If you are a fan of the horror and fantasy genre, then you must know Stephen King, the father of countless famous works. His versatility and constant transformations from motifs to small details have earned him much acclaim from critics.
By 2006, this American author had sold 350 million books and won many major awards including the Hugo Award, O. Henry Memorial Award, National Medal of Art, British Fantasy Society Award…
Stephen King’s Biography
Stephen King (full name Stephen Edwin King) was born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine, USA. His childhood was unhappy as he was abandoned by his father and strictly raised by his devout Christian mother.
When he was young, he directly witnessed his friend being hit by a train. This was considered a great shock, which made Stephen become a quiet, reticent boy. Many fans believe this incident more or less influenced his writing style.
Stephen said: “I started writing when I was 6 or 7 years old. It began with copying comic books to making up my own stories. Movies were also a big inspiration. So when I started writing, I tended to rely on the images I had seen because that was what I knew at the time.”
His writing talent was partly supported by his passion for reading when he was young: “I read everything from Nancy Drew to Psycho. My favorite book was The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson. I also loved comic books.”
In his early years, he earned money by selling stories to friends. The first of his independently published stories was I Was a Teenage Grave Robber, which was serialized over four issues of Comics Review magazine.
In high school, Stephen was a sports reporter for the Weekly Enterprise. In 1966, when entering the University of Maine, he took on various jobs to pay for tuition such as laborer, gas station attendant, and laundry worker.
A Glittering Career and a Downward Spiral of Life
In 1974, Carrie was the first Stephen King novel to be published. The work tells the story of a tortured teenage girl who is granted telekinetic powers. This work earned Stephen a considerable amount of money and gave him more motivation to focus on writing. Carrie also helped establish him as one of the world’s leading horror fiction writers.
Interestingly, the original work was initially dismissed by Stephen and thrown in the trash before being discovered by his wife, Tabitha, who requested he finish the unfinished part.
The sudden success led Stephen to increasingly turn to alcohol and stimulants to seek inspiration. Cujo, the work that won the British Fantasy Award, was the result of his near “unconscious” days.
In 1999, Stephen was in a car accident and severely injured his entire right side. Doctors at the time diagnosed him as unlikely to be able to walk normally again. However, overcoming all circumstances, he continued to regularly write books and participate in literary forums, setting himself the goal of writing 2000 words per day…
A Great Talent of Hollywood
Many of Stephen King’s books and stories have been adapted into films such as Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Christine, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Some notable adapted works made big splashes and won many prestigious awards, including Oscars.
Below, let’s go through the best film adaptations of all time from Stephen King’s works!
Carrie (1976)
Carrie was Stephen’s major breakthrough as a writer in 1974. At the same time, just two years later, it also became a phenomenal hit, listed among the best films based on his works.
The protagonist, Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is an awkward, sensitive teenage girl who is bullied by friends at school. She lives with her domineering, fanatically religious mother, Margaret White (Piper Laurie).
When strange phenomena occur, Carrie believes she possesses supernatural powers. Despite trying to restrain her extreme vigilance, Carrie realizes everything around her is becoming increasingly dark and violent.
The Shining (1980)
The film tells the story of a man named Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) – a writer struggling with his writing who comes to an isolated hotel to improve his current situation.
Jack is the caretaker of the remote, luxurious Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He arrives with his wife and son Danny (Danny Lloyd).
When Danny inadvertently steps into the forbidden room, a series of supernatural phenomena arises. Jack becomes increasingly deranged and unable to distinguish right from wrong. He chases his wife and child to kill them and is unable to write a single word for his new novel…
Stand By Me (1986)
The film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars and won two Golden Globes for the adventure of four Oregon boys who decide to go see a dead body after learning that a stranger was accidentally killed near where they live.
On the way, Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Vern Tessio (Jerry O’Connell), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) encounter a mean-spirited man who threatens the safety of the four boys. After many dangerous events, Gordie, Vern, Chris and Teddy gain more understanding about each of their family lives. From childish jokes, the journey of the four boys gradually turns into a defining event in their lives.
Misery (1990)
Misery is a work with only two main characters, who for most of the film’s duration live in an isolated house in winter.
James Caan plays novelist Paul Sheldon, a man saved from a car accident by a nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Unfortunately, Annie as his number one fan forces Sheldon to write a new novel reviving his famous character Misery Chastain.
Thanks to her “divine” acting, actress Kathy Bates won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Annie, who is also considered one of the greatest villainous horror characters of all time.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
This was the first of writer-director Frank Darabont’s films adapted from Stephen King’s works. The Shawshank Redemption is also regarded as Stephen King’s greatest work ever brought to screen.
The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Spending 20 years within the cold walls of Shawshank Prison, Andy unexpectedly escapes the prison to everyone’s surprise.
Though built on quite a dark premise, the film is ultimately an uplifting story about one man’s resilience of spirit in the most difficult circumstances.
The Green Mile (1999)
Like The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile is primarily set in a prison and focuses on a wrongly convicted inmate. In this case, the prison is Cold Mountain Penitentiary (set in the Depression era) and the convict is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan).
The head guard on death row (Tom Hanks) is “bewitched” by John’s gentle nature and seemingly supernatural healing abilities. He is conflicted about whether to execute this kind and innocent man.
The film evokes sorrow in viewers due to old prejudices, as one knows the man is innocent but cannot do anything other than stand by.
The Mist (2007)
The Mist is based on a Stephen King short story of the same name, about a group trapped in a remote grocery store after a strange mist envelops the area and terrifying dinosaur-like creatures emerge.
Just when the deadly creatures seem overwhelming, the group faces a threat from within – the religious zealot Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) who seeks human sacrifices to appease the monsters.
The above information shows that from a less-than-ideal childhood, Stephen King grew to become one of the greatest writers, making huge contributions to 20th-century literature. If you haven’t watched the above works, quickly make time to relax with films adapted from his books! They will surely not disappoint.
It: Chapter One (2017)
It is one of Stephen’s most iconic novels and also one of his most successfully adapted works, breaking box office records. The film tells the story of a group of brave high school students who stand against the merciless, terrifying killer hiding in their town’s sewer system
The film is filled with horror, ghostly scares, and Bill Skarsgard’s terrifying yet impressive performance as the evil clown Pennywise.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Doctor Sleep is the sequel to the classic The Shining. The story follows a now adult Danny Torrence (Ewan McGregor) struggling with alcoholism and psychological trauma from the horrific events at the Overlook Hotel in his childhood.
Danny discovers he shares a psychic power with a young girl who is being hunted by a sinister cult feeding off children who “shine”. He is drawn into a battle to protect the girl’s life and soul. Doctor Sleep revisits the terrifying world of the Overlook and expands on The Shining’s mythology.
Danny’s hope for a normal life goes up in smoke when he meets Abra, a teenager with psychic powers. Together they fight against a group who inhales others’ life force to maintain their immortality.
Pet Sematary (2019)
This is a Stephen King adaptation that received mixed reviews for its changes from the source material. Pet Sematary tells the story of Dr. Louis Creed and his wife Rachel, who move from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discovers a mysterious burial ground deep in the woods near their new home.
When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his sinister neighbor Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), who leads him to the area and reveals its secret – “things buried there don’t stay dead”. Louis dangerously tests this claim as grief drives him to defy the natural order.
Tragedy strikes when the family of four meets their new neighbor Jud Crandall. A series of gruesome, violent deaths suddenly befall the Creed family.
Besides the above works, Stephen King has some other books adapted into films such as:
- Christine (1983)
- Cujo (1983)
- The Dead Zone (1983)
- Creepshow (1982)
- The Dark Tower (2017)
- In the Tall Grass (2019)
- The Boogeyman (2023)
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| 5 | Ciaphas Cain: Death or Glory |
| 6 | The Traitor’s Hand |
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| 8 | Rhythm of War |
| 9 | Saturnine |
| 10 | Fulgrim |
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