When it comes to authors, it's hard to argue that anyone is more prolific than Stephen King. King has published over 60 novels and more than 200 short stories. With such a large body of work, it has been fertile ground for adaptations. Many filmmakers, from Stanley Kubrick to Rob Reiner and Brian De Palma, have adapted King's work into feature films. While known as the King of Horror, the author has also crafted compelling dramas and coming-of-age stories that have inspired generations of writers, filmmakers, and fans.
Update June 6, 2023: In honor of the release of The Boogeyman, this list has been updated to include even more Stephen King film adaptations.
While not every King adaptation is a masterpiece, and in the case of The Dark Tower, some are pretty bad, there have been plenty of great adaptations made of King's work. They have been box office hits, cult classics, and even Oscar contenders. With that in mind, take a look at the very film adaptations of Stephen King's work.
14 Secret Window
Secret Window is a psychological thriller released in 2004, directed by David Koepp, and based on a novella of the same name by Stephen King. The movie features the life of writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), who retreats to his cabin in upstate New York while his marriage is falling apart. But as it happens, by avoiding one problem, he ends up attracting so many more.
While he was immersed in his writing, a stranger called John Shooter (played by John Turturro) shows up at his door and accuses him of plagiarizing his story. Mort completely denies it and tries to fight off the stranger's invasiveness. However, the stranger wouldn't go away until he completely messes up Mort's life. The mysterious and psychological elements that are prominent in the movie make it one of the best.
13 1408
Stephen King loves to write about writers, from The Shining to Secret Window. 1408 is no exception. The movie is a serious blend of many classic Stephen King hallmarks, from an isolated writer to a haunted hotel. 1408 was a surprise hit when it was released in a crowded 2007 movie summer and showed that a good horror film, particularly one with the pedigree of Stephen King behind it, could draw in a crowd.
12 The Boogeyman
The latest adaptation of King's work is The Boogeyman. Originally a short story written by King and published in 1973, the story revolves around a family hit by grief over the loss of a mother. A family is haunted by an ancient evil, which generations have gone to call The Boogeyman. The movie changes much of the structure of the original novel but keeps the scare factor and shows that in the 21st century, King's work still provides the basis for good horror movies.
11 Creepshow
Creepshow holds a special place in the hearts of horror fans. Some may be surprised to see it on this list, given that it's a bit uneven, but hey, it's an anthology film! It's bound to be that way! Creepshow united King with the master of zombies, the late George A. Romero, for a pre-code comic bookish series of yarns filled with simple scares and pulpy premises. One of the Creepshow stories even stars the author himself in one of the anthology film's strangest stories.
10 The Mist
The first of many Stephen King movies on this list, directed by Frank Darabont is The Mist. The Mist and its almost singular supermarket setting give it a great sense of cabin fever and claustrophobia, ramping up the tension and horror that King is known for. The movie also features one of the most heartbreaking twists in the end, one that was a change from the novel but a major improvement that has left an impression on audiences ever since.
9 The Dead Zone
Paramount Pictures
Can you imagine a world where the President of the United States is an authoritarian ruler whose brinkmanship threatens the world's very existence? Well, that's the future Christopher Walken is trying to avoid in The Dead Zone, where he squares off against Martin Sheen under the wise direction of David Cronenberg. The Dead Zone came out between Videodrome and The Fly, a worthy entry in the filmography of Cronenberg and Stephen King, no matter what you may have heard.
8 Carrie
Based on King's breakthrough book, the one his wife famously rescued from the wastebasket after King had thrown his first few pages away. Carrie is a cinematic classic on a number of levels, with so many major talents involved. It was directed by Brian De Palma years before he made Dressed to Kill, Scarface, or The Untouchables.
It starred Piper Laurie as one of the scariest repressive parents of all time. And, of course, Carrie featured Sissy Spacek in the title role as a bullied telekinetic teen. The rite of passage that is the high school prom would never be the same after Carrie. It also opened the floodgates for many adaptations of King's work.
7 It
While the original It television film certainly has its audience, it is hard to argue that 2017's It film is the better version. While It Chapter Two was considered a disappointment, the first one distilled the iconic elements people remember from the original horror film into one of the biggest horror movies of all time. It was a full-blown blockbuster on par with any superhero movie release that year. It helped usher in a new age of Stephen King adaptations and cemented Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise as one of the all-time great movie monsters.
6 Misery
It is clear Stephen King loves to write about writers, particularly writers in dire circumstances of their own creation or from outside forces. Kathy Bates earned an Oscar for her portrayal of the worst kind of super fan in Misery, years before online trolls brought the best and worst of fandom to the surface. The movie is a great mixture of suspense, horror, and moments of pure delight in how the plot is slowly revealing the characters' true intentions.
5 The Green Mile
The Green Mile is by now considered one of the classics. It is a beautiful cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's 1996 novel of the same name. It stars Tom Hanks, David Morse, and Michael Clarke Duncan and tells the story of an extraordinary encounter between a prison guard, Paul, and a death-row inmate, John. John is an African-American man accused of murdering two sisters, but his personality shows an immense degree of empathy and gentleness that it made Paul believe in his innocence.
The more time Paul spends with John, the more he discovers that the latter is supernaturally gifted. He possesses the gift of healing, mind reading, and resurrection. The Green Mile became an instant favorite among Stephen King fans and also normal moviegoers, and it certainly is one that could make even the most cynical viewer shed a tear.
4 Doctor Sleep
Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, Doctor Sleep is a 2019 horror movie based on Stephen King's novel of the same name and is also a sequel to The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. Despite its box office failure, this movie is an interesting continuation of its predecessor. Jack Torrance's son Dane is now a young man struggling with alcohol addiction and other psychological trauma residues from his childhood experience at the Overlook Hotel. However, his life changes and acquires meaning when he meets Abra, a teenager who has the same gift of "shine" as him.
Doctor Sleep manages to be both a faithful adaptation of Stephen King's book and also a sequel to The Shining, even though the book Doctor Sleep purposely tried to distance itself from the film. The finished result is a movie that should not work but somehow is a great adaptation, a worthy sequel, and a truly beautiful film about facing one's literal and personal demons.
3 Stand By Me
By no means is the Stephen King library filled with nothing but horror. Even 'though it's based on a novella called The Body, which does involve a dead body, Stand By Me is a baby boomer coming age story, the tone and vibe of which have been borrowed by everything from The Wonder Years to Stranger Things to well, It.
Stand By Me was the first adaptation of King's non-horror work and a move away from comedy for director Rob Reiner, the man responsible for This is Spinal Tap and later When Harry Met Sally. Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell, the late River Phoenix, and Corey Feldman all shine here, along with supporting player Kiefer Sutherland. The ending is one of the most heartbreaking of any movie, and the film remains beloved by many.
2 The Shawshank Redemption
Writer, director, and producer Frank Darabont had a particular Midas Touch with Stephen King adaptations, parlaying less horror-filled and more contemplative King tales like The Green Mile into critical and box office gold. The Shawshank Redemption is arguably the best of these, rightfully earning seven Oscar nominations. While it did not win in any category and was a box office bomb, the movie has endured as a timeless classic and is considered one of the greatest movies of all time.
1 The Shining
This pick may be controversial for some Stephen King diehards, given its divergence from the source material and the author's own displeasure with many of its choices. Yet it is hard to argue that legendary filmmaker Stanely Kubrick's The Shining is the best. Despite the changes, The Shining is a perfect horror film that continues to terrify audiences to this day. Filled with iconic imagery that has been referenced, recreated, and parodied in a wide variety of media, The Shining is easily the most memorable and best Stephen King adaptation.