With nearly a hundred books to his name, Stephen King is one of the most prolific and celebrated authors of our time, widely acknowledged as the maste
With nearly a hundred books to his name, Stephen King is one of the most prolific and celebrated authors of our time, widely acknowledged as the master of horror. From haunted hotels and ghostly supermarkets to possessed prisoners and mysterious shopkeepers, King’s work has covered every shade of terror, both supernatural and psychological, and his works have been adapted for the screen numerous times over the years. But the problem with being so prolific and having so many adaptations of your work is that some are better than others.
Netflix has a sizable collection of titles adapted from Stephen King novels and novellas in its catalog, including shows and movies based on some of his most gripping, chilling, and thrilling works. So if you’re a fan of the King of Horror, there’s a lot to choose from on the streaming platform, but if you’re looking for the best of the best, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our ranked guide to the best Stephen King movies and shows you can watch right now on Netflix.
7
‘Firestarter’ (2022)
Image via Blumhouse Productions
Directed by Keith Thomas, Firestarter is a sci-fi horror thriller based on King’s 1980 novel and a remake of the novel’s 1984 film adaptation by Mark Lester. The film tells the story of Charlene “Charlie” McGee (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), a troubled little girl with anger issues and threatening pyrokinetic abilities who is hunted down by a secret government agency that seeks to control her. The film also stars Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben, and John Beasley in his final film role.
2022’s Firestarter received much tougher criticisms than the 1984 adaptation, with critics panning the film for its uninspired narrative and lack of thrills. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 10%, it is definitely not one of the better screen adaptations of Stephen King’s stories, nor is it one of Blumhouse’s best productions. That being said, the film’s campy quality might find its audience in genre fans seeking a totally escapist streaming movie.
6
‘In the Tall Grass’ (2019)
Rear shot of Will Bieu Jr and a dog looking towards high grass from In the Tall GrassImage via Netflix
A Canadian supernatural horror thriller written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, In the Tall Grass is an adaptation of the eponymous novella written by Stephen King and his son, Joe Hill. The story follows a pregnant youthful woman and her brother on the drive to San Diego, who are drawn into a field of grass by a little boy’s cry for aid and soon find themselves lost in a primal horror. The film stars Harrison Gilbertson, Laysla De Oliveira, Avery Whitted, Will Buie Jr., Rachel Wilson, and Patrick Wilson.
Combining themes of the paranormal, philosophical, and mystical, In the Tall Grass is both engaging and terrifying. The film thrives mostly in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the never-ending maze of towering grass and the cosmic horror narrative. On its release, the movie earned a mixed response, with critics praising the film’s faithfulness to the original story and the way it successfully translates the source material’s atmosphere to the screen, and it also earned positive reviews for Patrick Wilson’s compelling performance.
5
‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone’ (2022)
Jaeden Martell holds an iPhone out as Donald Sutherland grimaces in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.Image via Netflix
Written and directed by John Lee Hancock, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is an adaptation of King’s novella from the collection If It Bleeds. The film follows Craig, a teenage boy who befriends the titular billionaire, but after Mr. Harrigan dies, Craig discovers that he can communicate with his friend from the beyond. Donald Sutherland stars as John Harrigan, Jaeden Martell as Craig, with Joe Tippett, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Cyrus Arnold in supporting roles.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is part supernatural horror story and part coming-of-age drama, exploring grief, technology addiction, and revenge in a grounded, emotional narrative. Unlike generic horror films whose core purpose is to incite fear of an impending doom, the Netflix film is more character-driven, diving into Harrigan and Craig’s particular character arcs and their dynamics. While the film had mixed reviews on its Netflix premiere, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone was deemed “brilliant” by King, and it is a well-made horror film that the author’s fans are sure to enjoy.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
The Matrix
Mad Max
Blade Runner
Dune
Star Wars
TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.
APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it.
BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don’t keep you alive.
CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who’s pulling the strings.
DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it.
EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can’t fix a broken galaxy alone.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don’t need resources — you can generate them.
BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it.
CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity.
DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on.
EShips and credits. The galaxy is large — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re candid about what you’re actually afraid of.
AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant.
BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left.
CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you’re a problem, you’re already out of time.
DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn’t even know I was playing.
EThe Empire tightening its grip until there’s nowhere left to run.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it.
BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better.
CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy.
DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can’t beat a system you refuse to understand.
EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — crowded, artificial, but with access to everything that matters.
BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is candid.
CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions.
DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand.
EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire’s attention rarely reaches.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
AA tight crew of believers who’ve seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose.
BOne or two people I’d trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks.
CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice.
DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last.
EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
AI won’t harm the innocent — even the ones who’d report me without hesitation.
BI do what I have to to protect the people I’ve chosen. Everything else is negotiable.
CThe line shifts depending on who’s asking and what’s at stake.
DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people’s future, even if it’d aid now.
ESome lines, once crossed, can’t be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it.
BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving.
CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out.
DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations.
EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else’s boot.
REVEAL MY WORLD →
Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t aid but notice the seams in things.
- You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
- You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
- You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
- The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are strenuous to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
- You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
- You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
- You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
- In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
- You read people accurately, keep your circle tiny, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
- In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
- You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
- In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
- Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
- You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
- Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
- In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is huge, noisy, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
- You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
- You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
- You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
- In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
4
‘11.22.63’ (2016)
James Franco as Jake Epping in a suit and tie and hat staring ahead into the distance in 11.22.63.Image via Hulu
Based on Stephen King’s 2011 novel, 11.22.63 is a sci-fi thriller miniseries developed by Bridget Carpenter and produced by J.J. Abrams. James Franco stars as Jake Epping, a divorced English teacher who travels back in time to the 1960s to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But when he starts getting attached to his modern life in the past, it puts his mission and history itself in danger. The show also features Chris Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Lucy Fry, George MacKay, and Daniel Webber in key roles.
11.22.63 is a well-crafted alternate history series that successfully blends history, conspiracy theory, drama, sci-fi, and time travel into a thrilling narrative. The eight-part series is anchored by James Franco’s outstanding performance as a man torn between past and present, with critics comparing his acting style to Old Hollywood stars. Interesting and intriguing in every episode, the Hulu original series is easily one of the most well-made and well-performed screen adaptations of King’s work.
3
‘1922’ (2017)
Thomas Jane as Wilfred James leaning on a wall and looking suspiciously at a person offscreen in 1922Image via Netflix
Written and directed by Zak Hilditch, 1922 is a horror film based on Stephen King’s novella of the same name, published in his 2010 collection, Full Dark, No Stars. Set in Nebraska in the early 20th century, 1922 follows a farmer named Wilfred “Wilf” James, who murders his wife with the aid of his teenage son and becomes tormented by guilt and shame as they slowly lose everything they held dear. Thomas Jane leads the cast as Wilf, with Dylan Schmid, Molly Parker, Kaitlyn Bernard, Bob Frazer, Brian d’Arcy James, and Neal McDonough in key roles.
Often considered one of Netflix’s best original thrillers, 1922 has been well praised by critics for its justice to the theme, tone, and essence of the original story. The narrative steers clear of any dramatic moments or clichéd horror motifs, but plays more on the slowly corroding life and psychological decay of its protagonists. The well-paced storytelling and mighty performances make 1922 one of the better adaptations of King’s stories ever to hit screens, even if it’s a relatively underrated one.
2
‘Castle Rock’ (2018–2019)
Bill Skarsgard as The Kid in Season 1 of Castle Rock.Image via Hulu
Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, Castle Rock is a unique screen adaptation of Stephen King’s work, in that it’s not based on any specific novel or miniature story but the eponymous fictional town that appears as a regular setting for the author’s stories. The anthology series consists of two separate stories, each following a diverse set of characters who are linked to the titular town through unpredictable, mysterious events. Each season of Castle Rock stars an ensemble cast, with Bill Skarsgård, André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Lizzy Caplan, and Tim Robbins playing notable roles.
Castle Rock intelligently combines supernatural horror, mystery, and psychological thriller into an intimate, intense drama that does justice to King’s world-building. Despite mighty allusions to various popular works, the show’s characters and storylines remain distinctive to the show, elevated by chilling performances by Skarsgård in Season 1 and Caplan in Season 2. A murky, character-focused, and atmospheric horror series, Castle Rock is easily one of the best TV renditions of Stephen King’s literary canon.
1
‘Gerald’s Game’ (2017)
Carla Gugino as Jessie Burlingame, handcuffed to a bed and looking scared in Gerald’s GameImage via Netflix
Directed and co-written by Mike Flanagan and adapted from King’s 1992 novel, Gerald’s Game is a chilling psychological thriller that follows Jessie and Gerald, a couple who go to an isolated lake house for a romantic getaway. While exploring a sexual fantasy, Gerald handcuffs Jessie to the bed, but dies of a heart attack, leaving her trapped with no way to escape or get aid. Bruce Greenwood stars as Gerald and Carla Gugino as Jessie, with Carel Struycken, Henry Thomas, and Kate Siegel in supporting roles.
King’s novel was long considered unfilmable because of its deeply internal narrative, until Flanagan came along and masterfully translated it into an atmospheric horror that largely takes place in Jessie’s mind. Although leisurely and deliberate, its pace never feels stagnant, creating constant tension through Jessie’s physical and mental struggles, which Carla Gugino brings to life with a phenomenal performance. Gerald’s Game has been critically acclaimed for its direction, acting, and treatment of the novel, and it’s easily one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations of all time.
Release Date
September 29, 2017
Runtime
104 minutes
Producers
D. Scott Lumpkin, Matt Levin, Trevor Macy
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