Alright, here are the rules. First it has to be a film shown in theatres, no TV movies aloud. Second, it doesn’t have to be a perfect adaptation of the book. Third, it has to be horror of some kind (thriller counts in this.). With that said, here we go.

10. The Dead Zone

Alright, I know I’m going to catch a shit ton of crap for this selection. While not horror on a wider level, the personal horror of this selection is up to eleven. This David Cronenberg film stars Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith, a high school English teacher who ends up in a coma for five years after an accident with a milk truck tanker. Stephen King actually wanted Bill Murray for the role, but Walken takes it to a new level, you know, before he started playing himself in everything (That probably started with Communion.). Well, when he wakes up, he finds that as he touches people he can see the future of the person he touches. Upon touching one man’s hand -Gregg Stillson, a Senator, played by Martin Sheen- and finds out the horrific things he’s going to do, but to what lengths will he go to stop it?

9. Carrie

Based on the first King novel published, This movie is directed by Brian De Palma and stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, an abused teen who has telekinetic powers and uses them to her advantage. Worse for everyone is that the powers tend to get more intense when she’s angry. Spacek’s creepy performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for the role, and I don’t think I need to go into the prom scene (Iconic anyone?). Just watch this flick; the one that started it all.

8. Christine

I’m sure many of you remember your first car, but if you had this one you’d want to forget it. This car has a bad attitude, a mind of its own, and will stop anyone that tries to get in it’s way. The car of choice here is a 1958 Plymouth Fury -a rather fitting name- and comes in a nice red, or so you’d think. The car is purchased by nerdy Arnold Cunningham, and hi jinks ensue. The film is directed by John Carpenter, who also did work on the score of the film. King has said that Christine was the book he had the most fun writing, and if you can get past a few flaws in the film, its a fun one to watch.

7. Cujo

St. Bernard’s; they’re so lovable aren’t they? Well not any more, thanks to this film directed by Lewis Teague. In this film, a seemingly innocent dog is bitten by a bat with rabies. The dog turns into a rabid wild beast who kills anyone who tries to get close to his home. King’s success with this book is making the villain sympathetic and Teague’s take on the rogue dog is as touching as King’s. This is the book/film that made me think differently about the church I attended, St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, and to this day I wince a little walking past the statue outside.

6. The Dark Half

I bet you didn’t see this one coming. This is often overlooked, but is still a really good movie regardless. The Dark Half was directed by George Romero and stars Timothy Hutton, as Thad Beaumont, a writer who is trying to kill of his pseudonym George Stark. The film, as well as the book, is a modern take on the Jeckel and Hyde  trope. The creativity of it and the way it’s executed is more unique than most  on the subject (Who doesn’t love the Hulk though, anyway?); it’s also a book where you begin to notice that Stephen King writes a lot of books about writers.

5. The Mist

Frank Darabont makes Stephen King look good, very good. Every single King adaptation he has made has been absolutely amazing (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Woman in the Room). The Mist is no different, in this great film the government has fucked up and released some giant insects into the world. A band of survivors set’s up shop in a local grocery store and let’s just say there are some people on the inside who are just as dangerous as the bugs on the outside. This movie comes complete with an ending that will make you want to punch Frank Darabont and Stephen King right in the face.

4. Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King

I love to break my own rules, but it had to be done. This series of short movies premiered on TNT back in 2006 and featured eight Stephen King short story adaptations. “Battleground” is a classic about a hitman who receives a package in the mail of killer toy soldiers after he takes out the CEO of a toy company. A writer forces his main character to trade places with him in “Umney’s Last Case”. “Autopsy Room 4” was a fun story and get’s a great adaptation from John Boy Walton himself. The story is about a man, bit by a snake that ends up in a coma, to the point where he’s considered dead. The big reveal that he’s still alive is hilarious. I love this collection; read the stories and then watch the shorts.

3. 1408

Based on the King short story, this movie goes above and beyond. It stars John Cusack as writer Mike Enslin, a paranormal specific writer that writes about notoriously haunted places. One person suggests he should go stay in room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel. Gerald Olin, the manger of the hotel -played by Samuel L. Jackson- tries to reason with him to no avail. Enslin then begins to experience very strange things in the room, and then it becomes clear that he may never get out! This movie expands the story tremendously and takes it in great and unexpected directions, similar to what Darabont did with Shawshank Redemption.

2. The Shining

If Stephen King were here right now, he’d punch me in the face for putting this film on here, but it’s a classic. Yeah I get that its not like his book, but as a stand alone, based “loosely” on Stephen King’s masterpiece about a haunted hotel, has become an enthralling piece of American cinema. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, and starring Jack Nicholson, this film is a sprawling piece about one man’s decent into madness and the psychic son who knows something is up. “Here’s Johnny” has become so immersed in our culture its hard to escape it. It has been announced that King will be penning the sequel to this classic novel. Perhaps the film version of it will live up to this classic.

1. Misery

You’ll notice a recurring theme of books/movies about novelists and this continues that trend. Starring James Caan as famed write Paul Sheldon, who wrote a series of books about Misery Chastain, and as it turns out, he’s going to kill her off. After getting in a car crash, his number one fan, Annie Wilkes, played by Cathy Bates saves him. He’s been working on the new Misery book, and for saving his life, he allows Annie to read it…BIG MISTAKE! She’s not happy about her favorite character being killed off and she wants him to rewrite it. What ensues is absolute misery for Sheldon as well as classic film making. So much so that Bates won the Oscar for Best Actress for this role. You will definitely squirm if you haven’t seen it already.