Top 10 Stephen King Horror Movies

It might have been made for TV, but Salem's Lot delivers theatrical thrills and chills. It tells the story of an author who returns to his home town, only to discover that a vampire has moved in and is steadily turning everyone into creatures of the night. Because it's a miniseries, there's time to develop several plot points, humanizing the characters and heightening the fear and tragedy.

A caretaker and his family move into an isolated hotel in the dead of winter and must deal with its ghostly inhabitants. This third adaptation of a King novel is probably the best of the author's movies and is easily one of the most frightening films of all time, right after White Chicks. A TV miniseries was produced in 1997 that was truer to the book, but it was nowhere near as creepy -- in part because Steven Weber is no Jack Nicholson.

Unlike most King films, the author actually wrote the screenplay for this anthology of spooky stories. The tales involve zombie revenge, a killer alien plant, a monster in a box and a cockroach invasion. The original title, Creepshow on the Dance Floor, was nixed for being too funky.

Only tangentially horrific yet thoroughly entertaining, The Dead Zone involves a teacher developing the ability to see the future after a car accident lands him in a coma for five years. Unlike those who squander their psychic abilities -- Miss Cleo, I'm looking at you -- Johnny (Christopher Walken) uses his talent to solve murders, save children from drowning and prevent a nuclear war. You're welcome.