The famous American writer specializing in horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science fiction, and fantasy novels just celebrated his 74th birthday on September 21st. As you may know, he is one of the most respected writers in the horror world.
In his novels and stories, the sky is the limit. His books can give readers an adrenaline rush and fear that no other writer can achieve.
Given that King has so many spectacular novels, Hollywood certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make several films based on his stories.
So to celebrate his birthday, let’s take a look at the five best movie adaptations based on Stephen King’s novels.
Stephen King Movies Everyone Should See
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Since it was first released to the public in 1994, The Shawshank Redemption has been one of the best movies of all time to date. On IMDb, this movie has a rating of 9.3/10 and 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Shawshank Redemption has won several nominations, including seven nominations for the 1995 Academy Awards.
Although in the end, it didn’t win any Oscars, in fact, this movie has had a tremendous influence on the development of cinema in the next era.
The story behind bars is centered on Andrew “Andy” Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is imprisoned for allegedly committing the murder of his wife and lover.
Andy was later sentenced to two life sentences and sent to the Maine state penitentiary named Shawshank. Andy then forms a friendship with Ellis Boyd Redding, who is usually called Red (Morgan Freeman). From 1947 to 1966, this film takes a different perspective on a person whose life is behind bars.
Instead of focusing on efforts to gain freedom, The Shawshank Redemption takes a unique perspective that is completely different from most movies. This movie instead concentrates on how to adapt to life in prison.
2. Stand by Me (1986)
Most people would know about Stand by Me from the recent Doraemon movie. However, the title was first introduced by Stephen King’s movie with the same title.
What happens when four young boys go on their adventure to find the body of a child their age who was killed by a train? “Stand By Me” tells the adventures that become an impressive experience for them and explores the story of each of the main characters.
The third feature film, directed by Rob Reiner, is based on an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Body,” which was later written by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans.
When viewed from the original novel’s title with this film’s title, it will be very unrelated to the film’s title. Because if you pay close attention, Stephen King is more focused on the element of “child corpses” in attracting the interest of the reader’s story.
Meanwhile, when viewed from the title, this film focuses more on the emotional core of the four main characters.
This movie actually tells the story of a writer named Gordie. Adult Gordie, played by Richard Dreyfuss, turns out to have a memory of an adventure with his three little friends when they were 12 years old.
This story is then poured into an essay for his book, which will make the audience flashback to the era of the 50s in starting their adventure story.
To watch this classic, you can refer to various streaming platforms. Some of the best choices are Apple TV and Prime Video. But, first, read this Expressvpn review before watch.
Having a VPN will be helpful to keep you secure when opening streaming websites like this. Since most of them would probably have a bunch of ads everywhere, a VPN will ensure that your IP stays hidden so they can’t track you.
3. The Shining (1980/1997)
King stated that he hated Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining so much that he remade an adaptation of the novel of the same name into the mini-series Stephen King’s The Shining in 1997.
His efforts received mixed reviews and are still being compared to this day with Kubrick’s version of the film.
However, The Shining is still one of the best horror films you can always watch.
4. IT (2017)
The film adaptation, directed by Andy Muschietti, broke the bar for horror novel adaptations. Even though IT went through many production hurdles, this film is still one of the great horror genres thanks to its craziness and gore.
IT tells the story of a murderous clown, Pennywise, who can change shape and terrorize a group of children. There’s no better story than this.
There are two versions of Pennywise that you can watch, namely IT Part 1 (1990) and IT Part II (1990), played by Tim Curry, and IT (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019), played by Bill Skarsgard.
And if you pay a closer look, you may notice that one character is played by Stephen King himself!
5. Doctor Sleep (2019)
The debate among film fans about Doctor Sleep seems endless, but this adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is the best.
Even with a novel that is criticized as not scary and tends to be boring, director Mike Flanagan manages to do the unthinkable.
The story of Danny Torrance dealing with his childhood trauma makes for a great film and an excellent sequel to The Shining.
