For those that hold special places in their hearts for the phrase “Here’s Johnny!,” there’s almost nothing better than rewatching a classic film adaptation of a Stephen King tome. Although The Shining and Carrie still do — and always will — hold up, there are plenty of newer horror movie releases based on King’s work that deliver the thrills, chills and uncomfortable feelings that sit with audiences late at night.
Whether delivering unexplainable dread that trickles in like a bad dream half-remembered or creating stunning visual effects that engulf a full screen, these fantastic page-to-screen adaptations by the King of Horror from recent years are more than perfect for a Halloween marathon or to keep the frights going long after the spooky season.
In The Tall Grass Delivers Psychological Horror
Full of the spooky and supernatural, In the Tall Grass is a bit like a fever dream. Co-written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill, this short story adaption brings a confusion of timelines and horrors to life. It also stars perennial horror favorite Patrick Wilson of The Conjuring franchise fame. Hearing a cry for help from a child somewhere among a field of appropriately tall grass, two siblings go in search to help but instead find themselves somehow trapped inside a field that exists in its own time and space and plays by its own sinister rules. Time loop terror melds with inescapably creepy fates to deliver a film that gets under the skin and messes with the mind.
Doctor Sleep Is an Excellent Follow-up to The Shining
Mike Flanagan has been steadily proving himself to be a master of horror, from his early works to his Netflix masterpieces, The Haunting anthologies and his original opus Midnight Mass. And with Doctor Sleep, he does the impossible, making a Shining universe adaptation that perfectly ties together the source materials and the 1980 Stanley Kubrick movie so famously disliked by King himself. Not only does Doctor Sleep match the books tonally, but it visually bridges into the 1980 film in perfect balance.
Set decades after The Shining‘s final act and Jack Torrance’s horrendous end, Doctor Sleep follows Danny Torrance, once riding tricycles through the halls of the Overlook and now struggling with alcoholism and his gift/curse of “the shine.” He must now protect a young girl who shares his gift from a cult of immortals that torture and feast on the souls of children who possess the shine in order to stay young. Events lead him back into the heart of his original trauma and bring both The Overlook and the Torrances’ sad tales to a meaningful close.
IT Chapter One & Two Continue to Terrify With Pennywise
As both a novel and as 1990 miniseries, Stephen King’s IT has shown remarkable staying power. The fascination with creepy clowns is a scary story archetype for a reason. While Tim Curry’s caustically creepy Pennywise is iconic, the 2017 and 2019 releases of IT Chapter One and Two revisit the terror of Derry in delightfully new and horrifying ways. Though set a few decades later than the novel, the movies still explore that fateful summer for the Losers Club as they face off against Pennywise the Dancing Clown and when he returns 27 years later to terrorize them again.
Pet Sematary Puts a Spin on the 1989 Classic
With a successful 1989 release, the 2019 remake of Pet Semetary didn’t just copy the original but brought new levels of terror to the screen. Following a family who discovers a cemetery in the woods behind their home with a twisted power, they soon learn that bringing the dead back to life is never as easy as it seems, and they return all too different. When their own child is killed and brought back via the sinister graveyard, they start to learn the hard way that what’s dead should stay dead. This new adaptation leaned into slower pacing, which fueled a satisfying payoff at the end of a slow burn. It also adopted a darker tone, creating a creepier atmosphere altogether.
Gerald’s Game Offers Small-Scale Horror
Another Mike Flanagan adaptation, this 2017 big-screen interpretation of the 1982 novel Gerald’s Game creates a masterful air of tension, suspense and uncertainty. It achieves the ultimate horror goal of eliciting feelings and creating sensations in the audience that align with the main character’s anguish. When Jessie’s husband dies of a heart attack, leaving her handcuffed to a bed in a remote cabin, she must not only figure out how to escape but deal with terrifying hallucinations. The blurred lines between what’s real and imagined are so opaque that it’s easy to lose a grip on reality right along with Jessie. And, in true Flanagan fashion, he allows the horrors onscreen to act as natural metaphors for the human condition and explores grief and terror as natural friends.
Castle Rock Explores Various Parts of Stephen King’s Universe
Castle Rock isn’t necessarily one straight adaptation but an amalgamation of Stephen King’s works and worlds. With an intertwined anthology format, callbacks and direct lineages to classics such as Misery, The Shining, Shawshank Redemption and even a looming Pennywise storyline, Castle Rock has something to offer for every King fan, hitting nostalgia notes while also offering new and unexpected stories.
Chapelwaite Excels in World-Building
Based on Stephen King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot, Chapelwaite takes a page from Castle Rock‘s world-building and story expansion. When a captain relocates him and his three children to his old home following the death of his wife, things start getting a little weird. His dark family history haunts him and refuses to let go. Alongside a heavy and unsettling atmosphere that creates a compelling literary feel, Chapelwaite also produces some seriously insidious vampires.
About The Author
