THE MONKEY And 5 Other Stephen King Short Stories That Became Movies

In what is perhaps the most successful adaptation (by some measures) of a Stephen King short story, 1984’s Children of the Corn started something remarkably enduring. The film is based on King’s story of the same name, which first appeared in an issue of Penthouse before later being included as part of the Night Shift collection. Adapted for the screen by writer George Goldsmith and director Fritz Kiersch, it started a full-blown franchise that spanned nearly 40 years. 

It centers on a young couple that winds up trapped in a remote town where a bizarre religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed. Horror ensues. The film was a modest success in its day but it spawned an insane eight sequels, not to mention two remakes/reboots in more recent years. Most recently, director Kurt Wimmer’s ill-fated Children of the Corn hit theaters in 2023 after sitting on a shelf for literally years. It is beyond impressive that a single short story fueled so much storytelling. How much of that storytelling is actually good? Well, that’s a conversation for another time.  

There have been many, many movies made based on King’s work over the years, but the master only directed one of those movies himself. That movie was Maximum Overdrive and, though it isn’t what one could call a critical darling, it is absolutely batshit crazy. Part of that has to do with King’s state of mind at the time of its production, as this was when he was in deep with drugs and alcohol. In any event, what we’re left with is a truly bonkers bit of ‘80s “man vs machines” horror. 

The film is based on King’s short story Trucks, also eventually part of the Night Shift collection. Maximum Overdrive was also featured on the cover of FANGORIA #54. The film mostly centers on a ragtag group of unfortunate souls who must try to survive when machines come to life and start killing people after a mysterious comet passes by the Earth. From kids being killed by rogue soda cans from a vending machine to an evil semi adorned with the face of Marvel’s Green Goblin, this is a movie that pulls precisely zero punches, for better and/or worse. It is probably best enjoyed with some friends and a beer or two, if that’s your thing.

Over the years, King’s stories have inspired many great movies, from Carrie to The Shawshank Redemption and everything in between. But hey, they can’t all be winners. Enter 1990’s Graveyard Shift, which is inspired by the story of the same name from – you guessed it! – the Night Shift collection. Directed by Ralph S. Singleton with a script by John Esposito, this is arguably the worst-reviewed Stephen King movie of all time, holding a very rare 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, Rotten Tomatoes is far from the end all, be all as far as criticism goes, but the point is that this is not exactly a well-regarded piece of cinema. For whatever it may be worth, I’m actually a big fan of this one, but that is neither here nor there. 

For those who haven’t seen it, the film takes place in a small town that is largely dependent on the old mill. When the owner of said mill is forced to do some major repairs, he hires a drifter to lead a team that is tasked with ridding the basement of rats. Unbeknownst to them, there’s one giant rat-bat monster down there waiting for a fresh meal. 

The creature is pretty wild and it also features a delightfully hammy performance by the legendary Brad Dourif, aka the voice of Chucky, who plays an exterminator named Tucker. It was a bit of a bomb in its day but it has found an audience, as evidenced by the recent 4K release from the folks at Scream Factory. 

Trending

Here's When You Can Watch PREDATOR: BADLANDS At Home

Directed by Mikael Håfström with a screenplay cobbled together by several contributors, 2007’s 1408 isn’t often cited as one of the best Stephen King movies, but perhaps it should be more frequently. Starring John Cusack in what largely boils down to a one-man show, this psychological horror trip is based on King’s short story of the same name. This one’s origins are interesting as it was first part of an audiobook collection titled Blood and Smoke before being collected in print as part of Everything’s Eventual. 

Be it through the spoken or printed word, the material spawned a very successful adaptation. The film centers on author Michael Enslin who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences. He checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel in New York City to do what he does best. After settling in, he’s quickly confronted by genuine terror he can’t merely explain away. 

Critics were largely kind to 1408 at the time of its release, and it was also a pretty damn successful hit at the box office too, taking in $133 million worldwide against a $25 million budget. Taken as a whole, it’s probably the most successful movie on this list. Whether or not The Monkey has anything to say about that remains to be seen. 

Last, but certainly not least, the most recent entry on this list came in the form of 2023’s The Boogeyman. This one was directed by Rob Savage, who was coming off of the success of his buzzy low-budget hit Host. Stepping up in the world, Savage got to tackle some material from the King himself. The movie is based on King’s story of the same name, ranking as one of the author’s very early works, having first appeared in a 1973 issue of Cavalier magazine. 

The film centers on two sisters who are grieving the recent death of their mother, while their father is struggling to offer up support. He is a therapist who is contending with his own grief. As a family, they must come together to face a supernatural entity that feeds on the suffering of its victims. 

Savage took King’s original story and, essentially, crafted a sequel of sorts to it, using the text as a jumping-off point. The end result was received rather well. So well, in fact, that Disney ended up giving it a theatrical release rather than dumping it straight to Hulu, which was originally the plan.