Stephen King Movies, Ranked from Worst to Best
and Joal Ryan, for Metacritic – August 2, 2017
Last updated May 2023 to add The Boogeyman
Recent releases It and The Dark Tower have been erected on the most fertile, if haunted, of Hollywood grounds: Stephen King territory.
While conventional wisdom says King's horror tales "don't translate well to film," a Metacritic look at his theatrical releases shows that the vast majority of them received, at worst, mixed-to-average critical notices. Nine films, or about one-quarter of the titles, are in the green.
Far better than Mary Lambert's aforementioned 1989 adaptation of one of King's scariest novels, this 2019 remake comes from the directing team of Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch (Starry Eyes) and features a strong cast that includes Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow.
“Led by some fine performances, this is an impressive and intense example of how to adapt Stephen King.” —James Mottram, Total Film