Stephen King Watch-a-long

(Feature image by Funkwood)

Emmy found Stephen King very difficult to read when she was younger (except for The Green Mile). Jeff has always loved Stephen King – but usually the ones more grounded in reality (his favourite is Cujo). Due to geographically distant families, audio books on car trips became a useful idea. This lead to the idea of the great Stephen King Read Listen.

To make matters more interesting (and consequently more useful for this movie site) we’ve decided to underline completing each story with the movie adaptation where possible. The ground rules: no Bachman books (that can be later); no Gunslinger books (until we’ve read the rest); can’t watch the movie until after we’ve finished the book (cinema release of IT excepted); and we generally try to watch the original version of each (if more than one has been made). We might do remakes, but the first comes first.

This post will be updated as we complete novels and review films. The reviews here will show the movies we’ve seen, and we also maintain a Goodreads shelf for tracking the books we’ve read/are reading. The book will only be added if there’s a movie adaptation. Not all books have been made into movies (yet).

Come along with us on the great Stephen King Watch-a-long!

Title Book Finished Movie Reviewed (average)
Carrie 3 out of 5 5 out of 10
The Shining 4 out of 5 2.5 out of 10
Night Shift 3 out of 5 Cat’s Eye: 4 out of 10
Salem’s Lot 4 out of 5 1970 version: 5.5 out of 10
2004 version: 7 out of 10
The Stand 4 out of 5 7 out of 10
The Dead Zone 4 out of 5 7 out of 10
Firestarter 2 out of 5 3 out of 10
Cujo 4 out of 5 8 out of 10
Different Seasons:
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
5 out of 5 The Shawshank Redemption:
8.5 out of 10
Different Seasons:
Apt Pupil
4 out of 5 7 out of 10
Different Seasons:
The Body
5 out of 5 Stand By Me: 10 out of 10
Christine 5 out of 5 3 out of 10
Pet Sematary 5 out of 5 1989 version: 5.5 out of 10
2019 version: 7 out of 10
Skeleton Crew:
The Mist
5 out of 5 The Mist: 9 out of 10
It 5 out of 5 1990 version: 8 out of 10
2017 Chapter 1: 10 out of 10
2019 Chapter 2: 9 out of 10
Misery 5 out of 5 8.5 out of 10
The Tommyknockers 5 out of 5 7 out of 10
The Dark Half 5 out of 5 7 out of 10
Four Past Midnight: The Langoliers 4 out of 5 7 out of 10
Four Past Midnight: Secret Window, Secret Garden 4 out of 5 Secret Window: 7.5 out of 10
Needful Things 5 out of 5 9 out of 10
Gerald’s Game 5 out of 5 9 out of 10
Dolores Claiborne 5 out of 5 9 out of 10
Nightmares and Dreamscapes: The Night Flyer 4 out of 5  Not yet watched
Nightmares and Dreamscapes: Dolan’s Cadillac 4 out of 5  Not yet watched
The Green Mile 5 out of 5  Not yet watched
Doctor Sleep Not read yet 10 out of 10