The 13 Best Stephen King Movies of All Time (2025)

Iconic horror novelist Stephen King has had a ton movies adapted from his work -- and that's not counting TV shows and miniseries.And there's simply no sign of slowing down, with an adaption of The Monkey releasing in February, and more adaptations in the pipeline.

But what are the best Stephen King film adaptations? We've whittled his massive catalog down to just 13 movies. From ghosts to psychics to... ghosts wanting to feed on psychics, these are truly the movies that not only captured the best of King's work, but also became cinema classics in their own right.

Here are the 13 best Stephen King movies ever, ranked from #13 counting down to #1. Keep scrolling for the list or view the slideshow for a visual countdown!

How Many Stephen King Movies Are There?

There are 55 film adaptations of Stephen King stories, according to the author's official website. The first King adaptation was Carrie in 1976, while the most recent is The Monkey.

The Best Stephen King Movies, Ranked

13. The Dead Zone (1983)

Director: David Cronenberg | Writer: Jeffrey Boam | Stars: Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Brooke Adams | Release Date: October 21, 1983 | Review: IGN's The Dead Zone review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

Long before Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone served as fodder for a TV series, it inspired a 1983 film from director David Cronenberg. Cronenberg, who'd already made a name for himself with surreal horror films like Videodrome and Shivers, brought that signature touch to this gripping psychological drama.

The Dead Zone stars Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith, a humble school teacher who is injured in a car accident, trapped in a coma for five years, and awakens to discover he can psychically glimpse into a person's past, present, and future with a mere touch. Less grotesque and violent than many of Cronenberg's horror efforts of the day, The Dead Zone is a bleak and unsettling film that makes full use of Walken's peculiar presence and gravity as an actor.

12. Gerald's Game (2017)

Director: Mike Flanagan | Writer: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard | Stars: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Carel Struycken | Release Date: September 29, 2017 | Review: IGN's Gerald's Game review | Where to watch:Netflix

For years it was thought King's 1992 outing Gerald's Game, which involves a woman handcuffed to a bed fighting to free herself after her husband has a heart attack, was un-adaptable. But then writer/director Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) came along and knocked it out of the park. Starring Carla Gugino as the trapped, desperate Jessie, Flanagan's Netflix horror movie is superb small-scale suspense and features an immensely captivating performance by Gugino. Taking place mostly in one room, Gerald's Game is a set of tightly wound gears that cranks out dread.

11. The Monkey (2025)

Director: Osgood Perkins | Writer: Osgood Perkins | Stars: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery | Release Date: February 21, 2025 | Review: IGN's The Monkey review | Where to watch:Not available to stream

A premise as deceptively simple as “if you wind up the monkey, someone brutally dies” leaves a lot of room for error, or for the gnarly kills to be the only things anyone remembers. But from that setup, director Osgood Perkins builds a multifaceted rollercoaster of a midnight movie that elicits as many laughs as shocks or gross-out gags, and succeeds at both animating and skewering the power that death holds over us all.

The Monkey marches to the beat of its own bloodstained drum – and it’s an irresistible rhythm to groove to. Perkins and cast balance the horror and comedy inherent in the movie’s silly premise exceptionally well, and the surreal, absurd touches the Longlegs director adds to a world sketched out by Stephen King only help to set it apart from less imaginative, body-count-obsessed movies. The evil influence of the titular, cursed toy results in blockbuster showcases for fantastic gore effects that, when paired with the film’s surprisingly gentle stance on the inevitability of death, affirm how potent horror-comedy can be when executed with a strong perspective and a willingness to get weird.

10. The Mist (2007)

Director: Frank Darabont | Writer: Frank Darabont | Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden | Release Date: November 21, 2007 | Review: IGN's The Mist review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

The Mist is based on a King short storyfound in the 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. Ostensibly a monster movie, The Mist finds a group of people trapped in a remote grocery store after a strange fog envelops the region and terrifying, dinosaur-like creatures begin appearing. But the core of this horror/sci-fi fusion is survival, and the lengths some will go to ensure theirs.

The movie benefits from a solid cast (including stars Tom Jane and Marcia Gay Harden) and director Frank Darabont -- who's one of three directors on this list who've had the most success with King's work -- actually garnered praise with a revised ending that deepened the dark tone of the story.

9. Creepshow (1982)

Director: George A. Romero | Writer: Stephen King | Stars: Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver | Release Date: November 10, 1982 | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

Horror legends Stephen King and George Romero teamed up for 1982's Creepshow, which was conceived as an homage to the Golden Age of horror comics in the 1950's, including E.C. Comics' infamous releases and DC books like House of Secrets and House of Mystery.

That anthology legacy is reflected in the execution of Creepshow, which revels in its juvenile, B-movie status. The film also has the distinction of featuring original material written by King, rather than a script wholly adapted from his prose work. While two of the five vignettes are based on his short stories, the remaining three are unique to Creepshow. These vignettes are cleverly glued together with animated sequences and a framing sequence starring King's son, Joe (now an accomplished horror writer in his own right).

8. The Green Mile (1999)

Director: Frank Darabont | Writer: Frank Darabont | Stars: Michael Clarke Duncan, Tom Hanks, David Morse | Release Date: December 10, 1999 | Review: IGN's The Green Mile review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

Because director Frank Darabont had crafted what many consider to be the definitive Stephen King movie with The Shawshank Redemption (more on that film later) some feared he was revisiting overly familiar territory when he returned to adapt another of King's prison dramas, The Green Mile.

Like Shawshank, The Green Mile is a period piece set largely within a prison and centered on a wrongly convicted felon. In this case, the prison is the Depression-era Cold Mountain Penitentiary, and the felon is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan). The corrections officer in charge of the death row inmates (Tom Hanks) is enthralled by Coffey's gentle nature and apparently supernatural healing powers, causing great emotional turmoil as he debates whether he can allow such a marvelous and obviously innocent man to be executed. The Green Mile is easily one of the most emotionally gripping King films (or books, for that matter) and further proof that his non-horror tales are often the ones most ideally suited for film.

7. Stand By Me (1986)

Director: Rob Reiner | Writer: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon | Stars: River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton | Release Date: August 8, 1986 | Review: IGN's Stand By Me review | Where to watch:Max

Frank Darabont isn't the only director with a real knack for bringing Stephen King tales to life on screen. Before Misery, Rob Reiner also directed this coming-of-age tale based on King's novella "The Body", collected in the 1982 book Different Seasons.

Stand By Me features narration by Richard Dreyfuss and a "who's who?" lineup of up-and-coming teen actors at the time - including Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell. This quartet play a group of friends who hear a rumor about a dead body being discovered and venture out to track it down and find small-town glory. Along the way, they battle some ruthless bullies and learn a thing or two about each other. This is another King film with a deceptively simple formula that really thrives on the strength of the performances. King himself even labels it as the first truly successful adaptation of his work.

6. It: Chapter One (2017)

Director: Andy Muschietti | Writer: Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman | Stars: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård, Jeremy Ray Taylor | Release Date: September 8, 2017 | Review: IGN's IT: Chapter One review | Where to watch:Max

Fittingly, one of King's most iconic novels is also one of his most successful adaptations, shattering box office records. But more than just being a moneymaker, IT is a very effective horror film that pits a group of intrepid middle schoolers against the terrifying, inhuman killer lurking beneath the streets of an idyllic Maine town. It's filled with ample spookiness, devilish scares, and a horrifying performance by Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

It's first chapter works well not just because it's frightening, but because it does something that so few horror films ever manage - it makes audiences care for these heroes as they face down the unimaginable. Just like the book, the half of the story featuring our main characters as kids is the more engrossing part, which is why only Chapter One is here on our list.

5. Doctor Sleep (2019)

Director: Mike Flanagan | Writer: Mike Flanagan | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran | Release Date: November 9, 2019 | Review: IGN's Doctor Sleep review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep is a modern horror miracle. Adapting King's sequel novel to The Shining, about a grown-up Danny Torrence (Ewan McGregor), Flanagan had to merge the world of King's prose and Kubrick's cinematic vision. Since Kubrick's The Shining took many liberties with King's book -- so much so that King himself disavowed the film -- Flanagan had to bring both worlds together in a way that felt genuine, gripping, and scary.

Visually, most everything we associate with The Shining comes from Kubrick (the hedge maze, the "twins," the various ghouls, etc) and Doctor Sleep is a beautiful, brutal blend of it all. On top of that, it's a fantastic film created by one of the best new masters in the horror game. Also see our video for Doctor Sleep: How the Shining Sequel Handles the Legacy of Jack Torrance

4. Carrie (1976)

Director: Brian De Palma | Writer: Lawrence D. Cohen | Stars: Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Piper Laurie | Release Date: November 3, 1976 | Review: IGN's Carrie review | Where to watch:Max

"If you've got a taste for terror... invite Carrie to the prom!"

That was the Grindhouse-worthy tagline for Carrie, and it said all that needed to be said about this teen horror drama. Carrie was King's big break as a writer in 1974, and a mere two years later, it also became fodder for one of the best films based on his work. The titular character -- played by Sissy Spacek -- a prototypical awkward teenage girl who suffers from bullying at school and an overbearing, fanatically religious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. She also happens to manifest destructive, psychokinetic powers when she's upset, so you can imagine what happens when Carrie becomes the victim of a cruel prank at her prom.

Carrie was praised both because of its terrifying qualities and its serious exploration of a very troubled character, easily still ranking as one of the very best of the traditional Stephen King horror movies.

3. Misery (1990)

Director: Rob Reiner | Writer: William Goldman | Stars: Kathy Bates, James Caan, Frances Sternhagen | Release Date: November 30, 1990 | Review: IGN's Misery review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

Misery operates on a very simple formula. It features only two main characters who spend most of the film locked away in a remote cabin in winter. But both the 1987 novel and Rob Reiner's 1990 adaptation really made the most of this formula.

As with so many of King's stories, Misery features a troubled writer as the lead protagonist. James Caan starred as novelist Paul Sheldon, a man who is rescued from a car crash by a nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Unfortunately, as Sheldon's "number one fan" Wilkes uses her unique opportunity to trap Sheldon in her cabin and force him to write a new book that will resurrect his most famous character, Misery Chastain. It was a great premise that allowed for Hitchcock levels of tension as Sheldon struggled to placate his demanding host and find a way to escape her clutches. Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Wilkes, a character who still ranks as one of the all-time great horror villains.

2. The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall | Release Date: May 23, 1980 | Review: IGN's The Shining review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was born from what might be King's most famous novel, which told the tale of a man named Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) - another of King's struggling writers with a pronounced dark side. Torrance serves as winter caretaker for the remote, luxurious Overlook Hotel in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. A combination of cabin fever and a strong supernatural influence compels Jack to try and murder his family and join the many restless souls trapped within the Overlook's walls. The only thing standing in the hotel's way is Jack's young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), whose psychic gifts the hotel both craves and fears.

In a twist, King has always been very adamant in his dislike of this adaptation, which he chalks up to Kubrick downplaying the family themes and the supernatural nature of the hotel, but both elements are now among the film's more praised qualities. The Shining is a technically brilliant film, with innovative camera work (particularly the tracking shots of Danny on his tricycle) and the use of physically impossible building layouts to create a subtle but very unsettling feeling. The Shining is so good that it manages to almost remain separate from King's name, ranking simply as one the best horror movies of all time.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Director: Frank Darabont | Writer: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton | Release Date: September 23, 1994 | Review: IGN's The Shawshank Redemption review | Where to watch:Rentable on multiple platforms

The first of Frank Darabont's feature-length Stephen King adaptations, The Shawshank Redemption also remains his best. The movie was adapted from the lesser-known novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" (also Different Seasons collection that spawned Stand By Me). The movie stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, a banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover based on circumstantial evidence and doomed to spend the rest of his days within the cold walls of Shawshank Penitentiary. Morgan Freeman co-stars as Red, the wise, world-weary smuggler of contraband.

While Shawshank often veers into dark territory, the movie is ultimately an uplifting tale about one man's refusal to give up hope in even the most depressing circumstances. Robbins plays a capable everyman hero, but often it is Freeman who steals the show, both in person and through his now iconic narration.

Upcoming Stephen King Movies

We love the classics, but you may be anticipating what Stephen King releases are coming next. There are numerous Stephen King movie adaptations in the pipeline, you can look forward to:

• The Life of Chuck - June 6, 2025

• The Running Man - Nov. 7, 2025

• The Long Walk - TBA

• The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - TBA

• Rose Madder - TBA

• Suffer The Little Children - TBA

• The Gingerbread Girl - TBA

• Tommyknockers - TBA

• The Dark Half - TBA

• Throttle - TBA

• Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - TBA

• Cujo remake - TBA

• Christine remake - TBA

• Elevation - TBA

• Mile 81 - TBA

Stephen King Movie List

If you want to see every Stephen King movie in order of release date, we've got you covered:

• Creepshow (1982)

• Christine (1983)

• Cujo (1983)

• The Dead Zone (1983)

• Children of the Corn (1984)

• Silver Bullet (1985)

• Cat's Eye (1985)

• Stand By Me (1986)

• Maximum Overdrive (1986)

• Creepshow 2 (1987)

• The Running Man (1987)

• Pet Sematary (1989)

• Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

• Graveyard Shift (1990)

• Misery (1990)

• Sleepwalkers (1992)

• The Dark Half (1993)

• Needful Things (1993)

• The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

• The Mangler (1995)

• Dolores Claiborne (1995)

• Thinner (1996)

• The Night Flier (1997)

• Apt Pupil (1998)

• The Green Mile (1999)

• Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

• Dreamcatcher (2003)

• Secret Window (2004)

• Riding the Bullet (2004)

• 1408 (2007)

• The Mist (2007)

• Dolan's Cadillac (2009)

• Mercy (2012)

• A Good Marriage (2014)

• Cell (2016)

• The Dark Tower (2017)

• My Pretty Pony (2017)

• IT: Chapter 1 (2017)

• 1922 (2017)

• Gerald's Game (2017)

• In the Tall Grass (2019)

• Pet Sematary (2019)

• IT: Chapter 2 (2019)

• Doctor Sleep (2019)

• Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)

• Firestarter (2022)

• The Boogeyman (2023)

• Salem's Lot (2024)

• The Monkey (2025)

• The Life of Chuck (2025)

• The Running Man (2025)

• The Long Walk (TBA)

• The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (TBA)

• Rose Madder (TBA)

• Suffer The Little Children (TBA)

• The Gingerbread Girl (TBA)

• Tommyknockers (TBA)

• The Dark Half (TBA)

• Throttle (TBA)

• Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream (TBA)

• Cujo remake (TBA)

• Christine remake (TBA)

• Elevation (TBA)

• Mile 81 (TBA)

Further Reading:

• Best Thriller Movies (of all time!)

• Best Horror Movies on HBO Max

• Best Horror Movies on Netflix (right now)

• Best Horror on Prime (right now)

What are your favorite Stephen King movies of all time? Let us know in the comments.

This article has been updated with streaming information and upcoming Stephen King release information for 2025.