Stephen King Film Adaptations - Ranked

Based on the short story from 1985.

Original screenplay from Stephen King.

Based on the novella from 2012
Opens up with an intriguing premise, only for it to then quickly lose itself in a convoluted mess of ideas that never manages to establish the sense of dread, fear and paranoia those early minutes promised. Instead we're left with a film that it's difficult to get a fully realized grasp on and it is therefore difficult to really care that much about it.

Sequel to book series
I don't have any knowledge of the source material, so I don't know what this adaptation of The Dark Tower has omitted in its journey from the pages and on to the screen. It's a fast-paced action film with some interesting ideas in it and some cool action sequences, but more than anything else, The Dark Tower oozes of studio meddling. There are so many aspects in this film that seems unexplored and left out. The film is just the very bare bones of what I think it actually was. The story is crystal clear and it moves quickly from one beat to another, but it moves so quickly that there's no room to dwell on any of the ideas that are lurking beneath. There's also no room for any emotional connection whatsoever.

There is a talented cast here, who does the best they can with the material they're left with, but none of the characters have any depth to them. While being a film that should overthrow you with ideas, themes and emotion, The Dark Tower feels shamefully hollow.

Based on the novel from 1986.
If it weren't for the decent performances and chemistry between all the actors, then the second half of Stephen King's IT would have been an absolute disaster. An overly bloated, dumb, condescending and disjointed horror film that fails to produce any sort of scare, dread or atmosphere in its quest to become the biggest and most epic mainstream blockbuster ever. The ambitions are certainly there, but the clunky storytelling and uninspired scares can't carry the weight of those ambitions, causing this film to drown itself in its own muddy waters.

Based on the novel from 1983.

Based on the novel from 1982.

Based on the short story from 1977.

Sequel to the 1989 film

Based on the novel from 1983.