The Films of Stephen King

Today’s episode of Sounds of Cinema examined films adapted from the works of Stephen King. Here is a recap of the pictures discussed on today’s show as well as a few additional titles.

Carrie (1976)
Carrie has been adapted three times: first in 1976 as a feature film directed by Brian DePalma and starring Sissy Spacek and again in 2002 in a made for television movie directed by David Carson and starring Angela Bettis. The novel was most recently adapted in 2013 as a feature directed by Kimberley Peirce and starring Chloe Grace Moretz. The original film was also followed by a sequel, The Rage: Carrie 2, released in 1999.


Salem’s Lot (1979)
Many of Stephen King’s works have been adapted for television. The first and still one of the best regarded is Salem’s Lot. Originally broadcast on CBS in the fall of 1979, Salem’s Lot tells the story of vampires invading a small New England town. Although it is recognizably a product of the 1970s, Salem’s Lot has aged very well and it is impressive not only as a made-for-television production but as a motion picture in its own right. Salem’s Lot was directed by Tobe Hooper, who had previously helmed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and would later direct the adaptation of Stephen King’s short story The Mangler. A made-for-television remake of Salem’s Lot was broadcast on the TNT cable network in 2004.


The Shining (1980)
Stephen King’s 1977 novel The Shining was adapted by director Stanley Kubrick for a feature film released in 1980. The novel tells the story of a couple and their young son who spend a winter as caretakers for a haunted hotel and the supernatural evil gradually overtakes the father. Kubrick’s film downplayed the supernatural element, turning The Shining from a story about external evil embodied by the hotel and into a story of the evil inside of the father. The film was released to lukewarm reviews although it is now regarded as a horror classic. Stephen King has admitted to hating what Kubrick did to his novel and so he produced a made-for-television miniseries of The Shining that was broadcast in 1997. King has since written a sequel to The Shining titled Doctor Sleep.


Creepshow (1982)
Like a lot of horror storytellers who grew up in the postwar era, Stephen King was influenced by the horror comics popular in the 1950s. King teamed with Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero to make a tribute to those comics. Creepshow is an anthology of five short stories written by Stephen King and featuring an impressive cast including Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, Ed Harris, and Ted Danson. King appears as an actor in the short “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill.” A sequel was released in 1987.


Christine (1983)
Directed by John Carpenter, Christine tells the story of a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with his car, a 1958 Plymouth Fury. The movie raised the profile of the car, resulting in it becoming a popular automobile among collectors.


The Dead Zone (1983)
Adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name, The Dead Zone was directed by David Cronenberg and starred Chistopher Walken as a man who awakens from a coma with psychic powers. He has a vision of an up and coming politician elected President of the United States and starting a nuclear war. The psychic then weighs whether or not he should assassinate the politician. Filmmaker John Badham, known for Saturday Night Fever and Wargames, was originally slated to direct but pulled out of the project when he decided that the material was irresponsible. The Dead Zone was later turned into a television series starring Anthony Michael Hall that was broadcast on the USA network from 2002 – 2007.


The Running Man (1987)
Based on the Stephen King novel (originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), The Running Man is a dystopian story in which convicts compete in a gladiatorial game show. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a wrongly convicted protagonist who must fight his way through the games. The cast also includes Richard Dawson, the original host of Family Feud, as the emcee of the game show.


Pet Semetary (1989)
Pet Semetary tells the story of a family that moves into a new home near a burial ground for domesticated animals. When deceased creatures are buried in the ground they return to life but with a corrupted spirit. Stephen King came up with the concept for the novel Pet Semetary while teaching for a year at his alma mater, the University of Maine at Orono. King based the book on his family’s experiences during that year, including the death of the family pet. King did not like the finished manuscript and was going to shelve it but he ultimately published Pet Semetary in order to fulfill his contract to publisher Doubleday. Despite his misgivings about the novel, King was very involved with the production of the film adaptation; he wrote the script, was present on set, and is even featured in a cameo role as a minister. 


It (1990)
Stephen King’s novel It was adapted into a made-for-television mini-series that was broadcast in two parts on ABC in 1990. The first half tells the story of young people who are terrorized by the ghost of a child killing circus clown known as Pennywise. In the second half, the surviving children, now adults, return to their home town to fac5e the demon once again. The first half of the mini-series is far stronger than the second half, partly because the conflict between Pennywise and the children is more compelling but also because the ending of Stephen King’s novel was more cerebral and that quality did not translate cinematically. Despite its shortcomings, It is still among the most popular adaptations of King’s works and that is largely due to Tim Curry’s magnificent performance as Pennywise.


Misery (1990)
Many of Stephen King’s stories are led by protagonists who are writers but Misery was most directly about King’s experiences as an author. In this story a successful novelist is held hostage by a crazed fan who demands that he keep her favorite character alive. Misery was directed by Rob Reiner, who had also helmed the King adaptation Stand By Me, and featured James Caan and Kathy Bates in the lead roles. Bates’ character in Misery is one of the most terrifying villains in motion picture history and she won an Academy Award for her performance. At the time it was considered quite strange and even shocking that an actor in a horror film would be given such a mainstream award.


Needful Things (1993)
Several of Stephen King’s novels take place in the small Maine town of Castle Rock, including The Dead Zone, Cujo, and The Dark Half. King’s 1991 novel Needful Things was billed as “The Last Castle Rock Story” although the town has since reappeared in other works. The book was adapted into a film released in 1993 and it is one of the more interesting adaptations of Stephen King’s work. The filmmakers combine shocking violence with witty humor, giving the picture a fun, mischievous tone. Needful Things is helped considerably by the casting, especially Max von Sydow as mysterious shop owner Leland Gaunt. The novel had a broad scope with many character and intersecting storylines. A lot of these subplots were scripted and shot but ultimately discarded in order to cut the film down to a feature length. The extended version can sometimes be seen in television broadcasts.


The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption was adapted from Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” part of the collection Different Seasons (which also included the source material for Apt Pupil and Stand By Me.) The film stars Tim Robbins as a wrongly convicted man sentenced to life in prison and Morgan Freeman as a fellow inmate who is inspired by his companion’s hope. The film adaptation was released in 1994 and although it was well reviewed it was box office disappointment in its theatrical run. The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but being released the same year as Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and Quiz Show, the movie was lost in the shuffle. It wasn’t until it premiered on home video and was broadcast on basic cable on a nearly constant basis that it found an audience and The Shawshank Redemption is now considered one of the great movies of all time.


The Stand (1994)
The Stand is an apocalyptic fantasy film in which nearly the entire human race is wiped out by a plague, setting the stage for a showdown between the forces of good and evil. Stephen King first published the novel in 1978 and it was later rereleased in expanded and updated editions. The film adaptation was in development for a decade, with Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero attached to direct at one point. The Stand was eventually produced as a television miniseries broadcast on ABC in 1994 and it was a very ambitious production for its time. A feature film remake of The Stand is currently in development.


Dolores Claiborne (1995)
Kathy Bates returned to the works of Stephen King in the title role of Dolores Claiborne. This film tells the story of a woman who is suspected of murder and in the course of her interrogation she reveals a traumatic life story of abuse. In addition to the film adaptation, Dolores Claiborne has recently been converted into an opera.


The Green Mile (1999)
Following The Shawshank Redemption, filmmaker Frank Darabont adapted Stephen King’s novel The Green Mile. This film tells the story of prison guards working on death row in the 1930s. The daily routine of the cellblock is disrupted by a mysterious new inmate, played by Michael Clarke Duncan, who has supernatural powers. When the film was released it became the biggest box office hit based on Stephen King’s source material. King has referred to The Green Mile as the single most faithful adaptation of his work.


1408 (2007)
Based on a Stephen King short story of the same name, 1408 tells the story of a skeptic who specializes in debunking supernatural myths and spends the night in a supposedly haunted hotel. The film went to theaters with a different ending than the one originally written and shot. Test audiences reacted negatively to the intended downbeat ending and so the conclusion of 1408 was reconceived. A director’s cut of 1408 was issued on DVD and restores the original ending.