We’ve curated that list down to a manageable three dozen or so, both big and small screen, that are 1) all available for streaming and 2) significant or notable in some way. Your mileage may vary, and you may want to dig deeper for a few favorites we’ve left out. But we’re satisfied that this is a King list fans can easily binge for weeks on end — whether you’re trapped by a raging snowstorm in an empty hotel or locked in your house due to an apocalyptic pandemic.
Carrie (1976/2002/2013)
The 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek as a young girl whose psychokinetic fury is unleashed by relentless high school bullying was the first King adaptation (of his first published novel) and still one of the best. Followed by less impressive remakes in 2002 (a TV movie) and 2013 (a theatrical release).
The Shining (1980)
One of King’s all-time classics was turned into one of the greatest horror movies of all time by Stanley Kubrick. The film still holds up as a sustained exercise in dread, featuring a performance for the ages by Jack Nicholson as the doomed caretaker of the Overlook Hotel.
Creepshow (1982/2019)
King’s first produced screenplay was a collaboration with legendary horror director George A. Romero on an anthology of grisly EC Comics-inspired tales. More fun than truly scary, Creepshow is still a blast and even includes King himself in the cast as the ultimate redneck. Look out for an early Ted Danson appearance too! Horror streaming service Shudder recently launched a series inspired by the movie.
The Dead Zone (1983) / (2002–2007)
Johnny Smith (an outstanding Christopher Walken) wakes from a five-year coma to find that he can see the future…and realizes he’s the only one who can stop a megalomaniac politician (who seems all too familiar now) from wrecking the world. King’s lyrical novel became a poignant movie from David Cronenberg, who put aside the body horror for something more poetic. The book also inspired a TV series starring Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny.
Christine (1983)
The ink was barely dry on the first copies of King’s novel about a haunted car before John Carpenter’s screen adaptation was in theaters. The cast is clearly a little too old to be playing high school students, but that bad-ass Plymouth Fury is really the star of the show. It’s not top-tier for either King or Carpenter, but it’s still fun.
Firestarter (1984)
Little Charlie McGee (Drew Barrymore) can start fires with her mind, so naturally the U.S. government’s most clandestine and sinister branch wants to weaponize her. Although it’s one of the most faithful adaptations of a King novel, Firestarter only works in fits and starts, and its cast — led by vets like George C. Scott, Art Carney and Martin Sheen — is inconsistent.
Cat’s Eye (1985)
This second King-based anthology features adaptations of two of the most fun stories from his classic Night Shift collection — “Quitters, Inc.” and “The Ledge” — as well as an original tale called “General,” all somehow tied together by a pesky cat. A minor entry for sure, but a brisk, breezy 94 minutes.
Stand By Me (1986)
“The Body,” one of the four novellas from King’s first non-horror collection, Different Seasons, was the basis for this beautifully directed, deeply felt coming-of-age tale from director Rob Reiner. The four young stars — Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O’Connell and Corey Feldman — all took very different paths after breaking through in this moving small town odyssey. One of the best King adaptations.
The Running Man (1987)
King wrote the slim novel this is based on — one of his few overt sci-fi stories — under his Richard Bachman pseudonym in about a week. Very loosely inspired by the book, the movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the main contestant on a game show where criminals are hunted by professional killers. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky of Starsky & Hutch fame), The Running Man was actually more fun than King/Bachman’s grim potboiler.
It (1990)
Take your pick: King’s mammoth monsterpalooza of a novel was first adapted as a two-part miniseries and then a two-part movie (more on that below). The TV version is good but hampered by its budget and esthetic restrictions; it’s best remembered for a tremendous performances by Tim Curry as Pennywise, the clown manifestation of the evil title entity.
Misery (1990)
Rob Reiner is one of three members of a small club of directors who have made more than one excellent King adaptation (Frank Darabont and Mike Flanagan are the others). Annie Wilkes, the psychotic ex-nurse who traps her favorite author (James Caan) in her house after he’s gravely injured is a character for the ages, and Kathy Bates won a well-deserved Oscar for her performance. Misery is grim, macabre, funny and humane, and one of the best King movies ever.
Needful Things (1993)
Based on a novel billed as “the last Castle Rock story” (it wasn’t), Needful Things is a deal-with-the-devil tale in which old Scratch is played by Max von Sydow, switching to the other team after his iconic turn as The Exorcist. Von Sydow and Ed Harris lead a generally excellent cast in an often clever story, but director Fraser Heston’s work is never more than pedestrian.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
It may not be the most financially successful King movie of all time, but it’s perhaps only second to The Shining in its infiltration into the cultural zeitgeist. Directed by Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead), this story of how friendship and hope endures over decades in a bleak prison is powerful, profound and deserving of its classic status.
The Green Mile (1999)
Frank Darabont became the master of Stephen King prison stories with this three-hour epic about a team of death row guards led by Tom Hanks and the psychically gifted inmate (the late Michael Clarke Duncan) who changes their lives. Although King’s story falls into the “magic Negro” trap, it’s still an often endearing and moving tale.
Desperation (2006)
ABC’s long-running series of King adaptations closed out with this single-night, three-hour movie directed by regular King associate Mick Garris (The Stand). It’s set in the title town, a wide spot on a Nevada road that has come under the control of a frightening entity named Tak. Like the book, Desperation starts out strong but starts to run out of gas toward the end.
The Mist (2007)
The third King-based film by Frank Darabont is also the darkest — Darabont even changed King’s bleak but ambiguous ending to make it even more depressing. A sort of throwback to 1950s monster movies (Darabont even wanted to film it in black and white), The Mist is scary, Lovecraftian fun. King’s story also inspired a TV series that ran for a single season on Spike.
Under the Dome (2013–2015)
Based on one of King’s most well-received recent novels, Under the Dome — about a small Maine town (of course) sealed inside a massive, mysterious alien bubble — started out like gangbusters and got progressively weirder and dumber as it veered further away from King’s epic. But the first season is pretty strong and you may find yourself sucked in anyway.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
King’s “unfilmable” novel — about a woman left chained to a bed in a remote house after her husband dies of a heart attack during sex play — was indeed filmed (for Netflix) by horror auteur Mike Flanagan, who combines King’s strange novel and a bravura performance by Carla Gugino in a tense, claustrophobic thriller with a compassionate theme of feminine resilience. Available on Netflix
1922 (2017)
Thomas Jane (The Expanse) gives one of the finest performances of his career as Wilfred James, a Nebraska landowner whose depraved plot to kill his wife (Molly Parker) — by getting his son involved — leads to a spiral of psychological and possibly supernatural destruction. A slow-burning, effective thriller that once again proves King’s novellas are often the perfect length for filming. Available on Netflix
Mr. Mercedes (2017–present)
Brendan Gleeson plays retired cop turned private eye Bill Hodges in this series based on King’s Hodges trilogy of supernaturally-tinged crime novels. Gleeson is one of his generation’s finest actors, and the show features a different take on the character of Holly Gibney, who later shows up on The Outsider.
Castle Rock (2018–present)
One of the more unusual King-derived series, Castle Rock wove characters and locations from the King Universe into an original story in its first season, while turning its second year into a prequel to Misery. Think of it as “King remixed,” enjoy the many Easter eggs and relish Lizzy Caplan’s work as a young Annie Wilkes. Available on Netflix
Doctor Sleep (2019)
A sequel to The Shining? It seemed improbable even when King wrote his 2013 novel. But then Mike Flanagan made a movie that somehow managed to follow up both King’s original 1977 book and Stanley Kubrick’s film version. Both frightening and compassionate, Doctor Sleep was one of 2019’s best and most overlooked movies.
The Outsider (2020)
One of King’s most recent novels got a speedy adaptation on HBO, bolstered by a great cast and a powerful sense of atmosphere and dread. It struggles to stretch the novel through its 10 episodes, but never loses its consistent tone and haunted esthetic.
