For nearly fifty years, Stephen King's stories have been adapted into both television series and movies, but only a select few have remained faithful to the source material. Since Brian De Palma's 1976 adaptation of the novel Carrie, numerous directors have taken on the task of transforming his written work into visually stunning cinematic masterpieces.
In recent years, King has reached a new level of popularity with Andy Muschietti's IT: Chapter One and IT: Chapter Two as well as numerous Amazon and Netflix originals. As of 2020, there are eight different adaptations in the works that are set to hit both streaming services and theaters. Considering the author has nearly perfected the art of publishing a book a year, there is a wealth of sources for directors to draw from. For example, the recent release of the four novellas contained in King's 2020 short story collection, If It Bleeds, gives four entirely new stories a chance to be adapted from entirely new material. Included in the most recent line-up of upcoming King adaptations is one of King's favorite novels, Lisey's Story, which is in development with Warner Bros. and the spin-off of The Shining, titled Overlook, is as well.
Given the success of the numerous King adaptations, there will likely never be a moment where the horror genre will lack in content from the author. While each existing adaptation of Stephen King's works has found an audience, many often stray from their original story. As books are difficult to adapt to screen, depending on the content and vision, oftentimes directors and screenwriters will choose to alter a scene, character, or storyline in order to achieve better flow. This method doesn't necessarily dictate the quality, but it does determine an adaptation's consistency with its source. For better or worse, here are the five Stephen King adaptations closest to their original story.
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is known as the adaptation that is most consistent with its source. Director Frank Darabont's 1994 movie exceeded all expectations, and continues to be regarded as one of the best movies of all time, let alone the best of all of King's adaptations. Alongside its quality storytelling and stunning performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, it deserves recognition as the most faithful to its original source: Stephen King's Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption.
Both follow Andy Dufresne (Robbins) after he is convicted for the murder of his wife and sent to spend the rest of his days in Shawshank State Penitentiary. During his stay, he meets Ellis Boyd Redding (Freeman), who quickly becomes a close friend; the two make plans to meet up on the outside after Andy plans his escape. The novella and movie are both heartfelt depictions of the personal relationships formed in prison as well as the punishment that inmates experience behind bars. In comparison to other adaptations, no other has surpassed The Shawshank Redemption in importance as well as consistency with its source material. The Shawshank Redemption also proves that some of King's very best aren't within the horror genre at all.
The Green Mile
Frank Darabont also adapted Stephen King's 1996 novel, The Green Mile, in 1999 with similar success to The Shawshank Redemption. There is only one glaring difference from the movie to its original source, and that is the removal of a minor character. Despite this alteration, it did not affect the overall plot, and still remains closer to the source than the majority of others.
The Green Mile stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, who supervises Cold Mountain Penitentiary. The novel and movie focus on his experiences with inmates, fantastical abilities, and the bizarre happenings coming from within the prison. Darabont retained the tone of King's novel, which is remarkably poetic and heartfelt. The adaptation is almost on par with The Shawshank Redemption in regards to its closeness with its source and its ability to uphold nearly every element established by King.
Gerald's Game
Mike Flanagan's Netflix original psychological thriller, Gerald's Game, was adapted from King's 1992 novel of the same name. For decades, its horrifying and unsettling plot situated the source as being unable to be adapted to film or television. In 2017, Flanagan proved that it could be done with his take on the deeply disturbing story of a wife who is left to fight for her life after her husband unexpectedly dies after handcuffing her to their bed. The entire movie is taken directly from the story's pages and delivers the same qualities that made people believe it could never be adapted. King's story and Flanagan's movie are nearly identical, if not for only a few changes to the supernatural elements in the novel.
Carrie
Brian De Palma's Carrie is one of the most popular of all of King's adaptations. The original 1974 story about a teenager named Carrie White, who develops telekinetic powers at the moment she begins her period, has been adapted numerous times and even got a sequel. While the novel is told through police reports and interviews, De Palma transformed each of them into a cohesive storyline about the rise and fall of Carrie as she experiences her own coming-of-age horror story.
It's arguable that the shift from mostly narration to a directly character-driven point of view makes this movie unreliable to its source, but the fact remains that each of the reports and interviews are reflected in De Palma's movie. Carrie is the same meek person she is in the novel in the movie, and her mother is just as abusive as well. De Palma's Carrie showcases how an adaptation can alter the structure of its original source but still remain true and consistent.
Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher is one of the most hated novels and adaptations of Stephen King's work to date. It may not be considered a good movie, but it is one of the closest to its source material. For better or worse, this movie deserves to be on this list for the director and screenwriter's ability to retain every element of the 2001 sci-fi horror story. The only alterations it made are in regard to character names. Beyond that, Dreamcatcher remains so faithful to its source material that it could almost go head to head with The Shawshank Redemption in terms of consistency. However, it proves that change can sometimes be a necessity to make a movie good rather than just accurate.