Stephen King: 90

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022) is an American horror drama film written and directed by John Lee Hancock, based on Stephen King’s novella from the collection If It Bleeds. In 2003, Craig’s mother passes away and he strikes up an unexpected friendship with retired businessman John Harrigan, who asks him to read to him three times a week. As time passes, the two become even closer despite the age gap. Craig starts high school and bonds with his teacher Ms. Hart when a bully named Kenny Yankovich tries to intimidate him. Thanks to a lottery ticket ...

Firestarter (2022), an American sci-fi horror movie directed by Keith Thomas and written by Scott Teems, is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Stephen King and a remake of the 1984 film. The story opens with a flashback to baby Charlie McGee in her crib, setting her room ablaze with her pyrokinesis abilities, causing her father Andy McGee to panic. Through the opening credits, we see a young Andy and Vicky participating in a clinical trial where they are injected with an experimental chemical called Lot-6, which ...

Based on Stephen King’s 2006 novel of the same name, Lisey’s Story (2021) is an American psychological horror drama miniseries. It features Julianne Moore in the title role, with King as the writer, Pablo Larraín as the director, and J. J. Abrams as the producer. The series premiered on Apple TV+ on June 4, 2021, following Lisa “Lisey” Landon’s journey. Lisey is the widow of renowned fiction writer Scott Landon, who passed away two years prior to ...

Chapelwaite (2021), inspired by Stephen King’s short story ‘Jerusalem’s Lot’, is an American horror series that premiered on Epix in August 2021 and concluded in October of the same year. Despite initially being renewed for a second season in February 2022, MGM+ later announced in November 2023 that there would be no further developments. According to Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates reviews from various critics, 60% of the 20 reviews are positive and give it an average rating of 6.20/10. While the ten episodes may feel a bit slow-paced, Chapelwaite offers an eerie mystery with moments ...

The Stand (2020) is a nine-episode American post-apocalyptic fantasy television miniseries, based on Stephen King’s 1978 novel and a remake of the 1994 adaptation. It follows the aftermath of a pandemic caused by an accident at a military biological research station. This results in the release of a deadly influenza strain that wipes out most of the world’s population. As the few remaining survivors navigate this new reality, they are drawn to two opposing leaders – Randall Flagg and Mother Abagail – leading to an ultimate battle between good and evil. In the novel’s dedication to his wife, ...

The Outsider (2020) is a gripping American television series that combines elements of psychological thriller, horror, and crime drama. Adapted by Richard Price from Stephen King’s 2018 novel of the same name, it was picked up for a full series by HBO on December 3, 2018, following its optioning as a miniseries by MRC in June of the same year. Starring talented actors including Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, ...

The 2019 American horror anthology streaming television series, Creepshow (2019–2024), serves as a continuation of the 1982 film of the same name. It features seventeen episodes, each containing two horror stories. Scholastic Books released a companion book entitled Creepshow: The Taker, with two novellas written by Elley Cooper inspired by the TV series. A second installment, titled Creepshow: The Cursed and also written by Cooper, was released on April 28, 2021. Critics have praised the series, with an average rating of 7.7/10 based on 29 reviews on ...

In the film In the Tall Grass (2019), written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, a pregnant woman named Becky and her brother Cal are on a trip to San Diego. While taking a break, they come across a young boy named Tobin and his mother Natalie who are in distress in the tall grass. Despite their concerns, the siblings enter the grass and soon become separated as they realize the landscape is shifting unnaturally. As they try to leave, Becky encounters Tobin’s father Ross who warns her to stay close. However, she loses sight of him and Cal also has a strange encounter with Tobin involving a dead crow. According to ...

Pet Sematary (2019) is an American horror film directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. Based on Stephen King’s 1983 novel of the same name, it is the second adaptation of the story. Louis Creed, an ER doctor from Boston, Massachusetts, relocates to Ludlow, Maine with his family after losing their home. With his wife Rachel, their two children, Ellie and Gage, and their cat Church in tow, they settle into small-town life. During an exploration of the nearby woods, Rachel and Ellie come across a group of children ...

Doctor Sleep (2019), an American supernatural horror film, is the work of director Mike Flanagan and is based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel with the same title. Acting as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining, it follows Dan Torrance who continues to suffer from the traumatic events that occurred at the Overlook Hotel. The spirits of the hotel now haunt him in search of his ‘shining’. With guidance from the ghost of Dick Hallorann, Dan learns how to trap these ghosts in psychic ...

Andy Muschietti directs the American supernatural horror film, It Chapter Two (2019), with a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. The sequel to the 2017 film, It, is the second part of a two-part adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, covering the latter half of the book. In 2016, Twenty-seven years since Its defeat, Pennywise returns to Derry, Maine. After brutal attacks from homophobic teens at a carnival result in the death of Adrian Mellon and his boyfriend, Mike Hanlon contacts the remaining members of the ...

As an American psychological horror television series, Castle Rock (2018–2019) draws inspiration from the stories created by Stephen King and his fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Set in the Stephen King’s multiverse, this series combines elements from the author’s most beloved works, weaving an epic tale of light and darkness on a small patch of Maine woodland. Throughout King’s literary career, the fictional town of Castle Rock has played a significant role, appearing in works such as Cujo, ...

Mr. Mercedes is an American crime drama television series based on the Bill Hodges novel trilogy by Stephen King, which consists of Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch. The series premiered on Audience on August 9, 2017. It was developed by David E. Kelley and stars Brendan Gleeson and Harry Treadaway. In November 2018, it was announced that Audience had renewed the series for a ten-episode third season, which premiered on September 10, 2019. In ...

The Mist (2017) is an American science fiction-horror thriller television series developed by Christian Torpe, based on the 1980 horror novella of the same name by author Stephen King. Airing for one 10-episode season on Spike from June 22 to August 24, 2017, it was later cancelled on September 27 of that year. An unexplained mist descends upon Bridgeville, Maine, creating a nearly impenetrable barrier and causing strange and dangerous occurrences. As the residents struggle to survive and seek shelter in a shopping mall, church, and hospital, they are confronted with ...

The film Gerald’s Game (2017), directed and edited by Mike Flanagan, is a psychological horror thriller with a screenplay co-written by Flanagan and Jeff Howard. The movie is an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name, which was once considered impossible to bring to the screen. Jessie and Gerald Burlingame travel to an isolated lake house in Fairhope, Alabama for a romantic retreat. On their way there, they encounter a stray dog that Jessie wants to ...

The Dark Tower (2017), an American science fantasy Western action film directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel, is based on Stephen King’s novel series of the same name. Eleven-year-old Jake Chambers is plagued by visions of a mysterious warlock known as the Man in Black, who aims to destroy a Tower and bring devastation to the Universe. Opposing him is a Gunslinger. Though Jake’s mother, stepfather, and psychiatrists dismiss his visions as mere nightmares resulting from the trauma of losing his father the year before, he knows they are real. When a group of ...

The film, 1922 (2017), is an American horror drama written and directed by Zak Hilditch, based on Stephen King’s novella from 2010. The story follows Wilfred ‘Wilf’ James, a farmer residing in Hemingford Home, Nebraska with his wife Arlette and their 14-year-old son Henry. The couple has been at odds over Arlette’s recent inheritance of land; Wilf strongly opposes her plans to sell the farm and relocate to Omaha, citing that a man’s pride is rooted in his land. In a drastic move to protect his property and his son (whom Arlette disapproves of ...

It (2017) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. The movie is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King and focuses on the first half of the story. In October 1988, twelve-year-old Bill Denbrough creates a paper sailboat for his six-year-old brother, Georgie. While playing with it in the rain, Georgie loses the boat down ...

11.22.63 (2016) is a science fiction thriller miniseries based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, consisting of eight episodes. It follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine who is given the opportunity by his friend Al Templeton to travel back in time to 1960. Jake is initially hesitant but eventually agrees in hopes of preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. However, as he settles into life in the past, he becomes torn between his mission and the new relationships he forms. To gather information without raising suspicion, he must carefully navigate through events and ...

Big Driver (2014) is an American crime thriller television film based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, which was published in his collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010). Tess Thorne, a successful crime-mystery writer, receives an invitation to meet her fans at a library in upstate Massachusetts. Despite her fear of flying, she chooses to drive to her engagements rather than fly, even for long distances. During one such event, organized by Ramona, she is offered a quicker route home. However, this route takes her through a remote rural location where her car runs over nail-studded planks on the ...