The only thing more thrilling than a Stephen King book is a film adapted from one of his novels. The long-time author is one of the most successful writers of his generation, and his spooky, cinematic settings have served as inspiration for some of Hollywood’s most esteemed creatives. The best Stephen King movies often use the source material as a basis for the films, and then the directors put their own twist on the stories to pull the audiences in even more.
From Stanley Kubrick to Rob Reiner, famous filmmakers have operated within their own framework to turn otherwise forgotten Stephen King books into some of the most beloved of the last 40 years. These are the best Stephen King movies made from the best Stephen King books. These pictures range from coming-of-age stories to horrifying science fiction classics.
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12. The Running Man (1987)
101m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
Stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Dawson, María Conchita Alonso
Directed by
Paul Michael Glaser
Watch on Amazon
It’s hard to imagine a Stephen King movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but The Running Man actually fits quite a few traditional aspects of the author’s style into the story. King loves to analyze alternative universes, and this film places Schwarzenegger into a Hunger Games-esque zone where the action star vies for freedom against violent criminals on TV. The dystopian vibe remains the strong point of an otherwise loosely plotted affair.
11. Doctor Sleep (2019)
152m
Genre
Horror, Thriller, Fantasy
Stars
Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran, Rebecca Ferguson
Directed by
Mike Flanagan
Watch on max
A rare sequel for Stephen King follows the story of the boy from The Shining. Doctor Sleep isn’t as well-known or acclaimed as its predecessor, but Ewan McGregor gives a strong performance in the role of adult Dan Torrance. The themes and genre tropes used here revolve around immortality and cultism and the power of manipulation over individuals who are different in some way from the rest of society. King often focuses on these types of outcasts to make a big deal about contrarian points of view.
10. Cujo (1983)
93m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly
Directed by
Lewis Teague
Watch on Amazon
A canine is a man’s best friend, so what happens when your BFF starts attacking the town relentlessly? Shelter in place inside your car and get creative like the mother-and-son team in Cujo! The film’s use of a rabid dog antagonist horrifies audiences because it takes a benign, beloved pet and alters our perception of what evil that being is capable of. Stephen King believes Cujo stands above most other adaptations of his work, which isn’t necessarily a good sign since he criticizes some of the best films on this list.
9. Misery (1990)
107m
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Stars
James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth
Directed by
Rob Reiner
Watch on Apple TV+
Misery brilliantly dives into obsessive fan culture through Kathy Bates’ character, Annie Wilkes. She manipulates her favorite author, Paul Sheldon, to her will by violently trapping him after a car accident off the grid from civilization. Bates plays one of the best female characters in any of King’s works.
8. It (2017)
135m
Genre
Horror
Stars
Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer
Directed by
Andy Muschietti
Watch on max
The second half of this adaptation (which King was more directly involved with) goes a little bit off the rails, but It: Chapter One is delightful and horrifying in equal measure. The film tells the story of a group of friends living in Maine in the 1980s who discover that they are being haunted by a malignant force who looks like a clown. The individual scares here are pretty terrific, as is the young ensemble cast that gets put together to try to figure out what’s going on and make sure that everyone gets out of this particular haunting with their lives. Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard is one of the standout child acting performances in the film, which received a sequel in 2019.
7. The Dead Zone (1983)
103m
Genre
Thriller, Horror, Science Fiction
Stars
Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt
Directed by
David Cronenberg
Watch on Amazon
The Dead Zone dives into all sorts of philosophical dilemmas through Christopher Walken’s character, Johnny Smith. The man wakes up after a car crash with prophetic powers, and his decisions to change the future based on his supernatural abilities make the movie a true classic. Walken has been a supporting character actor through most of his recent career, so this is a nice change of pace to see him in the starring role.
6. Stand by Me (1986)
89m
Genre
Crime, Drama
Stars
Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell
Directed by
Rob Reiner
Watch on Amazon
The outstanding cast of child actors in Stand By Me is what allows the coming-of-age film to defy time and age gracefully no matter what audience is viewing it. Four precocious boys get into more trouble than they expect when they adventure through the Oregon wilderness to find a presumably dead child in the late 1950s. Viewing a period piece that was made almost four decades ago almost feels like an Inception moment, as you get a fun look at what people thought of a time from the past, and those people are now old themselves in 2023. River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton give the best performances of the film, indicating the success that would follow for both actors.
5. Gerald's Game (2017)
104m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas
Directed by
Mike Flanagan
Watch on Netflix
A brilliant, self-contained thriller, Gerald’s Game tells the story of a woman who finds herself handcuffed to a bed with no way out after her partner dies in the middle of sex. As she tries to survive, she finds herself haunted by visions with no idea whether they are real or not. Featuring a riveting central performance from Carla Gugino and some excellent direction from Mike Flanagan, Gerald’s Game is in some ways the platonic ideal of a King adaptation. It’s scary and unsettling, but also reflective in ways the best horror stories can sometimes be.
4. The Green Mile (1999)
189m
Genre
Fantasy, Drama, Crime
Stars
Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse
Directed by
Frank Darabont
Watch on Amazon
One of Tom Hanks’ best performances see him depict a man who oversees a prison and must contemplate the meaning of the fantastical elements enrobed into the jail. The late Michael Clarke Duncan gives an outstanding supporting performance. The film makes people think about the implications of life inside the slammer through the lens of King’s supernatural aesthetic.
3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
142m
Genre
Drama, Crime
Stars
Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
Directed by
Frank Darabont
Watch on Amazon
The compelling prison-set Shawshank Redemption seems to grow in popularity as the years pass since its release due to inarguably great qualities like the chemistry between Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. Due to it being based on a novella, many people didn’t even know this movie was adapted, and now it stands tall as one of the best Stephen King movies of all time.
2. Carrie (1976)
98m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving
Directed by
Brian De Palma
Watch on Amazon
Carrie was the first book King ever published, and this famous adaptation came only two years after the fact, demonstrating the immediate positive reaction to the author’s work in the pop culture zeitgeist. Carrie is the classic story of a rejected teenager who becomes even more of an outcast after she realizes her supernatural powers lend her the ability to fight back against her abusers. Almost 50 years later, this film endures as an epitome of 1970s horror filmmaking.
1. The Shining (1980)
144m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers
Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Watch on Amazon
One of the movies that deviate the most from Stephen King’s source material, The Shining is the classic Stanley Kubrick horror film that showed the director’s ambition at the turn of the decade and the brilliance of Jack Nicholson in the lead role. Jack Torrance remains an all-time haunting antagonist as he stalks his family in the confines of the supernatural inn, the Overlook Hotel.
