The Running Man (2025)

A totalitarian, dystopian game show seemed oddly prescient back in 1982 when King's novel was first published. In 2025, it's depressingly accurate. 

This new adaptation by Edgar Wright attempts to be more faithful to the source material about an everyman who competes on a reality show for a large cash prize by surviving for 30 days in a city full of hunters. This is an extraordinarily stupid movie full of bad decisions that somehow succeeds in making the 1987 film seem more competent by comparison. It's quite a feat.

1½ lucky socks out of 5

The Long Walk (2025)

Based on Stephen King's first completed novel (as Richard Bachman), "The Long Walk" is an annual event where fifty teenage boys compete to walk the furthest in order to win a hefty cash prize and a "wish" at the end of it. The catch? If you stop walking, you die. It's a dystopian survival tale reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Squid Game where we see what lengths poor people will go for money, all for the entertainment of the wealthy and powerful.

This one is a hard sell because you're basically watching people walk for two hours and there isn't a ring in sight. It's grim and harrowing and unlikely to rouse one's spirits, but I find that refreshing somehow.

3½ final warnings out of 5

The Life of Chuck (2024)

Mike Flanagan continues his successful collaborative effort with Stephen King in this spellbinding esoteric mystery revolving around a dude named Chuck.

Truth be told, the less said the better. Go into it blind as I did. It had a profound effect on me, even as I discovered how it all pieced together early in Act III.

This one won't be for the Materialists.

Proves that there are still great King adaptations to come.

4½ multitudes out of 5

The Monkey (2025)

Everyone remembers the iconic image of the monkey with cymbals on the cover of Stephen King's Skeleton Crew. Or maybe you're more familiar with the poster of George A. Romero's Monkey Shines. Or perhaps you're conflating both of them, as I did, and thought they were the same story. The symbol of the cursed toy monkey that brought about death held a great deal of potential to the imagination of a young child. Regardless of what fear strikes into your heart upon seeing this poster, it's unwarranted. Oz Perkins stripped most of the dread out of King's original short story and replaced it with an over the top horror comedy that for some reason doesn't work as well as it should. Some of the gore and Final Destination-esque mishaps are fun, but it doesn't congeal into anything solid and feels more like a misguided parody of the genre.

2½ freak accidents out of 5

Theatrical Note: A teaser for Perkins' next film, Keeper, is featured at the very end of the credits.

It: Chapter Two (2019)

27 years after defeating the evil the first time, the Losers come together in 2016 to fight the monster once more. This marks an improvement over the first chapter because we're introduced to the adult versions of the characters as we juxtapose back and forth in time. Unfortunately, the ambition of this film buckles under its own weight and can't sustain a nearly 3-hour runtime. Where these movies really excel are the production values and creepy visuals, but its detriment lies in the overreliance on CGI, which isn't very scary in and of itself. If we're talking about cheap practical effects vs. glossy CG, the former wins out each time. Sometimes less is more.

It doesn't quite stick the landing, but it's memorable enough for what it manages to accomplish.

3½ fortune cookies out of 5

It (2017)

Stephen King's classic novel gets a fresh coat of paint in the first of a new 2-part adaptation which transposes the events from 1950s to 1980s Derry, inspired by the recent nostalgic trend ushered in by Stranger Things. The result is slicker and scarier than what came before, but not any more effective. While the imagery and nightmare fuel is much more aggressive this time around (taking a page from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Sinister), it's missing the heart and charm of the original TV adaptation. While it may be considered superior in many ways, what King's works come down to at the end of the day are characters, and this lacks a lot of the chemistry and interactions between the Losers' Club which made that earlier film feel special.

Nevertheless, Bill Skarsgård steals the show as Pennywise, portraying him as much more sadistic and demonic than Tim Curry's version. It still manages to capture that scary feeling of being a kid, where domestic terror creeps around every corner. Since Derry's curse comes around every 27 years, this was followed up by It: Chapter Two in 2019.

3½ slide projectors out of 5

'Salem's Lot (2024)

If you don't talk about it, maybe it's not happening.

Stephen King adaptations just won't stay dead.

A vampire descends on the little town of Jerusalem's Lot, spreading its disease from one inhabitant to another, in the third screen version of King's seminal work (after the 1979 and 2004 miniseries). This time, they condense the story down to a span of two hours, and end up removing a lot of character development and suspense along with it, reducing it to a series of plot beats and jump scares. It reminds me of why King adaptations usually work, when they're actually given enough space and allowed to breathe. I'm much more partial to the earlier TV version as far as capturing that time period with any authenticity. This one is just plain dull and forgettable. If you've seen one vampire flick, you've seen 'em all.

2 glowing crosses out of 5

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

Based upon parts of Stephen King's 1999 unified collection of the same name, it delves into the life of Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin). An adult at the beginning, the timeline drifts back to Bobby's eleventh birthday and the days that followed, specifically to events surrounding the appearance of an aged man named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) who had a special ability. The old man has a positive affect on the youth, but with every forward step into maturity comes the ache of knowing that once taken it's impossible to go back.
The film's best scenes occur one after another, which makes an impression at the time but result in the remainder of it seeming to move even slower by comparison; the nods to Stand by Me (1986) are similarly double-edged.

2½ inside straights out of 5

Gerald's Game (2017)

Gerald's plan to get his wife to their remote lake house for a sexy weekend goes terribly awry. Based on a 1992 Stephen King novel of the same name, it's a scenario that might not sound too terrifying on paper, but for one of the couple it's a horrifying experience that won't ever be forgotten.
The novel doesn't exactly lend itself to the film format, but Dir. Mike Flanagan makes it work, pushing the psychologically strained threads of the tale into dark corners, reversals and POV angles that give the mostly static situation a unique feeling of movement and life. The believability of the story rests largely on the performance, and neither Carla Gugino nor Bruce Greenwood shirk on that aspect. The novel's most terrifying moment is the film's also. And for King aficionados there are references to at least three of his other works.

3½ wrist marks out of 5

Secret Window (2004)

If you're an author in a Stephen King story the chances are good that things either aren't going your way now, or very soon they won't be. In Secret Window, based on a novella in King's Four Past Midnight (1990) collection, the author is played by Johnny Depp. While not completely believable as such, he makes the comedic paranoid bitterness (coloured with a splash of school yard envy) that his character is wallowing in work in his favour.
Events revolve around a short story that Depp's character penned, the originality of which is being contested by a menacing John Turturro.
It has some very fine camerawork throughout, but the ending is too abrupt.

3 plagiarised pages out of 5

The Dark Tower (2017)

The official film adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy western is a disaster. Beginning with Jake (Tom Taylor) in NY, it draws from more than just the first book. The boy is having dreams about the Tower that include the Man in Black; but revealing the primary antagonist so early robs him of any and all mystery - he's a man who ought to be partially defined by his elusiveness. But that's only the beginning of the film's failings; there are many, many more.

Idris Elba is weak as Roland Deschain, the book's famous gunslinger. The world in which he exists, Mid-World, gets minimal characterisation, as do its peoples. There's no allure, no sense of history, and no understanding of the series rich lore. It barely even qualifies as a western; it has more in common with sci-fi.

The filmmakers claim it's canonical; I've read all eight of the books and can understand why they think that, but it doesn't deserve to be perceived as such.

1½ skin masks out of 5

A Good Marriage (2014)

aka Stephen King's A Good Marriage

AGM starts ropey and there's little early on to suggest that it won't stay that way. I was on the verge of giving the stop button a firm press, but at the twenty minute mark it piqued my interest enough to stay my sexy finger.
The story is nasty in its own way, causing everyday activities and conversations to take on a sinister tone. There are a few scenes, dialogue-free mostly, in which Joan Allen absolutely nails the feelings of disgust and disbelief that her character struggles with; Joan's the best thing the film has to offer. A rarely-seen secondary character is the most recognisably King-esque creation, but overall the film feels unlike any other adaptation of the author's work that I've seen to date, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

2½ bad pennies out of 5

Cell (2016)

Based on Stephen King's novel, the story marries the popular zombie genre with society's necessity for cell phones. The thrilling opening succeeds in clutching your attention despite some overacting extras and poor green screen work. The duo of John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson are one of the film's only bright spots. Their acting is genuinely engaging. Unfortunately the plot, dialogue and proceeding events are all beyond belief. Silly exposition waxing on human evolution and apocalyptic theories mar the film considerably. The zombies or phoners' (as they are referred to in the film) odd behavior inspire more laughs than scares. Obvious adaptation issues attribute to a rushed pacing and irresolute conclusion. 

1½ flocks out of 5

Cujo (1983)

In a world before mobile/cell phones, a family-friendly St. Bernard turns rabid and terrorizes the guilty and the innocent alike.
It would be a terrifying ordeal for the people involved, but it never quite reaches those peaks for the viewer, unless you have a real fear of dogs and see every canine as a potential slobbering killer.
Alongside the dog’s descent into madness is the story of a married couple’s descent into potential break up. They have a young son (Danny Pintauro) who looks genuinely shit-scared when the dog attacks.
It's not a film that will take pride of place on a King fan's shelf, but it's unlikely they'll feel the need to hide it along with a few of the others.

2 strings of doggy-drool out of 5

The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

One of the few surviving characters from the previous incident over twenty years before is now grown, conveniently working as a school councillor. Convenient how? Because when a student begins to display the same kind of powers that Carrie White had, then Miss Councillor can interfere like she did before and achieve the same kind of result.
Attempts to mimic the original, to show that history repeats, are like a desperate child playing dress-up in mother's bedroom, craving attention while strutting around in shoes that are much too big. It's not as terrible a sequel as it could've been but nor is it something I'll want to revisit ever.
The original showed what dicks teenagers were in the 70s. The Rage shows what dicks they are in the 90s. They've devolved.

2 traits out of 5

Trucks (1997)

A stupid movie based on a Stephen King short story about trucks coming alive and killing their owners.

Q. Hang on, wasn't that Maximum Overdrive?
A. Yes.
Q. Is this based on the same story?
A. Yes.
Q. Wasn't Maximum Overdrive shit?
A. Not as shit as Trucks.

1 hazard out of 5

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

A passing meteor causes most (but inexplicably not all) vehicles to come alive and brutally attack their owners. The film is Stephen King’s only directorial credit. Despite what’s been written about it elsewhere and the universal panning it received, I think he does okay; certainly better than some other people have done to his works. (Hi, Mick.)
It’s as dumb as it sounds, but there are some chuckles to be had at the very black humour if you're in the mood for that kind of thing. I was. The kick-ass AC/DC soundtrack helps matters considerably.

2½ raucous rigs out of 5

Thinner (1996)

An unscrupulous, overweight lawyer gets cursed by a bitter gypsy hell-bent on extracting vengeance. It’s a serving of just deserts; the bowl in which the serving sits is functional but lacks style.
There’s some black humour scattered but not enough to detract from the detestable nature of everyone involved or spice up the blandness.

2 killer diets out of 5

The Dark Half (1993)

Fiction writer Thad Beaumont pulls plots and scenarios for his gory trash novels from a repressed part of his adult mind. He attributes the ideas to a pseudonym he named George Stark. They say you can't kill an idea, but what if the place where it originates wants a similar kind of life to the host?
It’s ridiculous but it’s Stephen King magical realism so we accept it. It’s a shame then that the film never lives up to its own aspirations. It could've been told in half the time, and the ending is a feeble attempt at covering up a lack of resolution for the characters.

2 sparrows out of 5

The Running Man (1987)

On a scale of 01 to 10 (with 01 being Arnie’s worst acting ever and 05 being his best), The Running Man barely reaches 1.5.
It’s set in a futuristic, totalitarian society where public executions have been turned into a game show. Arnie, a man with morals, arms himself with one-liners and takes on the system. Yay for the common man. If it didn't have the satire it would have nothing worth a shit.

1½ romper suits out of 5