Shubhabrata Dutta
Divulging the eerie and equally captivating world of Stephen King’s imagination is not everyone’s cup of tea. The spine-chilling adaptations of his works have both petrified and bewildered audiences across the globe, delivering unforgettable journeys through the master of horror’s iconic tales. If you are up for it, we bring you the best Stephen King movies you can stream on Hulu, Prime, and Max.
11. Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Loosely based on Stephen King’s short story ‘Trucks,’ ‘Maximum Overdrive’ is directed by King himself. The movie shows what happens when all machines, including vehicles, come to life and turn on humans after a comet passes by Earth. How a group of people try to survive the killing spree of the machines is what we find out in this campy horror drama.
The film also has a hard rock soundtrack composed by the world-famous Australian rock band AC/DC. To think about it, the film does incorporate elements that are similar to those of the ‘Terminator’ movies (self-aware machines) and the ‘Transformers’ franchise (vehicles coming to life, in a way). You can watch the entertaining flick on Amazon.
10. Big Driver (2014)
Based on the eponymous novella by King, ‘Big Driver’ is directed by Mikael Salomon. It is a revenge story about a woman named Tess Thorne (Maria Bello), a popular crime-mystery writer, who is raped by a guy (Will Harris) and left for dead. However, upon regaining consciousness, she decides to avenge herself rather than report it, as it will ultimately lead to a scandal. Assisted by a character from one of her books with whom she communicates, Tess sets off to track down the culprit and exact revenge. The film also stars Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis and BAFTA nominee Ann Dowd. You can watch ‘Big Driver’ on Prime.
9. Firestarter (1984)
Based on King’s 1980 eponymous novel, ‘Firestarter’ stars young Drew Barrymore, who plays the role of Charlene “Charlie” McGee, an eight-year-old girl who can control heat and fire. This resulted from an experiment that not she but her parents were subjected to. Currently, Charlie’s father (David Keith) must keep her safe from The Shop, AKA the Department of Scientific Intelligence, which wants to use (read “misuse”) her powers. Where is the mom in all this, you ask? She’s dead. To find out how and what fate awaits Charlie, you can watch ‘Firestarter’ on Max.
8. The Mist (2007)
Directed by Frank Darabont, this horror drama is a sleeper cult classic based on King’s 1980 novella of the same name. The film follows artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son Billy (Nathan Gamble), who are stuck in a supermarket after a storm hits their Maine neighborhood, resulting from a failed military experiment. A thick mist has spread all across town, but what’s causing the havoc is the horrific entity in it. Is it one or many? Drayton has to risk finding out the truth if he wants to protect his son, which also means protecting himself. Gory, disgusting, and gripping all the same, ‘The Mist’ was ranked among the top 20 horror films of the decade by Bloody Disgusting. You can watch it on Prime.
7. Creepshow 2 (1987)
A comedy horror anthology film directed by Michael Gornick, ‘Creepshow 2’ incorporates elements of three Stephen King stories: “Old Chief Wood’nhead,” “The Raft,” and “The Hitchhiker.” In the film, each of these stories is a part of the latest issue of the horror comic Creepshow that young Billy finds and starts to read. “Old Chief Wood’nhead” is about a statue of a Native American that comes to life to avenge the murder of the shop owners who had the statue, “The Raft” deals with a blob-like creature that lives in a lake, and “The Hitchhiker” follows adulterous businesswoman who is followed by a hitchhiker whom she had run over. The cast includes George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, Dan Kamin, Paul Satterfield, Lois Chiles, and Tom Wright. You can watch it on Prime.
6. Carrie (1976 & 2013)
High school teenager Carrie has always been mistreated, bullied, and harassed by her peers, as well as her fanatic mother, who often keeps her locked inside a closet. But none of them know that Carrie has a strange ability that she can use to bring an end to all of them. After all, you don’t mess with a person who can move things with his/her mind. What’s the worst that can happen when such a person is pushed to her limit? Certainly nothing good. And Stephen King makes it clear. The 1976 adaptation has been directed by Brian De Palma and stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie and Piper Laurie as Carrie’s mother. It is also John Travolta’s debut feature film. The 2013 adaptation has been directed by Kimberly Peirce and stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie and Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mom. Both versions are available on Max. You can watch the 1976 version here and the 2013 version here.
5. Children of the Corn (1984 & 2020)
This movie gives shape to a potentially possible scenario, i.e., children deciding to take control. In fact, that is what happens in this film. Led by a 12-year-old girl named Eden, who is possessed by an invisible dark entity, the children of a small Nebraska town start brutally killing all the adults to prevent them from burning the corn fields for government subsidy without thinking about the children’s future. However, only one young girl named Boleyn is against this and tries to stop Eden. But even if Boleyn can do that, how can she stop the dark entity? Starring Kate Moyer, Elena Kampouris, Callan Mulvey, Bruce Spence, Stephen Hunter, and Erika Heynatz, ‘Children of the Corn’ (2020) is directed by Kurt Wimmer. You can watch it on Hulu. The 1984 version is slightly different and has 9-year-old Isaac Chroner instead of Eden, although the motive is the same. It is directed by Fritz Kiersch. You can watch the 1984 version on Prime.
4. The Boogeyman (2023)
Like Pennywise from ‘It,’ the Boogeyman too feeds off people’s fears. However, there’s one more thing that it feeds on: grief. So when it gets the taste of the grief of therapist Will and his daughters Sadie and Sawyer, all of whom are coping with an expected loss, it latches onto them. The question is: will it be with them forever? After all, pain only ends with death. Or will Sadie and Sawyer find a way to get rid of it? Directed by Rob Savage, ‘The Boogeyman’ stars Sophie Thatcher, Vivien Lyra Blair, Chris Messina, and David Dastmalchian. You can watch the film on Hulu.
3. Pet Sematary (1989)
Based on King’s eponymous novel, ‘Pet Sematary’ can be said to be the only horror film of its kind. We meet Doctor Louis Creed and his family, who bury their cat in an old graveyard in the woods behind their new home in Maine. While we do wish that our loved ones who have passed away come back to us, we wouldn’t be that happy to see them actually turn up. This is what happens to the Creeds, who find that their cat is back and in a sinister avatar. After this, they lose their youngest member, Gage, a toddler, who is also buried in the same graveyard, which, unbeknownst to them, is an ancient ritual ground. Will Gage return? Will it be a merry reunion? Or will it be a gory one? Directed by Mary Lambert, the film stars Dale Midkiff, Miko Hughes, Fred Gwynne, and Denise Crosby. You can watch it on Max.
2. Apt Pupil (1998)
This Bryan Singer directorial explores the deal made between a 16-year-old kid named Todd Bowden and his elderly neighbor Arthur Denker whom Todd finds out to be a former commandant named Kurt Dussander who served at a Nazi concentration camp. Todd begins to blackmail Arthur, learning details about camps and genocide that he is fascinated by. Arthur, on the other hand, uses his information to coax Arthur into doing better at his studies. But what if someone else finds out about the truth about Arthur? Will Todd be of any help? ‘Apt Pupil’ is a true-to-form psychological thriller starring Ian McKellen as Arthur Denker/Kurt Dussander and Brad Renfro as Todd Bowden. It won the Best Horror Film award at the 25th Saturn Awards. Ian McKellen, too, won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. You can watch the film on Prime.
1. The Dead Zone (1983)
Being able to see the future can be unsettling. This is what ‘The Dead Zone’ makes clear. We follow schoolteacher Johnny Smith, played by Christopher Walken, whose dormant ability to see a person’s past, present, and future is activated after he comes out of a coma following an accident. But for his ability to take effect, he has to come into physical contact with the person. In one such case, he finds out the danger of the rise of aspiring politician Greg Stillson, played by Martin Sheen, and thus decides to kill him. Will Smith be successful? To find out, you can watch this David Cronenberg directorial, which does full justice to King’s eponymous novel, on Prime.
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