Ahead of our screenings of CARRIE and MISERY (get your tickets now!) and to tie-in with the new trailer for THE BOOGEYMAN, join The Reaper on a (long) walk through the best of King on the big screen.
This is just one Reaper’s opinion, obviously!
THE MIST
Possessing one of the most gut-punch endings in movie history, Darabont’s bleak and hopeless tale of folk trapped in a supermarket with god knows what outside stays with you forever. Even better in Black & White.
THE GREEN MILE
The late, great Michael Clarke Duncan is heartbreaking as gentle giant John Coffey – blessed with a gift that takes its toll. Tom Hanks and David Morse match him all the way, and the finale can only be witnessed through a flood of tears.
CARRIE
Timeless and terrifying, bullied Carrie White gets the ultimate revenge on those who have wronged her. Remade more than once but nothing beats the original.
THE SHINING
King famously does not like Kubrick’s version (remember this?) and it doesn’t compare to the book, but on its own terms this is a powerhouse of a movie anchored by Jack Nicholson’s unhinged performance.
MISERY
Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her potrayal of Annie Wilkes, the number one fan of James Caan’s Paul Sheldon who cares for him after he’s in a car accident and puts him through hell. God, she loves him.
STAND BY ME
Rob Reiner took the short story The Body and turned it into the perfect coming-of-age movie. Perfect cast, perfect soundtrack, perfect script. Has any movie captured a summer with friends like this?
THE DEAD ZONE
Underrated King, underrated Cronenberg. Bleak and unsetting, Christopher Walken awakens from a coma with a gift that reveals a terrible future which he tries to prevent.
CHRISTINE
Carpenter meets King! The story of a possessed car and the effect it has on its owner, John Carpenter fills with this rock n roll tunes and a dark sense of humour.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
I hope…. that you agree with this being on here, Darabont again turning another short story into a masterful film. The simple story of prison inmates becoming lifelong friends turns into something else entirely via opera, Brooks, hollowed-out Bibles and a tunnel of shit.
IT
Not having that Chapter One stuff, Andy Muschietti took on King’s behemoth tome and gave us a tale of kids taking on an otherwordly being lurking in the sewers beneath their town and this is another one that’s perfectly cast – who knew Bill Skarsgard had that in him? The opening scene with Georgie losing his arm sets the stage and the rest plays out fairly flawlessly.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
1408, GERALD’S GAME, CREEPSHOW, DOCTOR SLEEP, THE RUNNING MAN, PET SEMETARY
