Stephen King continues to be one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood. The preeminent horror scribe has seen a dramatic increase in the big and small screen adaptations of his work over the past five years or so. Whether it's the blockbuster remakes of It and Pet Sematary, Netflix originals Gerald's Game, 1922, The Tall Grass, or HBO's The Outsider, King continues to provide rich source material. Next up, a TV version of The Stand!
Until The Stand is made public, let's assess some of King's most unheralded cinematic works to date. After all, when it comes to King, most people think of The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, Pet Sematary, Children of the Corn, etc. That said, here are King's 10 most underrated movies!
The Night Flier (1997)
Continuing to soar under the radar is King's The Night Flier, a well-paced and consistently entertaining tale of vampirism very little people seem to know about, much less care to champion.
With a lowly 36 Metascore mark, the film follows reporter Dick Dees (Miguel Ferrer), who is hot on the heels of a vampire who murders unsuspecting travelers in airports before hopping a plane and heading for the next crime scene. The film premiered on HBO three months prior to its theatrical release.
Thinner (1996)
With a paltry 33 Metascore rating, Tom Holland's Thinner suffered mostly in its comparison to King's superior book version. Par for the course for most book-to-film translations!
Look again and you'll see a truly freakish premise paired with an inspired performance by Robert John Burke. The film tracks an overweight lawyer who is suddenly cursed by a gypsy who tells him we will begin shedding excess poundage. What sounds like a blessing turns into a deadly hex as the lawyer begins rapidly losing weight until he's reduced to a gaunt, skeletal shell of himself.
Sleepwalkers (1992)
Once you get past the creepy incestual subplot, Sleepwalkers reveals itself to be a pretty effective little thriller. Strange, as director Mick Garris is usually the one to shepherd the worst of King's cinematic adaptations. This one he actually got right!
Scripted by King, Sleepwalkers features a ghoulish mother-son pairing that relocates to a sleepy new town to find a fresh virgin to pray upon. While that is disturbing enough, the real terror comes from the bizarre interplay between Mary (Alice Krige) and Charles (Brian Krause) and their abject fear of felines.
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Sure, the title of the film could also double as a descriptor for King's rampant cocaine use at the time, but man, the raucous energy and rock-n-roll bravado of Maximum Overdrive is wildly overlooked.
In what still holds as King's only credit as a film director, Maximum Overdrive imagines a macabre world where, following exposure to a comet, all of the machines on Earth suddenly animate with ill-intent toward every human being. Semi-trucks, soda machines, toaster-ovens and the like wake up and begin a murderous rampage.
Creepshow 2 (1987)
While it surely lacks the overall chills and charms of 1982 original, a 39 Metascore rating for Creepshow 2 is a downright crime!
The film features three more short horror vignettes conjured by King and scripted by the late great George A. Romero. Under Michael Gornick's direction, the best of the bunch belongs to "The Raft," a story that finds a gaggle of teens rafting on a lake until they're suddenly stalked and hunted by a mysterious floating monster-blob. The chapter is even scarier than some featured in the first film.
The Dark Half (1993)
Likely overshadowed by The Tommyknockers miniseries released the same year, not to mention King's finest hour of all, The Shawshank Redemption one year later, The Dark Half remains unheralded.
In the film, Timothy Hutton stars as Thad Beaumont, a successful pulp-fiction writer who goes by the nom-de-plume George Stark. When a reader discovers this secret and blackmails Thad, the writer decides to get rid of his alter ego. Yet as soon as he does so, Thad becomes the prime suspect in a skein of grisly murders.
Graveyard Shift (1990)
The glorious B-movie Graveyard Shift is easily one of the most fun Stephen King films ever made. It's a real shame more people don't know about it, much less list it among their favorite.
Based on King's short story, the film is set a moldering old textile mill, where John Hall (David Andrews) is hired to clean the place out. While doing so, he discovers a gargantuan rat living in the dank mill basement. Along with foreman Warwick (Stephen Macht), Hall must defeat the roided-out rodent and restore order for good.
Firestarter (1984)
Because the pyrokinetic stylings of the film were too closely compared with Carrie, a superior movie, far too much water has been tossed on Mark L. Lester's adaptation of Firestarter. This movie's heat!
Starring a nine-year-old Drew Barrymore, the film concerns a couple who decide to participate in an experimental science procedure. The side-effects render the couple telekinetic. However, when they bear a child, they learn the girl is born with pyrokinesis. With the government after the girl's abilities and her parents intent on curbing the fiery damage she incurs, the film goes places most dare not!
Needful Things (1993)
Some of the best acting in any Stephen King flick takes place in Needful Things, the macabre tale revolving around a curiosity shop in good old Castle Rock!
Led by Max Von Sydow and Ed Harris, the story centers on Lelang Gaunt (Von Sydow), a mysterious new shop owner who bears a benevolent facade in public. However, his shop is adorned with the deepest and darkest secrets of the town's inhabitants. When Gaunt proves to be the devil himself, Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Harris) must quell the sinister agenda and restore order.
Apt Pupil (1998)
Since it drastically veers from his typical horror fare, Apt Pupil has flown too far under the radar over the past 22 years. But make no mistake, this is one of the most chilling King tales of all!
Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars the late Brad Renfro as a precocious teenager who, after studying WWII at great length, discovers an ex-Nazi commander living in his sleepy town. When Todd (Renfro) confronts the war-criminal Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellan) and blackmails him into recreating his Nazi commands, Dussander psychologically breaks.