Stephen King's Filmography (2020): Masters of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

This book contains the synopses and reviews of the darkest films in Stephen King's filmography. The movies are ranked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Feb 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778871146

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Tales of Terror’s

Masters of Terror 2020

Stephen King’s Filmography

INTRODUCTION

This book contains the synopses and reviews of the darkest films in Stephen King’s filmography. The listings are ranked from best to worst.

#1

The Shining

1980

Secluded in a remote hotel for the winter, a family is terrorized by ghosts.

Stars

8/8

STORY

8/8

CREATIVITY

8/8

ACTING

8/8

QUALITY

8/8

The Shining is the ultimate ghost movie. It is not only about the dead coming back, but about vice, mental illness and human evil. It is a slow burn that never gets boring because when nothing happens, photography does. It is among Kubrick’s best work and one of the best horror movies ever made. The hotel is a dense psychedelic labyrinth, and the script follows the same theme and logic.

Fans of thrillers get a thick depiction of family violence caused by alcoholism and supernatural lovers get scary ghosts. When mental illness and seclusion are gradually added to the equation, claustrophobia takes a new meaning. This is a long feature that constantly foreshadows, setting a stressful and uncomfortable tone that is as efficient psychologically as it is viscerally.

The set design is right out of a nightmare. The actors are so vigorous and meticulous it is troubling. Family horror, when approached so brilliantly, becomes something we can all relate to. It is never explicit about taboos, but quickly hints at many twisted concepts that make the movie highly rewatchable. Get ready to be immersed and shook up. Prepare for the horror experience of a life time!

#2

Pet Sematary

1989

A family moves into a town house located near a cemetery rumored to bring back the buried to life.

Stars

8/8

STORY

7/8

CREATIVITY

7/8

ACTING

7/8

QUALITY

7/8

Pet Sematary is a sad and terrifying family story that excels at exploiting one of the deepest and most visceral fears humans have: losing someone they love. We learn about the cursed grounds that bring the dead to life through dialogue and flashbacks during deep discussions between neighbors. The casting is ideal for a sinister supernatural thriller of this intensity.

It feels like a TV movie, but the budget is significant. You get advanced prosthetics and the photography is peculiar. In this Stephen King adaptation, it isn’t the house that is haunted but a vaguely defined area whose reach goes far beyond the cemetery gates. The place is surreal and is the villain. It is as eerie as the score: a recurring sonata sang by a children’s choir.

While most horror movies make contortions in order to stand out and be called memorable, Pet Sematary gives us a simple plot that we can all relate to. It reminds us of familiar events, patterns and struggles of family life, love and friendship, and amplifies common situations of sadness with a strong supernatural element; setting the tone for some of the creepiest scenes in horror movie history!

#3

Misery

1990

An injured author is held captive by a deranged fan of his.

Stars

8/8

STORY

7/8

CREATIVITY

4/8

ACTING

8/8

QUALITY

8/8

Here’s the ultimate 1990’s thriller. It is so intense that it can also be considered one of the best horror movies ever made. It is based on a novel by Stephen King; what more can you wish for? Small characters aside, this is a condensed emotional duel between Kathy Bates and James Caan. Misery is the perfect storm: perfect cast, perfect novel, perfect script and one hell of a director!

Bates plays a dangerous nut job and Caan the vulnerable victim; the writer she’s a die hard fan of. If genders were inverted, these would be stereotypes. King explores a writer’s nightmares, as he often does, but this is one of his greatest works. The film is sad, violent and extremely stressful. Some scenes will make you hold your breath and keep you on the edge of your seat.

Every subplot is executed with calculated timing. Nothing feels superfluous and there are no slow moments. The film is somewhat slow-paced but something horrible is at all times developing or getting out of control. This is one of the best Stephen King adaptations out there. Misery is, quite simply, nothing less than a perfect film. You need to see this… now!

#4

Creepshow

1982

A monster escapes from a horror comic book and visits a battered boy to inspire him in his vengeance scheme.

Stars

8/8

STORY

6/8

CREATIVITY

8/8

ACTING

6/8

QUALITY

6/8

As if right out of an EC Comic, Creepshow uses a variety of colored lights and gobos. Still painting morphs into real footage,