10 Stephen King Movie Adaptations That Deserve A Remake
The Stephen King adaptations that deserve a modern reimagining.
Stephen King is the master of modern horror, and unquestionably the most influential writer in the genre over the last fifty years. His novels and cinema have gone hand in hand from the very beginning, with Brian De Palma’s 1976 film Carrie arriving hot on the heals of King’s debut book in 1974.
King’s stock soon rose as he wrote one best-selling novel after another, with film adaptations following quickly thereafter. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) and John Carpenter’s Christine are just two examples of the King movie boom that occurred in the 1980s.
Such is the on-going attraction to King’s celebrated work, we have naturally begun to see many of his early movies starting to be remade. King was notoriously unhappy with Kubrick’s imagining of The Shining and its deviations from the source material, and would himself produce a two-part mini-series in 1997. In recent years we’ve seen newer versions of Carrie (2013), It (2017) Pet Semetary (2019) and Firestarter (2022), while a remake of Christine from Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller is reportedly in the works.
Although some of the films based on King’s material such as Misery, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are arguably so perfect that any thoughts of attempting a remake should be left well alone, there are certainly a number of deeper cuts from his vast library that might actually benefit quite nicely from a modern reboot.
10. The Dead Zone
The Dead Zone (1983) is unquestionably one of the classiest King adaptations from the era, and stars Christopher Walken - who was riding high after class turns in films such as The Deer Hunter and The Dogs of War - in one of his finest performances. Put together by legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, The Dead Zone was directed by the master of Body-Horror David Cronenberg, sitting between two of the most iconic works in his filmography, Scanners and The Fly (1986).
The Dead Zone tells the story of Jonny Smith, a teacher who following a car accident wakes up from a five-year coma to discover he has the power of clairvoyance. After coming to terms with his new found gift, he first uses it to help the stumbling police investigation of a serial killer, and then saves the life of a young friend. As the movie draws towards its climax Smith faces the ultimate sacrifice, as he must decide whether to assassinate a shady politician, who he has foreseen will become president and launch a nuclear missile which starts WW3.
With Blumhouse reportedly one studio keen to acquire the rights to The Dead Zone, now could be the perfect time to revisit the character and premise of Stephen King's lauded story.