“They’re all gonna laugh at you!” – Margaret White
To celebrate the release of It Chapter Two in cinemas this week, I’ll be revealing my top 10 of Stephen King-novels adapted to the big screen.
10. Dreamcatcher
Friends on a camping trip discover that the town they’re vacationing in is being plagued in an unusual fashion by parasitic aliens from outer space.
Some parts are good. And some just aren’t..
Intriguing deep-woods thriller turns into unnecessary military counter-offensive.
9. Christine
A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
8. The Mist
A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
7. The Green Mile
The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.
6. 1408
A man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
5. Pet Sematary (2019)
Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, relocate from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discover a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home.
Pet Sematary is a scary adaptation that turns family tragedies into a sinister campfire horror tale. After directing somewhat smaller horror films, duo Kölsch and Widmyer prove they’re made for cinematic scare fests. Great acting, hauntingly soothing score and moody cinematography is what makes Pet Sematary worth checking out. Nightmares included.
4. Gerald’s Game
While trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house, Jessie must fight to survive when her husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame.
Gerald’s Game is an excruciatingly suspenseful psychological thriller driven by a compelling lead performance by Carla Gugino. Not to forget: Bruce Greenwood delivering a first-rate performance.
Suspense, some scares and the right amount of gore. Pleasantly surprised by what at first looks like a claustrophobic “Fifty Shades of Grey”, but quickly turns into something far more than that little bit of foreplay.
3. It (2017)
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
2. The Shining
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
- Carrie (1976)
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
What are your favourite Stephen King-adaptations? Are you checking out It Chapter Two, this week? Let me know in the comments!