The Shining was my introduction to Stephen King adaptations, and there have been oodles of them. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count them all. Unfortunately, a great deal of those adaptations have been…how shall I put it...value suspect (I’m looking at you, Maximum Overdrive.) Still, there’s more than enough nominees to make a pretty amazing Top 10 list. There's even leftovers to argue about. Here's my list.
#10 - Director Frank Darabont’s second Stephen King adaptation is highly reminiscent of his first, Shawshank Redemption, only it trades in Shawshank’s feel-good moments for something a little more twee. Still, the performances are strong.
#10 - Director Frank Darabont’s second Stephen King adaptation is highly reminiscent of his first, Shawshank Redemption, only it trades in Shawshank’s feel-good moments for something a little more twee. Still, the performances are strong.
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#10 - Director Frank Darabont’s second Stephen King adaptation is highly reminiscent of his first, Shawshank Redemption, only it trades in Shawshank’s feel-good moments for something a little more twee. Still, the performances are strong.
#10 - Director Frank Darabont’s second Stephen King adaptation is highly reminiscent of his first, Shawshank Redemption, only it trades in Shawshank’s feel-good moments for something a little more twee. Still, the performances are strong.
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#9 - What do you call that genre of movies like Cube, Lifeboat, or Circle, where a group of people are thrown together under trying circumstances and become their own worst enemies? Well, this is an excellent example of one of those.
#9 - What do you call that genre of movies like Cube, Lifeboat, or Circle, where a group of people are thrown together under trying circumstances and become their own worst enemies? Well, this is an excellent example of one of those.
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#9 - What do you call that genre of movies like Cube, Lifeboat, or Circle, where a group of people are thrown together under trying circumstances and become their own worst enemies? Well, this is an excellent example of one of those.
#9 - What do you call that genre of movies like Cube, Lifeboat, or Circle, where a group of people are thrown together under trying circumstances and become their own worst enemies? Well, this is an excellent example of one of those.
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#8 - Personally, I’d be a little hesitant to speak to a sewer Punchinello with that many teeth, but if he’s offering cotton candy, who’s going to say no? IT (2017) takes creepy clown to a new level.
#8 - Personally, I’d be a little hesitant to speak to a sewer Punchinello with that many teeth, but if he’s offering cotton candy, who’s going to say no? IT (2017) takes creepy clown to a new level.
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#8 - Personally, I’d be a little hesitant to speak to a sewer Punchinello with that many teeth, but if he’s offering cotton candy, who’s going to say no? IT (2017) takes creepy clown to a new level.
#8 - Personally, I’d be a little hesitant to speak to a sewer Punchinello with that many teeth, but if he’s offering cotton candy, who’s going to say no? IT (2017) takes creepy clown to a new level.
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#7 - Not so much a horror film as a character study, Dolores Claiborne eschews jump scares in favor of psychological weightiness. It achieves this on stellar performances from Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
#7 - Not so much a horror film as a character study, Dolores Claiborne eschews jump scares in favor of psychological weightiness. It achieves this on stellar performances from Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
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#7 - Not so much a horror film as a character study, Dolores Claiborne eschews jump scares in favor of psychological weightiness. It achieves this on stellar performances from Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
#7 - Not so much a horror film as a character study, Dolores Claiborne eschews jump scares in favor of psychological weightiness. It achieves this on stellar performances from Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
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#6 - Director David Cronenberg takes the reins for The Dead Zone, in which average schlep Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) gains psychic powers when he’s...Show more
#6 - Director David Cronenberg takes the reins for The Dead Zone, in which average schlep Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) gains psychic powers when he’s injured in a car accident. Just listening to Walken read “The Raven” is worth the price of admission.
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#6 - Director David Cronenberg takes the reins for The Dead Zone, in which average schlep Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) gains psychic powers when he’s...Show more
#6 - Director David Cronenberg takes the reins for The Dead Zone, in which average schlep Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) gains psychic powers when he’s injured in a car accident. Just listening to Walken read “The Raven” is worth the price of admission.
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#5 - This is a nostalgic coming-of-age story with great dialogue, a fetching soundtrack, and an all-star cast of young actors whose careers skyrocketed after this film hit the theaters.
#5 - This is a nostalgic coming-of-age story with great dialogue, a fetching soundtrack, and an all-star cast of young actors whose careers skyrocketed after this film hit the theaters.
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#5 - This is a nostalgic coming-of-age story with great dialogue, a fetching soundtrack, and an all-star cast of young actors whose careers skyrocketed after this film hit the theaters.
#5 - This is a nostalgic coming-of-age story with great dialogue, a fetching soundtrack, and an all-star cast of young actors whose careers skyrocketed after this film hit the theaters.
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#4 - Don’t be fooled by imitations! The original Carrie (1976) has the classic taste you’ve grown to love. Flavored with Brian De Palma, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and just a hint of John Travolta.
#4 - Don’t be fooled by imitations! The original Carrie (1976) has the classic taste you’ve grown to love. Flavored with Brian De Palma, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and just a hint of John Travolta.
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#4 - Don’t be fooled by imitations! The original Carrie (1976) has the classic taste you’ve grown to love. Flavored with Brian De Palma, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and just a hint of John Travolta.
#4 - Don’t be fooled by imitations! The original Carrie (1976) has the classic taste you’ve grown to love. Flavored with Brian De Palma, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and just a hint of John Travolta.
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#3 - Misery stands the test of time. The two powerhouse performances by James Caan and Kathy Bates are the fuel that makes this exquisitely tuned engine run.
#3 - Misery stands the test of time. The two powerhouse performances by James Caan and Kathy Bates are the fuel that makes this exquisitely tuned engine run.
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#3 - Misery stands the test of time. The two powerhouse performances by James Caan and Kathy Bates are the fuel that makes this exquisitely tuned engine run.
#3 - Misery stands the test of time. The two powerhouse performances by James Caan and Kathy Bates are the fuel that makes this exquisitely tuned engine run.
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#2 - There aren’t too many feel-good movies set in a state penitentiary, but if there were, The Shawshank Redemption would stand out as the best.
#2 - There aren’t too many feel-good movies set in a state penitentiary, but if there were, The Shawshank Redemption would stand out as the best.
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#2 - There aren’t too many feel-good movies set in a state penitentiary, but if there were, The Shawshank Redemption would stand out as the best.
#2 - There aren’t too many feel-good movies set in a state penitentiary, but if there were, The Shawshank Redemption would stand out as the best.
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#1 - From the opening “windy road” sequence to the movie’s chilling final moments, director Stanley Kubrick maintains a dark, overtly oppressive atmosphere that solidly earmarks the Overlook Hotel as the film’s main character.
#1 - From the opening “windy road” sequence to the movie’s chilling final moments, director Stanley Kubrick maintains a dark, overtly oppressive atmosphere that solidly earmarks the Overlook Hotel as the film’s main character.
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#1 - From the opening “windy road” sequence to the movie’s chilling final moments, director Stanley Kubrick maintains a dark, overtly oppressive atmosphere that solidly earmarks the Overlook Hotel as the film’s main character.
#1 - From the opening “windy road” sequence to the movie’s chilling final moments, director Stanley Kubrick maintains a dark, overtly oppressive atmosphere that solidly earmarks the Overlook Hotel as the film’s main character.
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