Stephen King Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Horror on Film

by Scott Von Doviak

Overview

Over the past four decades, the Stephen King movie has become a genre unto itself. The prolific writer's works have spawned well over 100 adaptations for both the big and small screen, ranging from modern classics of horror (Carrie, The Shining) to 'scar-nominated fare (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) to unapologetic, B-movie schlock (the King-directed Maximum Overdrive). The filmmakers to put their stamp on King's material include acclaimed auteurs Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and Brian De Palma; masters of horror Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, and George Romero; and popular mainstream directors Rob Reiner, Frank Darabont, and Lawrence Kasdan.

Stephen King Films FAQ is the most comprehensive overview of this body of work to date, encompassing well-known hits as well as forgotten obscurities, critical darlings and reviled flops, films that influenced King as well as those that have followed in his footsteps, upcoming and unmade projects, and selected works in other media (including comic books, radio dramas, and the infamous Carrie musical).

Author Scott Von Doviak provides background information, analysis, and trivia regarding the various films and television productions, including “Bloodlines” sections on related works and “Deep Cuts” sections collecting additional odd facts and ephemera. All you ever wanted to know about the king of horror onscreen can be found here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781480355514
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2014
Series:	FAQ
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Scott Von Doviak (Austin, TX) is the author of Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema and If You Like The Terminator. He is a former film critic for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a current contributor to The A.V. Club. He is a graduate of Emerson College and lives in Austin, Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Maine Attraction xi

Apt Pupil: Precursors and Influences

1 Abominations: Birth of a Genre 3

2 House of Frankenstein: The Universal Monsters and the Hammer Revival 10

3 Creature Features: Horror at the Drive-In 22

4 The "Poepictures": Roger Corman's Buckets of Blood 28

5 Dark Visions: Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, and the Rise of Modern Horror 33

1976 to 1983: Becoming a Brand Name

6 The Boogeyman: Carrie and Salem's Lot Introduce America's New Horror King 43

7 Forever … and Ever…: The Enduring Mysteries of The Shining 56

8 Blaze: Cujo, The Dead Zone, and Christine Ignite the King Phenomenon 66

1984 to 1989: Overdrive

9 The Waste Lands: Children of the Corn, Firestarter, and Silver Bullet 85

10 Different Seasons: To Hell and Back with Maximum Overdrive and Stand by Me 98

11 Bare Bones: Through the Lean Years with The Running Man and Pet Sematary 111

The 1990s: The Castle Rock Era

12 Rage: The Violent Mood Swings of Graveyard Shift and Misery 125

13 Danse Macabre: Sleepwalkers, The Dark Half, and Needful Things 135

14 "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying": Human-Scaled Horror in The Shawshank Redemption and Dolores Claiborne 146

15 Full Dark, No Stars: The Mangler, Thinner, and The Night Flier 155

16 Faithful: Apt Pupil and The Green Mile Stick to the Story 163

2000 to Present: The Golden Years

17 Just After Sunset: Hearts in Atlantis, Direamcatcher, and Secret Window 173

18 Four Past Midnight: Riding the Bullet, 1408, The Mist, and Dolan's Cadillac 181

Skeleton Crew: Short Subjects

19 The Vault of Horror: The Anthology Films Creepshow and Cat's Eye 195

20 Nightmares and Dreamscapes: Short Stories on the Small Screen 205

21 One for the Road: The X-Files, Tales from the Darkside, and Other One-Shots 211

22 "Dollar Babies": Short Stories on a Shoestring 221

Creepshows: Miniseries, TV Series, and TV-Movies

23 "They All Float": It and The Tommyknockers Go Long 231

24 The Long Walk: The Stand Escapes Development Hell 239

25 Fair Extension: The Langoliers, Storm of the Century, Rose Red, and Bag of Bones 248

26 Night Shift: Sometimes They Come Back and Other TV-Movies 258

27 Something to Tide You Over: The Short Seasons of Golden Years and Kingdom Hospital 264

28 Home Delivery: Week-to-Week with The Dead Zone, Haven, and Under the Dome 274

Sometimes They Come Back: Sequels and Remakes

29 Sometimes Dead Is Better: A Return to Salem's Lot, Pet Sematary Two, and Other Needless Sequels 285

30 All That You Love Will Be Carried Away: The Shining, Carrie, and Other Ill-Advised Remakes 296

31 Insomnia: The All-Night Children of the Corn Marathon 307

Rock-Bottom Remainders: Oddities and Ephemera

32 Phantoms: Stephen King Movies That Never Were 317

33 I Am the Doorway: King's Influence on the Horror Genre (and Beyond) 323

34 The Cannibals: Rip-offs, Parodies, and Homages 331

35 King of All Media: Comics, Radio Dramas, and the Infamous Carrie Musical 338

36 A Hell of a Band: The Ultimate Stephen King Movie Soundtrack 347

37 Keys to the Kingdom: Cameos, Guest Shots, Awards, and Quotable Quotes 352

38 Everything's Eventual: The Dark Tower and Beyond 360

Bibliography 367

Index 369