Ever since the 1970s, the name Stephen King has been essentially synonymous with horror. One of the best-selling authors of the 20th century, he’s penned modern horror classics as well as dramatic short stories. With such a prolific catalog, it makes sense that Hollywood studios would be falling over themselves to adapt his work for both the big and small screen. But not all Stephen King films and television series are created equal – in fact, there’s a wide gulf in quality between his best and worst, although whether the issues lie in the original text or the adapted screenplay is open for debate. Now that we’re officially in the spooky season, here are some of the most chilling Stephen King adaptations that you can stream online.
'Salem’s Lot'
There have been a few different adaptations of Stephen King’s 1979 novel “‘Salem’s Lot,” but the original 1979 miniseries is by far the best. It stars David Soul as Ben Mears, a writer who returns to his childhood hometown in Maine (where else?) only to discover that it’s infested with vampires. Behind the camera is Tobe Hooper, who also directed the seminal horror classics The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Poltergeist, so you know it’s going to be spooky. If nothing else, it deserves credit for the unforgettably disturbing sequence where the Glick brothers, now vampires, float eerily outside the window of a neighborhood boy, beckoning him to let them in.
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'Castle Rock'
Unlike many other Stephen King adaptations, Castle Rock doesn’t come directly from one particular book – rather, it’s a setting that the author has reused in several of his books. The TV series Castle Rock, which streamed on Hulu, offered an opportunity to bring many of his most popular characters and storylines together. When else are you going to get the opportunity to see Annie from Misery (played by Lizzy Kaplan) alongside characters at the Shawshank Prison? Although Castle Rock only ran for two seasons, the show is a creative and imaginative use of Stephen King’s characters and dread-filled landscapes.
Watch on Hulu
'Carrie'
One of Stephen King’s earliest novels, Carrie took the world by storm in one of the most effective anti-bullying campaigns in recent memory. An off-kilter Sissy Spacek stars as Carrie, a teenage girl with telekinetic powers who is ruthlessly bullied by her classmates and abused by her sexually repressed mother. When kids at school plan a cruel prank on her at prom, she loses control of her powers, with tragic consequences for all. With enough psycho-sexual subtext to have Sigmund Freud shaking in his boots, Carrie leaves a massive impression on audiences and served as a calling card for the young Stephen King as a horror writer to keep an eye on.
Buy or rent on Amazon
'Misery'
Sometimes fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – with troupes of admirers, you can also get some megafans who are more trouble than they’re worth. Such is the case in Misery, where writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued from a car accident by the mild-mannered Annie (Kathy Bates). At first, she seems to be his savior, since his injuries might have been fatal if she didn’t bring him to her home and provide medical care. But it quickly becomes clear that she’s obsessed with his most famous novel series, and is willing to go to some pretty extreme ends to have the story end the way she wants. Kathy Bates dominates the film as Annie – she even won an Oscar for her performance, something incredibly rare for horror movies – gleefully following her maniacal devotion to its gruesome conclusion.
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'IT' (2017)
When it was announced that there would be a big-screen remake of IT, King fans experienced a mix of emotions. A Hollywood version of the book could fix some of the issues that plagued the 1990 miniseries, but how could anyone expect to top the delightfully twisted performance of Tim Curry as Pennywise? Enter Bill Skarsgard. The younger brother of Alexander Skarsgard effortlessly makes the character his own, creating a more animalistic take on the central antagonist. Complete with a capable cast of young performers and some genuine scares, IT is one of the most fully-formed of Stephen King’s adaptations. If only they didn’t squander all of this goodwill with a disappointing, over-long sequel.
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'The Shining'
A lot of adaptations of Stephen King’s work have a charmingly low-rent quality to them – not so with The Shining, helmed by legendary director Stanley Kubrick. When Jack (Jack Nicholson) and his family move to a remote mountain lodge so that he can serve as caretaker during the off-season, he thinks it’s going to be a well-deserved break. And it is, sort of – or at least, a break from reality. The Overlook Hotel has a mind and malevolent energy of its own, and it wastes no time in creating nightmarish visions for Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd). It’s certainly one of Stephen King’s most unabashedly cinematic adaptations.
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'Christine'
You know how some guys are, like, really into their cars? That’s basically Christine. In it, the geeky Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) sees his fortunes change when he buys and restores a vintage sports car from the 1950s. There’s just one problem – it’s extremely cursed. At first, the car fills him with a new sense of confidence, but before long, it begins to turn him against everyone in his life. Christine, as he calls the car, is murderously jealous of all the people who come between it and Arnie, and it acts accordingly. As Arnie grows more and more obsessed with Christine, it seems like the gruesome twosome can’t be stopped – unless he’s somehow able to break free of the spell he’s under. Twisted and campy, Christine may not be John Carpenter’s best horror movie, but it’s definitely one of his most fun.
Watch on Peacock
