My Top 10 Stephen King Movies
10. Hearts in Atlantis - I'd like to think this movie is wonderful, but I'm realistic. This movie is very good, but by no means does it top my list. Unfortunately like other film fumbles, his book is too long to adapt perfectly. This is not one to pass over just because of its flaws; even with them it's a worthy film.
9. It - This is the only made for TV movie (mini series) that actually seems to deliver. Stephen King's book runs circles around this film, but that doesn't mean your going to sit and yawn for four hours.
8. Shawshank Redemption - This movie is one of the "I didn't know that was based on a Stephen King story" movies. Surprising to some, this is a great version to one of his novellas from the Different Seasons collection. This movie is so unbelievably good and one of his most critically acclaimed adaptations. (FYI - The original story is called Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.)
7. 1408 - Finally one of King's horrifically scary stories gets made in modern times with a quality cast. Not only did I enjoy this but
I can re-watch it without losing the scares.
6. Stand By Me - Similar to Shawshank, this movie is an unlikely King story. This movie is a coming of age story and remains a little more innocent than King's version, but how can you make a quality 80's family film called The Body? - (which is the story's actual title)
5. Dreamcatcher - This movie needs to be thought of as a true
attempt to adapt Stephen King's style of writing. The unusual but witty dialog, the unbelievably odd bonding of unlikely friends, and the flashbacks - all key King motifs. But the ending does tarnish
this otherwise near perfect King film.
4. Secret Window - This movie works due to the talented cast and great production value. This movie seems basic, but this is the type of movie that could have easily been an ABC movie of the week starring Tony Danza (instead of a feature film with Johnny Depp). This movie builds psychologically and delivers.
3. The Mist - I had to re-read this story after watching and discussing the shock this movie left in my gut. The special effects, acting, and cinematography are all way above par. But, those favorable nods are not the real reason to appreciate this movie. Instead, think about this; The Myst movie changes King's intended ending. Director Frank Darabont's did something no one else has - improve upon King's story.
2. Misery - If you want to see simplicity as brilliance, then look no further. Misery the book is a little more on the crazy side, but the film is nothing less than a masterpiece. The movie has lots of great laughs to help deliver the frights (as well as creepy music and eery silence). Kathy Bates can never play any other role without first reminding me of this movie.
1. The Shining - Honestly I have trouble wondering if this movie is as amazing as the book, but it definitely reaches the audience all the same. The moments of this movie that do not make sense only feed your imagination - it's the unexplained, not the plot of the movie, that leaves you unable to sleep at night.
The Unbearable Bottom 5 Stephen King Films*
5. Rose Red - I wanted this to be good... it wasn't. Instead I wasted over four hours of my life... I want a refund.
4. The Lawnmower Man - Well, where do I start? First of all this movie doesn't even try to follow the book's story-line. Also this movie gets worse with age, the dated technology makes this movie completely horrible by today's standards (way crappier than the crappy it was in 1992.) CGI technology in pre-Jurassic Park cinema is now like watching old white people try to "rap" - very cringe worthy.
3. Thinner - I read the book and really thought it was interesting, not great... just kind of okay, I guess. The movie doesn't deserve near that much credit. Non-compelling, that is the kindest thing I can say without thrashing this movie.
2. Sleepwalkers - Inbreeding doesn't scare me enough I guess, neither do were-cats. This movie thinks its scary. And guess what? It's not. Watch as the movie-pacing and musical score leads you to believe that it's delivering all kinds of spooks. Liar.
1. The Stand - If this book wasn't so good, then it wouldn't be so painful to see this movie. King made a masterpiece, Mick Garris (director of this and many other horrible King adaptations) made a pile of steaming horse poop.
* Disclaimer - Just a note, there are lots of adaptations (mostly TV movies) that I have outwardly refused to watch. So, this list is by no means the worst possible Stephen King translations - in fact I assume that there are at least ten other movies that suck as bad as my bottom five.
** Double Disclaimer - Yes, I realize that I forgot to mention The Green Mile and it's popular movie version starring that guy Hanks. I wasn't too fond of the book and the movie actually left out a whole lot of the book's better parts. Sorry, this is just my personal feelings and I'm sticking to them.
*** Triple Disclaimer for Nightmares & Dreamscapes - Yes this series is pretty awesome (even if one of the better episodes - i.e. Battlegrounds - came from the collection Night Shift... not Nightmares & Dreamscapes). But, that being said, they are not really movies. If I gave too much credit to a TV series, then it would mess up the whole scheme of this list. They're not BAD versions; they're just NOT movies.
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i too was not aware of the fact that the shawshank redemption was a stephen king film -- that is one of my favorites!!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of Silver Bullet and Maximum Overdrive? Two of my favorite King movie adaptations. Never read the Overdrive story but do own Silver Bullet as the interior artwork was done by the amazingly talented Bernie Wrightson. Bullet was pretty faithfull to the original story aside from leaving out 2 or 3 months worth of story. Overdrive was just unabashed, good fun. Terrifing yes, to have your machines turn against you, but really. How cool was it to see the steamroller plow through the little league team or the soda machine go rogue and launch cans toward unsuspecting victims?
ReplyDeleteGreat picks by the way for your top 10. I was really impressed with The Mist. More like floored by it. Now that is how a King adaptation should be done. Also loved the nod to the Gunslinger in The Mist. I wanted to like Dreamcatcher but the ending just really left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a great ride up until the unvealing at the end. King's stories have so much potiental for great films but I feel directors may just not know what to do with the material.
Never saw Hearts of Atlantis though. Didn't see the King angle to it. Kind of like Shawshank originally until I read the short story.
Yes, I agree. I really like Silver Bullet, Overdrive... and CREEPSHOW! These are some of my favorite 80's Horror (not to mention King) movies. This list was a little too short at only 5, so maybe I should update it with another 5 King movies I like.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to agree on your comment about Dreamcatcher also. The movie is so good, until the last 15 minutes.
As for Hearts of Atlantis, the movie was good but for what you don't see instead of what's really there. That movie makes me want to know what happened because it really doesn't tell the viewer enough of the story to satisfy their curiosity.
Hey, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Oh, I forgot about Creepshow. But then again, I don't really count that as a King movie. He does have one of the better chapters in the movie though.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... One of these days, I may just have to give Hearts a try.
No problem! I had subscribed to your RSS feed through the Mac Mail client and have been meaning to make a comment on this post but never took the time to. I had some time to kill today at work before the big staff meeting and figured now was as good a time as ever.