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Stephen King is the well-known author of many novels in the contemporary horror, science fiction, suspense, and fantasy genres. With fifty published novels, several non-fiction works as well as hundreds of short stories and comic books, King is one of the premier authors of his generation. Fans of his writings are given the added pleasure of seeing many of those novels come to the small and big screen. Everyone who reads King has at least one favorite; that one (or more) horror story making hands cover eyes and breaths hold until a scream emits without warning.

There are so many movies, miniseries, and made-for-television adaptations of Kings work; it is difficult to narrow it down to a top ten list. However, it is definitely worth a try so here it goes. Here is my top ten adapted to screen stories by Stephen King:

10. Firestarter (1984)

Drew Barrymore goes from innocence in E.T. to a girl who can start fires with her mind. Number ten on the list, the horror movie Firestarter was directed by Mark L. Lester and stars a host of well-known actors including Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Freddie Jones, George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Louise Fletcher, and Art Carney.

Keith and Locklears characters play students who participate in a college experiment focusing on telekinetic ability. They marry and have a daughter, Charlie who turns out to be pyrokinetic and of course the government is quite interested in the girl.

The film doesnt quite get off the ground despite the strong acting performances by Barrymore and Keith. It didnt do well at the box office, barely making back the budget, but it continues to be repeated now and again on cable television. Most King fans were disappointed in the movie version, believing the movie barely followed the books storyline. Keith and Barrymores performances earn it a spot on this list.

Firestarter (Original Theatrical Trailer)9. Pet Sematery (1989)

A cat? Really? Why do we have to have an evil cat? This heart thumping horror movie was directed by Mary Lambert and stars:

Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed
Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed
Blaze berdahl as Ellie Creed
Miko Hughes as Gage Creed
Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall

In this movie, Stephen King made a cameo appearance as a minister. In the Pet Sematary we learn the place is a lot creepier than it has any right to be. The Creed family moves from Chicago to a small rural town in Maine. The Creeds find their new house perfectwell almost perfect. They dont like the 18-wheelers rumbling past and there is a mysterious cemetery in the woods behind the house.

When the young Ellie Creeds cat dies, Louis learns the cemetery, misspelled Sematary is a special burial ground able to bring the dead back to life. He sees this first hand when the family cat gets buried there and returns; though it has changeddrastically. When Louis son dies in a terrible accident, Louis decides to bury his son in the Sematary, despite warnings that the ones who come back are never the same as when they left, The consequences are harrowing and deadly, for the entire Creed family and their neighbors. The ending is for sure a hide your eyes behind your hand thriller scene. Dont turn the lights out.

Pet Sematary - Trailer8. Cujo (1983)

Just when you thought you were over Old Yellercan you ever trust your pet dog again? Though somewhat predictable, this movie was scary because it used something cuddly and familiar (arent those always the most scary?) and turned it into a monster. The movie was directed by Lewis Teague and stars:

Dee Wallace as Donna Trenton
Danny Pintauro as Tad Trenton
Daniel Hugh-Kelly as Vic Trenton
Christopher Stone as Steve Kemp
Ed Lauter as Joe Camber
Kaiulani Lee as Charity Camber
Billy Jacoby as Brett Camber
Mills Watson as Gary Pervier
Jerry Hardin as Masen
Daddy as Cujo

Dee Wallace does an admirable job as the mother who is trapped inside a broken down car with her young son. The two are alone stuck in the car at a neighbors with a rabid dog waiting for them to get out of the car. Cujo is first seen in the movie as the lovable companion of Brett, but once bitten by a rabid bat, he kills Joe and neighbor, Gary.

As Donna and son, Tad begin to succumb to the heat inside the car, Cujo starts to attack. Can Donna save her son and herself? Just when you think they have escaped into the house, Cujo makes a comeback.

The movie got mixed reviews with many claiming it was too predictable and not one of the better adaptations of Kings work.[8] It had modest success at the box office, but still shows up on cable television now and again.

Cujo Attacks!7. IT (1990)

Whos afraid of clowns? Movies are rarely as good as the book if compared without considering the limitations of film. It the book is a whopping 1104 pages so there is a lot to cover for a movie. Perhaps this is why instead of taking it to the big screen; It was adapted into a two-part miniseries for television. While this would definitely make it more towards the number one end if the list was for books; the movie version sits here at number eight. Having said that; clowns will never look the same after watching this one and no one could play the clown better than Tim Curry.

Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the miniseries stars:

Jonathan Brandis / Richard Thomas as Bill Denbrough
Brandon Crane / John Ritter as Ben Hanscom
Adam Faraizl / Dennis Christopher as Eddie Kaspbrak
Emily Perkins / Annette OToole as Beverly Marsh
Marlon Taylor / Tim Reid as Mike Hanlon
Seth Green / Harry Anderson as Richie Tozier
Ben Heller / Richard Masur as Stanley Uris
Tim Curry as Pennywise

The story takes place in two time frames. In 1960 a group of social outcasts are tormented by a shape-shifting demon. It appears as a clown, feeds on the fears of children and kills them. The group defeats the evil clown, but 30 years later, it resurfaces and they must defeat it once and for all as adults.

The miniseries got mixed to positive reviews. The performances of Tim Curry and the young actors playing the twelve-year olds were highly praised.

Stephen King's IT Trailer (1990)6. Stand by Me (1986)

Can we say emotional roller coaster? If I weren't mixing all genres, this one would be further towards the number one. This was a great coming of age story based on Kings novella, The Body. The movie was directed by Rob Reiner and stars a host of young actors:

Wil Wheaton as Gordie Lachance (age 12)
The late River Phoenix as Chris Chambers
Jerry O'Connell as Vern Tessio
Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp
John Cusack as Denny Lachance
Kiefer Sutherland as "Ace" Merrill
Bradley Gregg as "Eyeball" Chambers
Casey Siemaszko as Billy Tessio
Gary Riley as Charlie Hogan

The plot revolves around four friends. Narrated by Gordie who tells the story of Labor Day Weekend in 1959 when he and his pals, Chris, Vern and Teddy embark on a journey to find the body of a boy who had gone missing. Vern had overheard his older brother talking to a friend about finding the body and Vern convinces the others they need to find the body and become local heroes. The remainder of the movie follows the boys on their journey as they learn about life and their relationships.

Much of the movie was filmed in various locations in Oregon and much of the soundtrack was comprised of classic 1950s hits including the title theme. The movie was a big success and Stephen King indicated this movie was the first successful adaptation to film of any of his works.[1] The young actors give wonderful performances and in an interview in 2011 Wil Wheaton credits the success of the movie to director Reiners casting of the boys:



Rob Reiner found four young boys who basically were the characters we played. I was awkward and nerdy and shy and uncomfortable in my own skin and really, really sensitive, and River was cool and really smart and passionate and even at that age kind of like a father figure to some of us, Jerry was one of the funniest people I had ever seen in my life, either before or since, and Corey was unbelievably angry and in an incredible amount of pain and had an absolutely terrible relationship with his parents.[1]


Stand By Me (trailer)5. The Shining (1980)

Heres Johnny! The number five scary and disturbing Stephen King movie is the psychological horror movie, The Shining. Produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the movie stars:

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance
Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance
Scatman Carothers as d**k Hallorann

Jack takes his family to an isolated hotel where they will be the caretakers through the winter. The son, Danny sees visions of the hotels past through a telepathic gift known as The http://www.africancentury.co.mz/