10 Worst Stephen King Film Adaptations
7. Graveyard Shift
Stephen King's collection of short stories Night Shift contains this gruesome little entry. A textile mill is shut down due to an infestation of rats, which must be cleared out before business can return to normal. The rats do not agree with being moved on. Gore ensues.
To be absolutely fair, it would have been a difficult plot to adapt to a successful film in any case. One of the greatest questions raised by the film is why? Why did they bother? The effects are nowhere near strong enough to justify the giant Rat-Bat of the final act and the acting is standard phone-it-in ham from all concerned, even the usually dependable Brad Douriff.
Part of the appeal of King works is their shocking horror, even when this isn't played straight. The movie misses the mark, instead opting to rely on the standard boo-kill method of scaring the audience. As the filmmakers knew that the creature would not be enough to frighten the audience, they opted to inflate Warwick's role from the novella to full-on villain of the film. It doesn't work, as rather than a lazy, cantankerous crew boss, there is a homicidal maniac running a mill crew. If only he was more interesting, there may have been room to care.
While not the worst King adaptation, it doesn't even fall under the 'so bad it's good' heading!