9 July 2020
6 Stephen King adaptations to watch online
Stephen King is undoubtedly the most popular – and prolific – writer of horror fiction of our time. Many of his books, novellas and short stories have been adapted for the big and small screens. For example, The Body, from the collection titled Four Seasons, became the classic Stand By Me starring the late River Phoenix, and Keifer Sutherland. His first published book, Carrie, was made into a movie in 1976 starring Sissy Spacek and, yes, John Travolta.
Obviously there are way too many to mention individually, so here are some options that are currently available.
The big takeaway from this one is that it’s the best performing new HBO drama series since the first season of Westworld in 2016, which is quite impressive, you have to agree.
It begins with the murder of a young boy (in a small town so typical of King’s middle America), with all evidence pointing to a local man (Jason Bateman, who also directs the first two episodes). In this day and age of forensics, the physical evidence seems hard to refute but facts come to light that throw everything into question as investigators must challenge their own beliefs in what is real and possible, and what is not.
2
The Green Mile (Netflix)
King’s story set on Death Row in the 1930s is unique in that it was originally published in serial form – six little books. The film stars Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan, and was directed by Frank Darabont, who arguably did the best work with adaptations of King’s work (including Shawshank Redemption, another excellent prison drama).
3
The Shining (Netflix)
Jack Nicholson is iconic in this Stanley Kubrick-directed tale of a haunted hotel and murderous lunacy, as is the movie poster with him leering through a door smashed with an axe. Creepy hotels are a theme often revisited by King – such as 1408, which starred John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson.
4
1922 (Netflix)
Using his creative licence, King drew from true crimes to write this novella, a work of pure fiction. The film stars Thomas Jane as Wilfred James, a man who is at the end of his tether with his wife, and his farm. Obviously, there is only one solution: kill the wife. Except it’s never that simple.
5
Gerald’s Game (Netflix)
King is not always about the supernatural horror; sometimes it’s about the dark psychos, which can, in its own way, be even more frightening. This is one such story, which begins simply enough with a couple going off to a remote (obviously) cabin for some kinky sex games involving handcuffs … and things go horribly wrong. Carla Gugino is in this movie: you may recognise her from Jett, where she played a sexy kick-ass criminal.
In the sequel to the classic horror film based on Stephen King’s novel, it’s 27 years later and the seven kids have grown up and gone their separate ways. But when Pennywise the evil clown returns, they reunite to end him for good.
