After ‘The Long Walk,’ here are the Stephen King films to stream at home
After ‘The Long Walk,’ here are the Stephen King films to stream at home
Not all these Stephen King adaptations bring the horror, but they’re all great.
I’ve been calling this my summer of Stephen King. I wrote a few weeks ago about how I’ve been on a bit of a horror kick lately, both reading-wise and movie-wise. So far, I’ve read “The Shining,” “Pet Sematary,” “Misery,” and now I’m ripping through “It” (it’s a long book!). That’s why I was pretty excited to see “The Long Walk” in theaters. That’s one I haven’t read, so I was going in fresh. All I can say is that it’s one of the best and most difficult to watch movies I’ve seen this year. And once it hits streaming, it’s going to make this list. All of this is to say, now is the perfect time for a list of my favorite Stephen King movie adaptations. So enough of my blabbering… let’s get to it.
Top 7 Stephen King movie adaptations
No. 7: ‘Pet Sematary’ (1989) | Paramount+
“Pet Sematary” is my favorite Stephen King novel so far, and while the 1989 film adaptation isn’t perfect, it really works. The story follows the Creed family, who move to a quiet Maine town, where the head of the family, Louis, discovers a cemetery that brings the dead back to life… with horrifying consequences. Stephen King actually wrote the screenplay himself, so the movie sticks close to the book’s dark heart, especially that unforgettable line: “Sometimes dead is better.” Director Mary Lambert really lets the tension creep up slowly, and by the time the ending hits, you’re left with this overwhelming sense of dread. It’s very ‘80s in its look and feel, but that final twist still lands like a gut punch, just like it does in the book.
Pet Sematary
After the Creed family’s cat is accidentally killed, a friendly neighbor advises its burial in a mysterious nearby cemetery.
No. 6: ‘The Green Mile’ (1999) | Netflix
I don’t think I’ve ever made it through “The Green Mile” without tearing up. Set in a 1935 death-row prison block, it follows guard Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) and his interactions with John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a massive man with a gentle soul and an almost miraculous healing power. Directed by Frank Darabont, the movie takes its time, giving each inmate and guard their own weight in the story. By the time Coffey’s fate is sealed, you’re wrecked by one of the most moving endings in a King adaptation. It’s fantasy, it’s tragedy, and it’s also a reminder of what mercy and cruelty can look like in the same breath.
The Green Mile
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people’s ailments. When the cell block’s head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey’s miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man’s execution.
This emotional powerhouse directed by Frank Darabont, based on a novel by Stephen King. The cast is top-notch, with Michael Clarke Duncan, Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Jeter, Doug Hutchison, and Sam Rockwell.
No. 5: ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ (1994) | Netflix
Everyone has “The Shawshank Redemption” on their favorite King adaptations list for a reason. Based on King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” it’s the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a banker wrongly convicted of murder, and his unlikely friendship with fellow inmate Red (Morgan Freeman). It didn’t light up the box office when it came out, but over time, it’s become one of the most beloved films ever made. It was nominated for seven Oscars, and it’s even been preserved in the National Film Registry. The pacing is deliberate, the performances are quietly powerful, and that ending? Hopeful in a way that feels earned, not cheap.
The Shawshank Redemption
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates — including an older prisoner named Red — for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
No. 4: ‘The Shining’ (1980) | Rent with Prime Video
Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is maybe the most contentious of all King adaptations. Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, a struggling writer who takes a caretaker job at the remote Overlook Hotel and slowly loses his mind. When I read the classic for the first time this summer, I realized just how much the movie departs from what’s actually in the book. That isn’t to take anything away from the movie itself, which, in my mind,is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. But even King himself has been very vocal about how much was changed, and in his mind, it was for the worse. Still, there’s no denying that Kubrick’s focus on psychological horror, eerie imagery, and that sense of isolation makes the movie unforgettable. Whether it’s Danny whispering “redrum” or those long, unsettling shots of the empty hotel halls, this is horror that sticks in your head long after the credits roll.
The Shining
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren’t prepared for the madness that lurks within.
Stanley Kubrick’s classic spin on a Stephen King story has been hugely influential since its release, though King has been consistently critical of the adaptation.
Poor Shelley Duvall had a horrific experience during filming. According to the “Guinness Book of Records,” Kubrick demanded to reshoot the scene where she goes down the stairs with the baseball bat 127 times. She became so stressed during filming that her hair began falling out.
No. 3: ‘Stand by Me’ (1986) | Netflix
This is the Stephen King movie of my childhood, and I’ve seen it more times than I can count. “Stand by Me” is a beautiful coming-of-age drama based on his novella “The Body.” Four twelve-year-old boys set out to find the body of a missing kid, and what unfolds is equal parts adventure, danger, and nostalgia. Rob Reiner directs, with a cast that includes River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell, all of whom feel authentic as awkward preteens figuring out friendship and fear. There’s humor, heartbreak, and a closing narration that’ll hit you right in the chest: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.” That line nails exactly why the movie still resonates.
Stand by Me
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys’ adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
No. 2: ‘Carrie’ (1976) | AMC+
Before there was Eleven, there was Carrie White. Brian De Palma’s “Carrie” adapts King’s very first novel and blends teen drama with full-blown horror. Sissy Spacek gives a haunting performance as Carrie, a shy outcast bullied at school and abused by her religious mother (Piper Laurie). When her powers erupt at prom after a cruel prank, the result is one of the most iconic horror finales ever put on film. De Palma cranks up the suspense with sharp direction and striking visuals, and the way he stages the destruction gives the movie its lasting punch. It’s both terrifying and strangely heartbreaking.
Carrie
Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from her classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.
No. 1: ‘Misery’ (1990) | HBO Max
“Misery” might be the most purely terrifying King adaptation that doesn’t feature any kind of supernatural monster. Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a different kind of monster in this one. I could not put this book down, and the adaptation does it great justice. James Caan plays novelist Paul Sheldon, who gets rescued from a car crash by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a seemingly kind nurse who happens to be his “number one fan.” Once she discovers he’s killed off her favorite character in the series she loves, things take a dark, violent turn. The story stays mostly confined to one room, which only cranks up the tension — every scene feels like a battle of wills. Bates is phenomenal here, winning the Oscar for Best Actress, the only major acting award ever given to a King adaptation. And yes, the “hobbling” scene is as brutal now as it was back in 1990 (even if they changed Annie’s weapon of choice from an axe to something a little more… blunt). If you’re going to start with any King film adaptation, my vote is for “Misery.”
Misery
After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.