Stephen Kingis the world’s second most adapted author. Only William Shakespeare is ahead of him, but some historians have argued that the playwright never existed. King might just be Number 1 on a fair list, but why do filmmakers love the author’s books so much? He knows how to keep people invested. In hisOn Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, he issues incredible storytelling tips, such as “go where the story leads you,” and “be ready to offend.” He also insists, “‘Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
These exact tips also work when telling a story on screen, hence we can see why studio heads, directors and screenwriters always scramble for the next Stephen King release. However, not everyone who adapts a novel from the “Master of Horror” captures things like the author does. Some feel the need to twist a thing or two. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
6‘The Running Man’ (1987)
The Running Man
Based on King’s 1982 novel — publishedunder the pseudonym, Richard Bachman —The Running Mantakes us to a future timeline where America has become a totalitarian police state and “The Running Man” is the most popular TV show. The reality seriesinvolves inmates running for their lives to avoid getting killed.Captain Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) soon finds himself on the show whenhe gets arrested for refusing to fire at protesters.
The Role Is Re-Molded for Schwarzenegger
Most‘80s action starsenjoyed playing supercops, soldiers, operatives, and other tough-guy characters, so Ben Richards is a law enforcement officer in the movie. In the book,he is an everyday man struggling to make ends meet.He isn’t forced to participate in the reality show. He does so willingly, to raise money for his family. Additionally,the book is more of a psychological thriller while the movie is an action flick. In his foreword forThe Bachman Books, King would admit that his version of Ben Richards is “as far away from the Arnold Schwarzenegger character in the movie as you can get."
10 21st Century Movies to Watch If You Loved The Running Man
1987’s The Running Man was a dystopian film about a deadly TV reality competition show. Here’s what to watch if you like this Schwarzenegger film.
5‘The Shining’ (1980)
The Shining
Unsurprisingly, Stephen King loves crafting stories about authors, buthis main characters aren’t always as lucky and as successful as he is.Take Jack Torrence fromThe Shining, who is forced to take a winter caretaker position at the remote Overlook Hotel to make an extra buck. Unknown to him, the hotel is haunted, and within no time, he becomes murderous, his killer eyes focused on his family.
As Many Tweaks as Takes
From Stanley Kubrick requiring a ‘million’ takes from actors toStephen King publicly criticizing the director’s approach, there are tons of stories about the making ofThe Shining. Kubrick always did what Kubrick wanted, so he made a number of changes to King’s novel and the author was so pissed thathe ended up creating a miniseries adaptation of the book in the ‘90s.
What’s diferent? Here, Head Chef Dick Holloran dies (he survives in the novel), Jack freezes to death (he gets caught up in an explosion in the novel), and Jack uses a fire ax (he uses a fire mallet in the novel). These and many more changes, makeThe Shiningmore of a Stanley Kubrick original than a Stephen King adaptation.We totally get why the novelist was pissed.
4‘Maximum Overdrive’ (1986)
Maximum Overdrive
Tired of seeing filmmakers messing with his stories, Stephen King opted to venture into Hollywood in the ‘80s, only to get a reality check. The novelist directedMaximum Overdrive, based on his short story “Trucks”, from the anthology book,Night Shift.In it, all automobiles and machines (including trucks, radios, computers, arcade games, and vending machines) become sentient and murderouswhen Earth comes into contact with a comet.
The Film Truly Goes Overdrive
ForMaximum Overdrive, the differences are surprising, considering that the same person was behind both works. Because this was his first film, King must have felt the need to start on a high, but he only ended up overcooking.
For starters,the story in the pages only focuses on trucks, not all the machines in the world.The movie thus has wild exclusive scenes such as a drink-vending machine killing an entire little league team. Beyond that,the book’s ending is ambiguous, implying that the world will be colonized by machines going forward, but in the film, a Soviet “weather satellite” destroys the source of the machines’ sentience, allowing humanity to recover.
Kingwas reportedly intoxicatedwhile making the movie, but we’ll be careful not to blame that. The author would later disown the picture, describing it as a “moron movie.”
3‘The Dark Tower’ (2017)
The Dark Tower
The Dark Towerstars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain,a gunslinger aiming to protect “The Dark Tower” — a mythical building which supports all realities— while Matthew McConaughey portrays his nemesis Walter Padick, aka, The Man in Black. Tom Taylor also stars as Roland’s sidekick, Jake Chambers.
‘The Dark Tower’ Isn’t as Dark as the Source Material
Even thoughThe Dark Towerplucks elements from the first and third volumes of the book series,it is more of a sequel, hence it was always bound to be different from the source material. Other changes are mostly tied to the characterization. For example,Jake’s mother likes him, whereas she often cares less about her son’s wellbeing in the books and the breakers are children instead of adults.There are changes in tone too, as the film is PG-13 whereas the books are wildly violent and horrific.
2‘Cell’ (2016)
InCell, graphic novelist Clayton “Clay” Riddell (John Cusack) begins a frantic search for his estranged wife and son after a mysterious cellphone signal transforms New England residents into zombie-like people known as “The Phoners.”Aiding him is Tom (Samuel L. Jackson), a train conductor he just met.
‘Cell’ Rings More Quietly on Screen
Celldismantles plenty of structures laid out by King in the book, and the result isn’t pleasant.The movie has an 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a series low for someone like Samuel L. Jackson.
Take the ending as an example. Like most Stephen King stories, this one ends ambiguously. Clay tries to reverse the effects of the signal, but we are never told whether his effort paid off. The filmdelivers a definitive conclusion, informing us that Clay turned into a “Phoner.” All this effort thus amount to nothing, leaving a sour taste. The introductory scene is also different, and so is the “Raggedy Man” villain, who is a symbolic figure on the pages but a physical figure in the book.
10 Horror TV Shows Recommended by Stephen King
If Stephen King says a show will keep you up at night, you can bet it will.
1‘Carrie’ (1976)
Carrie’s titular protagonist is a bullied child’s hero. For a long time, the shy teenage girl is forced to persevere as she is consistently ridiculed and assaulted at her school. Things aren’t good at home either, as her mother is literally the devil in a dress.The tables ultimately turn when she develops the power of telekinesis,enabling her to rain punishment on her tormentors.
An Array of Positive and Negative Changes
The adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel seems faithful from afar, but it has a dim glow compared to the novel, which is surprising considering the director is Brian de Palma.The book employs a creative narrative structure, showing perspectives from newspaper articles, testimonies and various other documents. This enables readers to comprehend the story better. Unfortunately,the movie relies on a simple linear narrative.In addition to that,the book has Carrie as an obese teen, suggesting she is bullied because of her looks. On a positive note, the film’s ending is much better, featuring one ofthe greatest horror jump scares.
