Stephen King’s Self-Written Movie Adaptations: Only 2 Are Great

Over a span of 49 years, a grand total of 54 movies based on Stephen King’s works have been produced as feature films. Remarkably, only seven of these were penned by King himself when it comes to the screenwriting aspect. Known for his prowess in horror literature, King exhibits a certain selectiveness regarding scriptwriting assignments, with merely 11 movie scripts credited to him throughout his career.

In awe, I’d like to share an intriguing fact: Once upon a time, the renowned author, none other than myself, penned a script for a short film starring Michael Jackson titled “Ghosts”, which was directed by the legendary Stan Winston. Additionally, I wrote teleplays for the TV movie adaptation of my book “Desperation” and the first miniseries version of my epic novel “The Stand”. In 1992, I had the pleasure of writing the original screenplay for the film “Sleepwalkers”, directed by my frequent collaborator Mick Garris. Out of the seven movies I wrote, based on my own work, one stands as a horror classic, another is a solid fright flick, and the remaining five were less than satisfying.

Stephen King Writing His Own Movie Adaptations Has Only Worked Out Twice

Creepshow And Pet Sematary Are Good

The writing journey of King took flight in 1982 when he collaborated with the iconic horror director George Romero on the film ‘Creepshow’, a tribute to EC comics that featured an anthology format. Out of the movie’s five episodes, two were derived from King’s short stories, “Weeds” was transformed into “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” and “The Lawnmower Man” was adapted under its original title.

Presenting King in the character of Jordy Verrill (a debatable choice), the movie Creepshow garnered moderate success upon its debut, earning $21 million against an $8 million budget. Critics initially offered mild praise, with even horror skeptic Roger Ebert awarding it three stars. Over time, its status has evolved into that of a cult classic.

1989’s Pet Sematary, based on a book by Stephen King that he initially hesitated to publish due to its dark content, was not warmly received by critics upon release. Despite negative reviews from mainstream critics who found it “sickening,” horror enthusiasts took a liking to it, propelling it to a $57 million box office success. Today, Pet Sematary is often regarded as one of the better King adaptations, although the movie is sometimes criticized for becoming too much like a slasher film towards the end.

Why Stephen King Movies Are Usually Better With Someone Else Writing The Script

King Needs Strong Collaborators

Stephen King’s work on the movie “Creepshow” was impactful, possibly due to him adapting short stories and having a powerful overall vision with Romero for the film. However, in his later self-adaptations, he lacked a collaborator as knowledgeable in horror as the creator of “Night of the Living Dead.” King’s second anthology movie, “Cat’s Eye,” did not possess a cohesive vision, and while some critics appreciated it initially – famous critic Ebert gave it three stars – it has not retained a reputation nearly as strong as that of “Creepshow.

1985 saw the release of “Silver Bullet,” a werewolf movie, which is even less popular than the moderately criticized anthology film “Cat’s Eye.” King, under some pressure, penned the script for this adaptation of “Cycle of the Werewolf,” as original co-writer and director Don Coscarelli was dismissed by producer Dino De Laurentiis. This left King to hurriedly create a screenplay. It’s regrettable that Coscarelli, who later directed “Phantasm” and shares a strong affinity for horror like Romero, didn’t get the chance to direct a King movie. He might have crafted an enduring werewolf film.

Attempting to create a horror-infused script without a well-known horror director, such as Eli Roth, may have caused Stephen King further frustration when adapting his 2006 novel “Cell” with co-writer Adam Alleca. Originally intended for Roth’s direction, the project fell through due to scheduling conflicts, resulting in “Cell” being transformed into a tedious viral pandemic thriller that only saw a limited theater release before moving to home video.

2014’s film “A Good Marriage,” scripted by Stephen King, followed a similar path as “Cell” with a limited theatrical release before moving to home video. The thriller boasts talented actors like Joan Allen and Anthony LaPaglia, and an intriguing premise based on the BTK Killer Dennis Rader. However, its direction lacks creativity, and thought-provoking ideas are left unexplored. In addition, if any King movie needed a different dialogue writer than King himself, it was definitely “A Good Marriage.” King writes all his dialogues in his unique voice, but when spoken by actors, that voice often comes off as laughable.

In “A Good Marriage,” the characters valiantly portray an intense marital conflict, yet their dialogue often feels awkward and detracts from their performance. However, Stephen King’s unique, colloquial writing style can be effective on-screen, as demonstrated in “Misery” where Annie Wilkes’ peculiar speech becomes a defining characteristic of her unstable personality. This works when someone else crafts the script, skillfully incorporating dialogue from the book while primarily providing lines that sound natural for adult actors to deliver.

Stephen King-Written Movie Adaptations	Box Office	RT Critics’ Score	RT Audience Score
Creepshow	$21 million	65%	69%
Cat’s Eye	$13.1 million	68%	54%
Silver Bullet	$12.4 million	43%	56%
Maximum Overdrive	$7.4 million	11%	50%
Pet Sematary	$57.5 million	56%	60%
A Good Marriage	NA (Limited Theatrical Release)	32%	20%
Cell	$1 million (Limited Theatrical Release)	11%	17%

Over time, King has openly discussed his writing methodology, explaining that he rarely creates an outline for his stories and instead dives into the first draft without knowing where the narrative will lead. This method can be likened to blindly tossing ideas against a wall and seeing which ones stick, which works well for lengthy novels as new concepts can continuously emerge. However, movies require a more streamlined approach, as they can only tolerate a few misfired scenes or ill-fitting characters. Although precise plotting benefits films, King is not known for his methodical planning.

It’s more effective for screenwriters who excel at simplifying complex concepts and organizing them according to a three-act structure to adapt King’s lengthier books. Structural clarity is not one of King’s strong suits, as he tends to generate a multitude of ideas, some outstanding, many mediocre, and manages to keep readers engaged despite the meandering narrative. It appears that King struggles to transform his novels into viable screenplays, possibly due to lacking the necessary skills or tools.

The Movie Stephen King Directed Wasn’t A Success Either

But At Least It’s Fun-Crazy

King attempted to do more than just write; he also tried his hand at directing an adaptation of one of his own stories. This was the tale of “Trucks,” found in the collection Night Shift. It revolved around a group of individuals stranded at a truck stop, where machines mysteriously turned lethal and violent. King’s film, Maximum Overdrive , aimed to transform this slim premise into an outrageous action-horror movie. While it succeeded in being outlandish, the movie failed to be well-received.

As a die-hard fan, I must confess that upon its initial release, Maximum Overdrive faced a barrage of harsh criticism from critics. The public’s response wasn’t much better, as the film struggled to garner $7.4 million in earnings, despite a production budget of $9 million. Interestingly enough, the masterful Stephen King himself later voiced his dissatisfaction with the movie. In an interview with Kingcast, he openly admitted that his direction of the film was less than stellar due to personal challenges at the time.

Initially, I found myself immersed in it, and However, let me clarify: Despite my self-assured belief that I understood filmmaking, I soon recognized that if I continued down a similar path as with Maximum Overdrive, it served as an immersive learning experience – almost like a comprehensive film school.

Joseph Hill, Stephen King’s accomplished author son, has discussed reimagining “Maximum Overdrive” for our age of intelligent machines, hinting that there might yet be hope for the tale to improve. Given how poor the initial adaptation was, it’s unlikely a remake could be any worse.

2025-06-03 03:13