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The Films of Stephen King
A filmography of the works of Stephen King provides a listing of all of King's books that have been adapted for the screen, along with information on cast, production credits, and King's commentary of the finished movies
- GenresFilmHorrorNonfiction
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 8, 2019
In anticipation of the next Stephen King film - this time, an unnecessary remake of Pet Sematary - I decided to read this old publication from the 90s which I found on Internet Archive. Here I basically wanted to briefly, vapidly go over my own opinion of the King films and briefly assess this book itself.
Especially for a King fan, this is enjoyable. This despite its rather terrible editing, embarrassingly frequent typos and the writer's apparent unfamiliarity with some of the material she reviews. Sometimes she completely confuses plots and scenarios of certain films; her captions for some pictures describe scenes that never happened rather than what any self-respecting fan knows. (Example: the screen-cap from Stand By Me when Teddy goes crazy at the man at the scrapyard is described as Teddy throwing rocks at the train that nearly kills them). You'd have thought the lady would have taken the time to watch the films again prior to writing this.
These things apart though, she does an okay job. She serviceably recaps and discusses the films. I liked it how she always included a section giving King's own verdict of each film, or at least the director's view of King in relation to it. Pretty much all the films and TV mini-series between 1976 to about 1993 are included – the great, the good, the forgettable and the absolutely awful. I was disappointed at first that Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot wasn’t included, until the final section looked at the non-theatrical releases, which included It. Ann Lloyd gives her opinion of each film, which is perfectly justifiable, and I guess I would consider it a bonus that I mostly agreed with her. And so now, for shits and giggles really, I will power through all the films and then the ones that came out after the book and give my concise opinion. Feel free, anybody, to stop reading now …
Carrie was an average book and a good film, well-directed by Brian de Palma, kind of aged but still worth watching. Actually, against my better judgement, I didn’t mind the Chloe Moretz Grace remake either. Salem’s Lot is, I think, the scariest horror film/show ever made – even the Rob Lowe remake was pretty good. The Shining was perfect in Kubrick’s hands; I think King is wrong for despising it as the second half of his novel collapses in stupidity. Not seen either of the Creepshow films, nor do I really care to. Cujo is an excellent, tense thriller, yet I still wouldn’t mind a remake here as it would draw people back to the old one and also give the wonderful book a potentially worthwhile reworking.
The Dead Zone is an oddity to me. Very different for King, but by all means decent. Has an atmosphere to it for sure. Christine was surprisingly enjoyable. Children of the Corn had a cool premise, a great opening scene, but then the rest falls flat. The sequels are bad but guiltily fun to watch. I actually really liked Cat’s Eye - same director as Cujo, plus it does service to two of Night Shift’s better stories. I have no interest in watching Maximum Overdrive or even Silver Bullet though I would like to read the graphic novel. Of course, no King fan can call himself such if they don’t appreciate Stand by Me.
I love Pet Sematary. I think it perfectly captures the essence of King: dark, disturbing, scary and yet somehow damned hilarious. Misery is, in my opinion, not only one of the best King movies but one of the best horror films period. Who doesn’t love The Shawshank Redemption? Green Mile is far inferior but still great. I thought Dolores Claiborne was very good. Apt Pupil: another fantastic story from Different Seasons. Dreamcatcher is a curious one; I mean, it’s shit but it could have been great with a better script and director, and I still kind of like and hate it at the same time. Maybe it’s because I just really like the book. Secret Window is another good one where the filmmaker’s got the right blend between creepy and humorous – I actually think Johnny Depp is not just his overrated weird self in this one.
1408: a cult classic which I never entirely warmed to. It has some strong moments but it fails to be scary I think. I forgot about It … what can I say? The original is terrible yet it holds a special place in my heart; maybe you have to be a kid to really get that one. The remake was decent but entirely forgettable. And I guess that about wraps it up. There are many others which I haven’t seen, some that I would like to watch one day, and others that I have seen but cannot be bothered mentioning them.
Especially for a King fan, this is enjoyable. This despite its rather terrible editing, embarrassingly frequent typos and the writer's apparent unfamiliarity with some of the material she reviews. Sometimes she completely confuses plots and scenarios of certain films; her captions for some pictures describe scenes that never happened rather than what any self-respecting fan knows. (Example: the screen-cap from Stand By Me when Teddy goes crazy at the man at the scrapyard is described as Teddy throwing rocks at the train that nearly kills them). You'd have thought the lady would have taken the time to watch the films again prior to writing this.
These things apart though, she does an okay job. She serviceably recaps and discusses the films. I liked it how she always included a section giving King's own verdict of each film, or at least the director's view of King in relation to it. Pretty much all the films and TV mini-series between 1976 to about 1993 are included – the great, the good, the forgettable and the absolutely awful. I was disappointed at first that Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot wasn’t included, until the final section looked at the non-theatrical releases, which included It. Ann Lloyd gives her opinion of each film, which is perfectly justifiable, and I guess I would consider it a bonus that I mostly agreed with her. And so now, for shits and giggles really, I will power through all the films and then the ones that came out after the book and give my concise opinion. Feel free, anybody, to stop reading now …
Carrie was an average book and a good film, well-directed by Brian de Palma, kind of aged but still worth watching. Actually, against my better judgement, I didn’t mind the Chloe Moretz Grace remake either. Salem’s Lot is, I think, the scariest horror film/show ever made – even the Rob Lowe remake was pretty good. The Shining was perfect in Kubrick’s hands; I think King is wrong for despising it as the second half of his novel collapses in stupidity. Not seen either of the Creepshow films, nor do I really care to. Cujo is an excellent, tense thriller, yet I still wouldn’t mind a remake here as it would draw people back to the old one and also give the wonderful book a potentially worthwhile reworking.
The Dead Zone is an oddity to me. Very different for King, but by all means decent. Has an atmosphere to it for sure. Christine was surprisingly enjoyable. Children of the Corn had a cool premise, a great opening scene, but then the rest falls flat. The sequels are bad but guiltily fun to watch. I actually really liked Cat’s Eye - same director as Cujo, plus it does service to two of Night Shift’s better stories. I have no interest in watching Maximum Overdrive or even Silver Bullet though I would like to read the graphic novel. Of course, no King fan can call himself such if they don’t appreciate Stand by Me.
I love Pet Sematary. I think it perfectly captures the essence of King: dark, disturbing, scary and yet somehow damned hilarious. Misery is, in my opinion, not only one of the best King movies but one of the best horror films period. Who doesn’t love The Shawshank Redemption? Green Mile is far inferior but still great. I thought Dolores Claiborne was very good. Apt Pupil: another fantastic story from Different Seasons. Dreamcatcher is a curious one; I mean, it’s shit but it could have been great with a better script and director, and I still kind of like and hate it at the same time. Maybe it’s because I just really like the book. Secret Window is another good one where the filmmaker’s got the right blend between creepy and humorous – I actually think Johnny Depp is not just his overrated weird self in this one.
1408: a cult classic which I never entirely warmed to. It has some strong moments but it fails to be scary I think. I forgot about It … what can I say? The original is terrible yet it holds a special place in my heart; maybe you have to be a kid to really get that one. The remake was decent but entirely forgettable. And I guess that about wraps it up. There are many others which I haven’t seen, some that I would like to watch one day, and others that I have seen but cannot be bothered mentioning them.
February 28, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this walk back down horror memory lane. The King quotes about the different adaptations of his work make this book truly special. He's as frank and direct as you would expect from one of the giants of modern literature. Worth the read just for the nostalgic value.
May 11, 2017
Very disappointed in the structure and layout. I am being Nit picky but if you doing research on the film get the names of the characters right!
January 14, 2013
Some major editing errors - a sentence that gets cut off, referring to Director Tommy Lee Wallace as Tommy Lee Jones, etc. Some nice snippets, but dated materials, interviews.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews