5 Stephen King Adaptations You Can Watch on Prime Video Right Now
The streamer took care of getting you a decent collection, comprising movies adapted from some of the author’s acclaimed literary works.
Stephen King isn’t just the king of horror, he’s also a major game player in the cinema and TV industry, having at least a couple of new projects based on his novels released every single year.
Remaining the second most adapted author after William Shakespeare, King has tens of flicks and TV shows to offer to its fans, with some of those panned by the writer himself and others being his absolute favorites.
However, whether King approved the movie or not, it’s still definitely worth checking out, and Prime Video might be a great helper in this after having garnered several movies inspired by Stephen King’s literary legacy.
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
The movie is loosely based on Stephen King's novella Low Men in Yellow Coats, starring Anthony Hopkins and Anton Yelchin as a mysterious man with psychic abilities and a brilliant young boy who bond over mutual need for someone to share their deepest secrets with.
Hearts in Atlantis didn’t really do well with critics, currently holding a score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, and many might argue that Hopkins has a bunch of way better movies, but this one in particular deserves attention at least for Yelchin’s performance which later on secured the actor the statuette at the Young Artists Awards.
The Mist (2007)
Based on King’s 1980 novella of the same name, The Mist develops a typically King-ish storyline revolving around a small town where a thick fog goes down to hide all the atrocities that are about to be witnessed by the locals.
The movie received numerous accolades from critics and Stephen King himself, as many pointed out the leading cast’s incredible dedication and powerful performance that eventually made The Mist one of the most outstanding adaptations of King’s works.
Cell (2016)
Despite the movie being completely crushed by critics and viewers, it’s still worthy of watching thanks to a star-studded cast and several action scenes that might have quite literally saved the film from a total collapse.
Starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, Cell follows the former’s graphic novelist Clayton "Clay" Riddell who embarks on a risky search for his family once he realises a series of phone calls has turned numerous New England residents into zombies aka “The Phoners”.
Cell is widely considered one of the poorest adaptations Stephen King’s literary legacy has ever seen, though the theme of the toll modern technologies can have on people’s life is still pretty relevant.
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
One of the most scandalous movies that has something to do with Stephen King’s name, The Lawnmower Man is a visually attractive and narratively fear-inducing story with a cast comprising some of the most acclaimed actors.
Allegedly based on King’s 1975 short story of the same name, the movie delves into Dr. Lawrence Angelo’s scientific experiment that he conducts having intellectually disabled gardener Jobe Smith as his guinea pig.
The biggest problem with the film was that it stayed so much away from King’s original story that the author had a legal battle with The Lawnmower Man’s creators, demanding that his name be removed from all the promo related to the movie back then.
Technically, it’s still a King adaptation though.
Children of the Corn (1984)
Coming on board for the movie, Stephen King initially wrote the original draft of the screenplay, focusing more on the story’s lead characters Burt and Vicky, though Children of the Corn took George Goldsmith’s version of the script as its basis, opting for more violence rather than character psychology on the screen.
However, it still turned out to be just fine, and Children of the Corn is still a terrifying watch even considering its old-fashioned style.
Based on King’s 1977 story of the same name, the movie follows Burt and his girlfriend Vicky who discover a dead boy’s body on their way through the Midwest; when they decide to stop by the nearest town to ask for help, there’s no one else there but bloodthirsty and mind-controlled children, only listening to what young preacher Isaac Chroner will tell them to do.
