Stephen King adaptations...

Just started watching The Institute, a series based on the 2019 novel by King. Having enjoyed the novel I was wary of the series, as adaptations of King works are very hit and miss. The very nature of his work makes it difficult to adapt much to the big and little screen.

Some adaptations are true classics in cinematic history. Stanley Kubricks The Shining, which King isn't a great fan of due to the changes made to his story, is a great watch. Shawshank Redemption is highly rated by critics and viewers, while the Green Mile was a box office success.

One film that many see as a stand-out is Stand By Me. Minus a lot of the supernatural horror, the film stars River Pheonix and Will Wheaton and is more of a coming of age drama with a lot of nostalgia.
On the opposite end of the horror spectrum is IT. A more recent adaptation did very well, although many feel the TV mini series was better.

There have been some terrible attempts to cover Kings works. The Dark Tower, starring Idris Elba, was a massive flop. Trying to cover what is a mega series of novels in film is a difficult task, perhaps more suited to a Netflix series.

A lot of Kings more recent novels have been less horror based. 11.22.63, which follows a time traveller tasked with stopping the JFK assassination, was a great read and done pretty well on TV. Under The Dome, another enjoyable read, had a multi-series TV run, which went away from the novel a bit and suffered. The Mr Mercedes series of books was transformed well to the small screen, although hidden away on obscure TV. The Stand and The Mist have been done more than once.

Some series based on King novels but telling different stories - such as Castle Rock, Haven and the upcoming IT and The Shining prequel series - add even more depth to the amount of material available.

What are some of your favourites? I have only scratched the surface with the movies/series I have mentioned.