around the quest to see a dead body,
29:31but it ends up being much, much more than that
29:34by the closing credits.
29:34God gave you something, man.
29:37All those stories that you can make up.
29:39And he said,
29:39this is what we got for you, kid.
29:40Try not to lose it.
29:42But kids lose everything
29:43unless there's someone there
29:44to look out for them.
29:45The cast of young talent is incredible,
29:47from Corey Feldman and River Phoenix
29:49to Will Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell,
29:51while director Rob Reiner
29:52handles the source material
29:53with intelligence and heart.
29:55You're gonna have to kill me, Ace.
29:57No problem.
30:00Stand By Me is endlessly quotable
30:02and eminently memorable.
30:03It's truly one of the all-time greats.
30:06My dad said it, I'm no good.
30:08He doesn't know you.
30:10He hates me.
30:12He doesn't hate you.
30:14He hates me.
30:16No, he just doesn't know you.
30:18Number four.
30:19Worst.
30:20The Dark Tower.
30:22If you've never read
30:23The Dark Tower book series,
30:24check it out.
30:24They are great.
30:26Whether you have or not,
30:27by all means,
30:28steer clear of the 2017 film adaptation.
30:31You have nothing to be afraid of,
30:33my friend.
30:35It's kind of a shame, too,
30:36because Idris Elba
30:36makes a fine role into Shane,
30:38and Matthew McConaughey
30:39chews the scenery
30:40for all he's worth
30:41as the man in black.
30:42The boy was to shine
30:43strong enough to kill a demon.
30:46Jackpot.
30:47The Dark Tower just had a bad script,
30:49toned down adult themes,
30:51and a desire to just compress
30:52too much of King's wild vision
30:54into a single film.
30:55Isn't that why we're losing?
30:58Because everyone stopped believing.
31:00As long as the darkness is out there,
31:03the tower will fall.
31:05Call it a case of missed opportunities
31:06or just call it a failure.
31:08Just don't call up The Dark Tower
31:10the next time you're looking
31:11for a worthwhile King adaptation.
31:12It's fitting that you and the tower
31:14should fall together.
31:16Number three.
31:17Best.
31:17The Shining.
31:18If Stephen King is right,
31:20does that make millions
31:21of horror fans wrong?
31:22The author famously disliked
31:24director Stanley Kubrick's
31:25austere and grim take
31:26on The Shining.
31:27So much so that King wrote
31:29his own version for TV in 1997.
31:35Let me buy you.
31:36No way.
31:37No one gets past Rubber.
31:41However, time has largely forgotten
31:43the Stephen Webber vehicle
31:44and has instead placed
31:46Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance
31:47at the head of the horror table.
31:49Kubrick's idiosyncratic vision
31:50certainly does feel disconnected
31:52from King's source material
31:53but in the best possible way.
31:55Luckily, Mike Flanagan
31:57was more faithful
31:58in his worthy 2019 adaptation
32:00of the book's sequel,
32:01Doctor Sleep.
32:02But from the moody score
32:03and nightmarish imagery
32:04to the hallucinogenic set pieces
32:06and genre-defining performances,
32:08Kubrick's The Shining
32:09is pretty much perfect.
32:19Number two.
32:20Worst.
32:21Maximum Overdrive.
32:23Pop quiz, Hotshot.
32:24Define worst.
32:25If by worst,
32:26you mean tons of fun
32:27to view with friends
32:28yet absolutely impossible
32:29to defend as a horror film,
32:31then congratulations.
32:32We're watching
32:33Maximum Overdrive tonight.
32:34Now what?
32:38King actually directed
32:41this film himself
32:42and cut an awesome trailer
32:44where he laments
32:45the lack of frights
32:45present within earlier
32:46adaptations of his work.
32:48Please don't miss me
32:49in the dark.
32:50Help!
32:51Help me.
32:53I'm gonna scare
32:54the hell out of you.
32:55Unfortunately,
32:56the directing of
32:57Maximum Overdrive
32:58took place at the height
32:59of King's substance use struggle.
33:01And it shows.
33:01The film plays it
33:16totally straight
33:17but feels utterly ridiculous.
33:19We made you!
33:21Can't you understand?
33:23What's worse?
33:24It's tragically
33:25never even scary.
33:27Not even a bitchin' score
33:28by ACDC
33:29can save this one.
33:30Before we continue,
33:42be sure to subscribe
33:42to our channel
33:43and ring the bell
33:44to get notified
33:45about our latest videos.
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33:47to be notified
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33:49or all of them.
33:50If you're on your phone,
33:51make sure you go
33:52into your settings
33:53and switch on notifications.
33:56Number 1.
33:57Best.
33:58The Shawshank Redemption.
33:59Frank Darabont
34:00may have adapted
34:01The Mist
34:01and The Green Mile
34:02for Stephen King
34:03but it's probably
34:04the Shawshank Redemption
34:05that will go down
34:06as the writer-director's
34:07defining work.
34:09I must admit
34:09I didn't think much
34:10of Andy
34:10the first time
34:11I laid eyes on him.
34:13Looked like a stiff breeze
34:14would blow him over.
34:15For many,
34:16it's their favorite movie
34:17and it's easy to see why.
34:19Ask me something.
34:22Why'd you do it?
34:25I'm innocent, Red.
34:26Just like everybody else here.
34:28There's just a ton
34:29of heart and soul
34:30behind The Shawshank Redemption
34:31aided by the chemistry
34:32between its two stars
34:34Tim Robbins
34:34and Morgan Freeman.
34:35Feel bad about it
34:36if you want to
34:37but you didn't pull the trigger.
34:39No, I didn't.
34:40Somebody else did.
34:43And I wound up in here.
34:45The film offers proof
34:46that Stephen King
34:47is a master storyteller
34:49not just of horror
34:50but of humanity.
34:51I have no idea
34:52to this day
34:53what those two
34:54Italian ladies
34:54were singing about.
34:56Truth is
34:57I don't want to know.
34:59Some things
34:59are best left unsaid.
35:01There's an ease
35:02to The Shawshank Redemption
35:03that makes it
35:03incredibly rewatchable
35:05and a feel-good ending
35:06that brings tears
35:07to our eyes
35:07every time.
35:09What are your favorite
35:09Stephen King takes
35:10on the screen
35:11and your least favorite?
35:12Get busy
35:13in the comments below.
35:14The Shawshank Redemption
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