All Hail The King
While seeing "based on a Stephen King novel" might make one more intrigued to see a particular movie, it is by no means an indicator that said movie will be any good. Because while there have been some amazing films made from Stephen King's stories, there have been some really bad ones also—and now it is time to rank them all.
There are a lot, so forgive us if we miss any. And also, we won't be considering movie sequels unless there was a sequel book as well. Sorry Children of the Corn franchise.
50: Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Maximum Overdrive was Stephen King's first try in the director's chair—and after making what he has since called a "moron movie," he vowed never to direct again. And he hasn't.
De Laurentiis Entertainment, Maximum Overdrive (1986)
49: Graveyard Shift (1990)
While Rotten Tomatoes doesn't always get it right, we have no problem starting off this list with the movies in the Stephen King-verse that earned the dreaded 0%. One of them being 1990's Graveyard Shift.
Paramount, Graveyard Shift (1990)
48: Children Of The Corn (2009)
Notice the year. This isn't the 1984 film (we'll be getting to that one a little later). This one is the 2009 remake that aired on the SyFy channel and also holds a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Planet Productions, Children Of The Corn (2009)
47: Firestarter (2002)
Again, this is a remake. And again, while the original wasn't very good, 2002's Firestarter was even worse.
Traveler's Rest Films, Firestarter (2002)
46: Cell (2016)
John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson in a Stephen King movie sounds like it could be good...it wasn't.
Benaroya Pictures, Cell (2016)
45: Children Of The Corn (2020)
Nope, still not talking about the OG Children of the Corn. This was the 2020 attempt at making a good version of the film. Needless to say, they failed miserably.
ANVL Entertainment, Children Of The Corn (2020)
44: Carrie (2002)
Wait! Before you freak out, look at the year. Not sure why we needed a remake given how good the original Carrie is. But they tried—and failed!
43: Riding The Bullet (2004)
To quote one of the many negative audience reviews: "A convoluted mess with nothing interesting going on". That pretty much sums it up.
MPCA, Riding the Bullet (2004)
42: Sleepwalkers (1992)
Sleepwalkers was the first time that Stephen King had written a screenplay first and not adapted one from a book or story he'd already written. Variety called it "an idiotic horror potboiler".
41: The Lawnmower Man (1992)
This one probably shouldn't even be here since, while it was initially intended to be an adaptation of the Stephen King short story, they couldn't figure out how to expand it to feature length and the final film holds very little resemblance to King's story. In fact, King sued to have his name taken off the film (and won).
Allied Vision, The Lawnmower Man (1992)
40: Dreamcatcher (2003)
The film was such a disappointment that director Lawrence Kasdan's career took a beating in the years after: "With Dreamcatcher, the career was hurt. I was planning to do The Risk Pool with Tom Hanks. I had written the script from a great book by Richard Russo (Nobody's Fool). And it didn't happen. Then another one didn't happen. Meanwhile, two years have passed here, two have passed there. That's how you're wounded".
Castle Rock Entertainment, Dreamcatcher (2003)
39: The Mangler (1995)
It sounds like a lame WWE wrestler character from the 80s—but in fact, The Mangler is a bad Tobe Hooper-directed horror film based on a King short story.
Distant Horizon, The Mangler (1995)
38: Thinner (1996)
Producer Mitchell Gallin thought the script for Thinner was the best he'd ever worked with. But even he admitted the film didn't live up to it.
Spelling Films, Thinner (1996)
37: The Dark Tower (2017)
The Dark Tower series of novels is Stephen King's magnum opus. The movie based on parts of the series (as well as acting as a sequel to the novels) was, however, to quote one critic: "incomprehensible to newbies and wildly unfaithful and simplistic to fans of King's books".
Columbia, The Dark Tower (2017)
36: The Night Flier (1988)
This one-note horror film premiered on HBO in 1997 and got a limited run in theaters in '88.
New Amsterdam Entertainment, The Night Flier (1988)
35: Needful Things (1993)
If you're needful of a really good Stephen King movie, don't watch this one.
Castle Rock Entertainment, Needful Things (1993)
34: Firestarter (1984)
Upon seeing a rough cut of the film, Stephen King called it "one of the worst of the bunch".
33: Cat's Eye (1985)
A horror anthology with a cat as a throughline, there are three separate stories in this one. King wrote the first two based on his work and the third one is all original to the film.
Dino De Laurentiis Company, Cat's Eye (1985)
32: A Good Marriage (2014)
A woman discovers her husband's dark secret while he is away on a business trip. With Joan Allen and Anthony LaPaglia in the lead roles, this psychological thriller had the potential to be quite good. But instead it "fails to fulfill the potential of its provocative premise".
Cinergy Pictures, A Good Marriage (2014)
31: Silver Bullet (1985)
Said one critic: "The kids have a silver bullet, the only known power that will stop a werewolf. Unfortunately, there's no known power that will stop films like this". Ouch! Roger Ebert liked the film—but viewed it as a parody of King's novel.
Dino De Laurentiis Company, Silver Bullet (1985)
30: Big Driver (2014)
A revenge tale that you'll want to get revenge on for wasting almost an hour and a half of your life.
Ostar Productions, Big Driver (2014)
29: Salem's Lot (2024)
While King's story had been made into a miniseries back in '79, this 2024 film was the first feature length stab at his vampire tale. It turned out okay, but doesn't stand out in any meaningful way either.
New Line Cinema, Salem's Lot (2024)
28: In The Tall Grass (2019)
Evil lurks in the tall grass in this adaptation of the novella written by King and his son. It's an interesting premise that the film is never able to fully realize.
Copperheart Entertainment, In The Tall Grass (2019)
27: Carrie (2013)
The 2002 version was unnecessary—so why did we need this one? WE DIDN'T!
26: Creepshow (1982)
King's directorial debut was awful, but his screenwriting debut (Creepshow) had some fun, and scary, moments.
Warner Bros., Creepshow (1982)
25: Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
A high schooler and an older man remain connected supernaturally via their iPhones after the elder man passes away. An interesting premise that the film does well to explore—even if it's not completely satisfying in the end.
Blumhouse Productions, Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
24: Pet Sematary (1989)
Gene Siskel called it "sickening" (he meant it in a bad way).
Paramount, Pet Sematary (1989)
23: Pet Sematary (2019)
Better than the original? Barely.
Paramount, Pet Sematary (1989)
22: Hearts In Atlantis (2001)
Director Scott Hicks creates a wonderful mood for the film and Anthony Hopkins is, as always, excellent.
Castle Rock, Hearts In Atlantis (2001)
21: Children Of The Corn (1984)
This one has a strong cult following—and even though it doesn't completely hold up all these decades later, it's still better than any of the sequels and remakes.
New World Pictures, Children Of The Corn (1984)
20: The Dark Half (1993)
The film's 62% Rotten Tomatoes score sounds about right.
Orion Pictures, The Dark Half (1993)
19: Cujo (1983)
A horror movie about a rabid St Bernard. Only in the 80s.
Sunn Classic Pictures, Cujo (1983)
18: The Boogeyman (2023)
A jump scare parade.
Twentieth Century, The Boogeyman (2023)
17: Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
It does what it does well—even if it isn't doing anything crazy new or original.
Come Back Productions, Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
16: The Running Man (1987)
You may have forgotten that Arnold Schwarzenegger was in a movie based on a Stephen King novel. But he was.
15: Christine (1983)
It's obviously not the best horror film John Carpenter ever directed. But the scary car is still worth a look.
14: Secret Window (2004)
While the ending is a bit of a let down, the trip getting there is smart and intriguing.
Columbia, Secret Window (2004)
13: Apt Pupil (1998)
Bryan Singer was a hot director coming off of The Usual Suspects. His take on Apt Pupil has a stronger artistic vision than one often finds with King films, and Ian McKellen is brilliant as always—yet while the movie is pretty good, it also leaves you knowing it could've been so much better.
Phoenix Pictures, Apt Pupil (1998)
12: The Mist (2007)
Frank Darabont directed three films based on Stephen King stories. The Mist was good—the others were great.
Dimension Films, The Mist (2007)
11: 1408 (2007)
While the endings left many unsatisfied, the journey is highly satisfying.
10: Doctor Sleep (2019)
It ain't easy to make a film sequel based on a book that's a sequel to a book the original film differed from in some pretty major ways. But Doctor Sleep did an admirable job. We aren't sure who it's for though—Kubrick fans or King fans?
Warner Bros., Doctor Sleep (2019)
9: The Green Mile (1999)
This Darabont adaptation is better than The Mist, but not as good as.....(you know the one).
Castle Rock, The Green Mile (1999)
8: It (2017)
There was even some Oscar talk from some critics for this one.
7: Dolores Claiborne (1995)
Kathy Bates starred in two really good Stephen King movies—and she has said that it was her performance in Dolores Claiborne that is her greatest (which says a lot, given she won an Oscar for the other one).
Columbia, Dolores Claiborne (1995)
6: The Dead Zone (1983)
Directed by David Cronenberg, The Dead Zone is easily the best Stephen King movie that hardly ever gets talked about.
Dino De Laurentiis Company, The Dead Zone (1983)
5: The Shining (1980)
Putting aside the fact that Stephen King himself doesn't like the movie, The Shining isn't even one of Stanley Kubrick's five best films. However, while it may be slightly overrated by today's film bros and film-stagramers, it's still deserving of a spot high on our list.
Warner Bros., The Shining (1980)
4: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
It's been atop IMDB's Top Films list for years—a fan favorite whose appeal has just kept growing over time.
Warner Bros., The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3: Carrie (1976)
They've tried to remake it a couple times, but Brian DePalma did it almost flawlessly the first time. Although, we will admit that the ranking of this, and the next movie, might come down to a bit of a generational thing. If you're a 70s horror kid, then Carrie no doubt has a hold on you that could well see it moved up a spot. Whereas...
2: Stand By Me (1986)
If you're an 80s kid, then Stand By Me undoubtedly holds a special place in your movie heart that won't allow for it to be any lower on this list.
1: Misery (1990)
We didn't do it on purpose—but yes, Rob Reiner directed the two best Stephen King movies. You don't have to take a mallet to our ankles to get us to tell you how great Misery is.
