Stephen King Movie Marathon

There have been 65 movies based on the writing of Stephen King?? For heaven’s sake, that’s more than the number of novels he has published (56, in case you were wondering). Granted, the 65 movies includes sequels, remakes, and reboots (Children of the Corn 5: Fields of Terror anyone?), but that is still a ridiculous number of movies.

I remember “Stephen King Films” as hokey horror shows like Pet Cemetery or the TV mini-series The Langoliers. But then I found out he wrote The Shawshank Redemption – the film consistently rated as #1 in the IMDB Top 250. While his work definitely tilts towards the thrilling, horrifying, and the supernatural, he has a dramatic range that isn’t immediately clear if you are only familiar with, say, Creepshow.

Why not celebrate his best movie adaptations in a 24-hour Stephen King Movie Marathon? The “best of stephen king” movie lists are pretty consistent on which are the best adaptations out there. You can see the best eleven in 24 hours!

Stephen King Movie Marathon Movies

The Shawshank Redemption

My take: Might as well start with the best! The epic story of wrongful imprisonment, despair, clawing back from the brink, retribution, and finally (may I say it?) redemption. Features Morgan Freeman, the undisputed king of voiceovers, as the narrator.

Stand By Me

My take: Take a brief break from Stephen King prison epics with a short, meaningful story about boyhood friendship. Features 1980s boy wonders Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and River Phoenix.

The Green Mile

My take: Settle in. At over three hours, this one will take a while. But where else but in a movie marathon will you find the time to watch the famous, critically acclaimed other Stephen King prison drama – the one with psychic powers?

The Shining

My take: The horror movie like no other horror movie. So “out there”, it was nominated for two Razzie awards, but now is considered one of the best horror films ever. Features Jack Nicholson as a crazy person.

Carrie

My take: Who hasn’t fantasized making their high school prom a bloodbath of psychic revenge against their childhood enemies? No one? Oh. Forget I said that.

The Running Man

My take: At the midway point of the movie marathon, take a break from endless epicness, bloodsoaked horror, and madness. Instead, go to pure 1980s action with Arnold Schwarzenegger in spandex spouting 80s action one-liners. It’s showtime!

The Dead Zone

My take: Schoolteacher is granted the power to see visions of the future just by touching someone. This turns out to be a handy skill when trying to avert future deaths and World War 3. I’d advise caution though: time travel and future visions may not be as simple as they seem (see: Hitler Time Travel Exemption, Godwin’s Law of Time Travel)

Misery

My take: Annie Wilkes is the ultimate fangirl and her favorite author basically just drops right into her lap. What would every fangirl do? Hold him prisoner and make him write fanfiction of course! So true to real life it’s chilling.

1408

My take: A haunted hotel room that will drive you mad through hallucinations of horror? “Challenge accepted!” says the main character in this film. Wait. Isn’t this The Shining again?

The Mist

My take: A portrait of people under stress. The stress – giant monsters hiding in mist. The people – infighting and murder.

Dolores Clairborne

My take: End your Stephen King movie marathon with a good, old-fashioned murder mystery and psychological thriller. Did she do it? Or did she not? Find out!

Stephen King Movie Marathon Schedule

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