Stephen King: 90

Sleepwalkers (1992) is a horror film from the US, written by Stephen King and directed by Mick Garris. The protagonists, Charles Brady and his mother/lover Mary, are sleepwalkers. These shapeshifting energy vampires have the ability to change form into human-sized bipedal werecats at will. They typically take on a human appearance and possess telekinetic and illusion powers. However, their one weakness is domestic cats, which can see through their illusions and attack them with deadly results. Charles and Mary are nomads who have recently settled in Travis, Indiana after ...

Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) is a supernatural slasher film and sequel to the 1984 original. Set in Hemingford, Nebraska, near the first film’s location of Gatlin, it follows the aftermath of the dark events that took place. Two days later, the well-intentioned residents of Hemingford decide to take in and assist the surviving children from Gatlin in starting anew. However, they are unaware that these children are returning to their cornfield where Micah, one of their cult members, has been possessed by He Who Walks Behind the Rows -the demonic entity they worship. Caught in this turmoil are city reporter John Garrett and his son Danny, ...

Based on the 1974 short story by Stephen King, Sometimes They Come Back (1991) is a made-for-television horror film about Jim Norman’s return to his old hometown of Liberty, Missouri. Along with his wife Sally and son Scott, Jim moves back to accept a teaching job. As a child, Jim witnessed his brother Wayne’s murder by a group of greasers during a train tunnel mugging in 1963. His family then moved away from the small town, but now they are returning. However, old wounds resurface as Jim begins to have nightmares about his brother’s death. To his horror, he soon realizes that the ghosts of ...

Golden Years (1991) is a seven-part American television miniseries, classified as a science fiction thriller, initially broadcasted on CBS from July 16 to August 22, 1991 as part of its schedule for that year. In a covert US research facility, the eccentric Dr. Richard X. Toddhunter disregards the alarm on the control panel and proceeds with his particle accelerator experiment. As a result, the lab explodes, killing his assistant and exposing 70-year-old janitor Harlan Williams to a green radiation that transforms him physically. However, during the initial investigation, the scientist fails to disclose all the details about the incident.

Misery (1990) is an American psychological thriller film directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel of the same name. The story follows famed novelist Paul Sheldon, creator of the popular Victorian romance series starring Misery Chastain. In an effort to change genres, he completes a new manuscript in hopes of launching his post-Misery career. Unfortunately, during his journey home from Silver Creek, Colorado to New York City, Paul is caught in a blizzard and crashes his car. He is rescued by Annie Wilkes, a nurse who brings him to her remote home. ...

The miniseries, It (1990), is a two-part psychological horror drama based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen. Set in Derry, Maine in 1960 during a heavy rainstorm, young George Denbrough is playing with his paper sailboat in the streets. His older brother Bill, who stutters, made the boat for him. Unfortunately, it ends up going down a storm drain. There, Georgie meets Pennywise the Dancing Clown who entices him to retrieve his boat. ...

Graveyard Shift (1990) is a horror film helmed by Ralph S. Singleton. John Hall, a widowed drifter, lands a job at an old and rat-infested textile mill next to an abandoned graveyard. His boss, Warwick, is a sadistic individual who has been carrying out numerous affairs with female workers, including Nordello. To rid the mill of rats, Warwick brings in the eccentric exterminator Tucker Cleveland. However, Cleveland confides in Hall that the infestation is beyond his control and the mill should be shut down. As time passes, Hall faces harassment from his coworkers Danson, Brogan, and Stevenson, as well as the despotic ...

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) follows a similar format as its predecessor, the anthology television series Tales from the Darkside. The film, directed by John Harrison, centers around a kidnapped paperboy who is forced to entertain his captor with three terrifying tales. Betty, a wealthy suburban woman and practicing witch, hosts a dinner party for her fellow witches and has Timmy, a young boy she has imprisoned in her pantry, as the main course. To prolong his life, Timmy shares three tales from a book given to him by Betty titled Tales from the Darkside. Lot ...

Pet Sematary (1989) is an American supernatural horror film, adapted from Stephen King’s 1983 novel of the same name. Directed by Mary Lambert, it follows the Creed family – Louis, Rachel, their two children Ellie and Gage, and their cat Church – as they relocate from Chicago to rural Ludlow, Maine. After Louis takes on a job as a local physician, they become friendly with their neighbor Jud Crandall. During a visit to an isolated pet cemetery in the forest behind their new home (misspelled ‘sematary’), Jud shares some unsettling stories ...

Monsters (1988–1991), an American syndicated horror anthology series, aired from 1988 to 1991 and was later rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. It was created by producer Richard P. Rubinstein and his company Laurel Entertainment, who previously worked on Tales from the Darkside. While Tales sometimes delved into science fiction and fantasy, Monsters focused solely on horror. Each episode centers around a different monster (with few exceptions), ranging from an animatronic puppet on a children’s show to weapon-wielding lab rats. In the opening sequence of the program, a monster family living in ...

The Last Rung on the Ladder (1987) is a short film that is based on Stephen King’s story of the same name, which was first published in his 1978 collection Night Shift. The film follows Larry, who is devastated to discover that his estranged sister has taken her own life. He reflects on a significant memory from their childhood when they were playing in their family’s barn. Without their parents’ supervision, they engage in a forbidden game of taking turns climbing an old and unsafe ladder to the top and leaping into a haystack. On Larry’s final turn, ...

The Running Man (1987), an American dystopian action film directed by Paul Michael Glaser, portrays a world in which the United States has transformed into a totalitarian police state. This drastic shift is the result of a global economic collapse. As a means of controlling its citizens, the government relies heavily on violent television shows. The most popular among them is The Running Man, a game show where convicted criminals are pitted against armed mercenaries known as ‘stalkers’ and must fight for their survival in order to win a pardon and tropical vacation. The story follows Captain Ben Richards, a ...

Creepshow 2 (1987) is a follow-up to the American comedy horror anthology film, Creepshow, both directed by Michael Gornick. Gornick previously served as the cinematographer for the first film, while the screenplay was once again crafted by George A. Romero, who directed the original. In the small town of Dexter, Maine, a delivery truck makes a stop at a newsstand. Excitedly, young Billy follows on his bike as the truck’s back shutter opens to reveal the Creep. The mysterious figure drops off copies of the ...

Stand by Me (1986) is a coming-of-age drama film directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body. In 1985, writer Gordon ‘Gordie’ Lachance reads a newspaper article about the fatal stabbing of his childhood friend, Chris Chambers. He reminisces about an incident from when they were 12 years old, searching for the body of Ray Brower alongside their friends Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio, during Labor Day weekend in1959 near Castle Rock, Oregon. As a child, Gordie’s parents were preoccupied with the death of his older ...

Maximum Overdrive (1986) is an American horror film written and directed by Stephen King. On June 19, 1987, as the Earth crosses the tail of a rogue comet, Rhea-M, previously inanimate machines suddenly come to life; insults are hurled by an ATM at a customer and a bascule bridge rises during heavy traffic, causing vehicles to plummet into the river or crash into each other. Pandemonium spreads as machines worldwide begin attacking humans. At a truck stop outside Wilmington, North Carolina, employee Duncan Keller is left blinded when gasoline sprays into his eyes from a pump. The waitress Wanda June is injured by an ...

The American horror film Silver Bullet (1985) is based on Stephen King’s 1983 novella, Cycle of the Werewolf. It follows the story of Jane Coslaw and her paraplegic younger brother Marty in their small rural town of Tarker’s Mills, Maine during the spring of 1976. A series of murders takes place, starting with railroad worker Arnie Westrum being decapitated by an unseen attacker. Pregnant Stella Randolph, driven to despair, meets a brutal end in her own bedroom. The abusive father Milt Sturmfuller is killed in his greenhouse and even Marty’s best friend Brady Kincaid falls victim to the ...

The film Cat’s Eye (1985), directed by Lewis Teague and written by Stephen King, is an American anthology horror thriller that consists of three tales. While the first two are based on short stories from King’s 1978 collection Night Shift, the third is a unique addition to the film. Each story revolves around a traveling cat, as well as Drew Barrymore, who has minor roles in the first two and a major role in the third. The stray tabby cat finds refuge in ...

Firestarter (1984), an American science fiction thriller horror film, is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson participated in an experiment during their college years, where they were given a dose of LOT-6, a low-grade hallucinogen. While others suffered from severe side effects, Vicky and Andy gained telepathic powers; she can read minds and he can control others’ thoughts and actions. However, this ability sometimes causes nosebleeds due to its strength. Currently married, the couple has an eight-year-old daughter named Charlene ‘Charlie’ McGee who ...

Based on the 1977 short story by Stephen King, Children of the Corn (1984) is an American supernatural horror film set in Gatlin, Nebraska, where a failed corn crop drives the townspeople to turn to prayer for a bountiful harvest. However, young Isaac Chroner uses this opportunity to lead the children of Gatlin into a cult centered around a violent deity named ‘He Who Walks Behind the Rows’. Along with his right-hand man Malachai, Isaac orchestrates a horrific rebellion against the adults of the town, using them as sacrifices. Among the few children who did not participate in these gruesome acts are siblings ...

The Woman in the Room (1984) marked director Frank Darabont’s entry into filmmaking. Based on a story by Stephen King of the same name, it follows a dying woman who can’t find peace, prompting her lawyer son to make a drastic choice that ultimately results in his own torment. Darabont acquired the rights to this tale from King’s collection Night Shift.