From the earliest days of his career, the writing of Stephen Edwin King (along with close friend and pseudonym cancer victim Richard Bachman) has thrilled and terrified readers around the globe with tales of killer clowns, haunted hotels, and demented game shows broadcast in dystopian futures – to much critical and financial acclaim.
Of course, with success comes the perpetually originality-deficient Hollywood and its desires for film adaptations of anything that could make a splash in pop culture. For King, first on the silver screen came Carrie, and coming up next will be a proper adaptation of the Pennywise-starring IT later in September of this year.
Though those two stories have gone on to be remembered by countless people, sometimes, versions of Mr. King’s work that are adapted into a different form don’t leave a lasting legacy.
With that, here are 15 movies and TV shows you didn't know were Stephen King adaptations.
If you haven’t seen or read these films, you might want to skim through the titles, because the write-ups contain SPOILERS!
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15. "Stand By Me"
Directed by former All in the Family star Rob Reiner in the earliest days of his career behind the camera, the 1986 film Stand by Me tells the story of childhood friends who go on a trek to find the body of a missing young man in 1960s Oregon.
In the film, children come of age, iconic moments occur, and viewers get to witness a fictional character played by a young Kiefer Sutherland that bears a strong resemblance to what actual Kiefer Sutherland looks like when he’s on a bender.
What most people don’t know is that the piece comes from a short story written by Stephen King. First published in 1982 in a short story collection called Different Seasons, and later shaped into a novella, The Body differs from its silver screen adaptation in a number of ways. None of King analogue Gordie’s friends survive into adulthood, and in the end of the piece, the character comes close to the Sutherland-played antagonist Ace in the future – a stark contrast to the final act of the beloved ’80s film.
14. "The Lawnmower Man"
Released at the dawn of the Clinton administration, this 1992 film is the rare King adaptation in that the author loathed it so much that he sued to have his name taken off the piece and emerged victorious in court, arguing that it bore no resemblance whatsoever to his original short story.
In the film, there are intelligent chimps trained for warfare, a mentally disabled man whom Pierce Brosnan’s fictional scientist Dr. Angelo experiments on to make intelligent (side note: wow, that bit would be condemned today) and a weird sexual storyline with a widow. The movie tanked and ended up with the standard sub-par straight to video sequel a few years later.
Maybe the film would’ve worked better had it adapted King’s actual story…well…maybe not. In the original short, a naked man follows a lawnmower and eats the grass behind it, and later on, the god Pan gets referenced just before the police arrive to investigate a brutal slaughter. It’s certainly not the most normal story by any means.
13. "Needful Things"
Another ‘90s adaptation of one of King’s works, Needful Things is a story about a supernatural antique shop in the often-visited setting of Castle Rock, Maine that frequently appears in King’s writing. In the piece, Max Von Sydow’s Leland Gaunt (read: Satan) manipulates residents of the area and generally causes chaos in the town before moving on to sow discord elsewhere.
Even though the film had a great cast with luminaries such as Ed Harris and the late and beloved scumbag character actor J.T Walsh giving their all, it was not a success. Currently, it sports a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, to be fair, at the time the piece was released, ads did mention that it was based on Stephen King’s original short story. But catching the film on some 3rd rate cable channel today at any point before the beginning and end credits, you wouldn’t realize it’s from the same man who gave us Christine and Children of the Corn.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider