Top Ten Worst Stephen King Movies: C.C.C Issue #58

Top Ten Worst Stephen King Movies: C.C.C Issue #58

As I said in my previous list, I thought I’d narrow down my personal top ten and bottom ten Stephen King films. And, once again, this is just my opinion, it’s by no means a definitive top/bottom ten.

Dishonourable mention: The Lawnmower Man: Like Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, it’s not really a Stephen King movie, but it uses the title from a short story he wrote, despite having nothing to do it. It’s still a bad movie.

10. Needful Things

While not a complete blowout, Needful Things is pretty forgettable in the long list of King adaptations, with a goofy premise and uneven balance of scares and silliness. 

9. Children of the Corn

This one I think might rank in the top ten list for older viewers who saw it in the 80’s, and it does have merit, but for me, I just either laughed at the absurdity or was bored. 

8. Riding the Bullet

 

Despite incorporating story elements from all the best Stephen King stories, this movie has no idea what it wants to be. It’s scary sometimes and succeeds, tries to be scary and fails, tries to be funny and succeeds, tries to be both and fails, but worst of all, the movie didn’t achieve its full potential. It could’ve been great had it found a clearer focus.   

7. Sleepwalkers

Another movie from the director of Riding the Bullet (Mick Garris), Sleepwalkers is forgettable except for a couple things. My main issue is it’s almost a horror-comedy, and yet fails to be horrific or comedic. Again, had potential, but didn’t satisfy. 

6. Maximum Overdrive

Stephen King’s sole directing effort had hilarious results—which parts of the movie were meant to be hilarious, I'm not exactly clear on—but aside from some parts being so-bad-they’re-good, it’s mostly dull. 

5. Graveyard Shift

Of all the movies on this list, I found Graveyard Shift the most frustrating. Unlikable characters, an unsatisfying monster, next to no scares, and mediocre in general.  

4. Sometimes They Come Back

This one has many of the same problems as Graveyard Shift, in addition to feeling censored because it was made-for-TV, and generic because it recycles many Stephen King story elements from better adaptations. 

  

3. Cell

On a technical level, Cell is probably the worst Stephen King movie ever made, but I still was somewhat entertained at points by how bad it was, so it’s not the worst.

2. Thinner

Unlike Cell, Thinner does not offer any entertainment, despite its poor execution. Everything about it is bad. 

1. Dolan’s Cadillac

Hands down the worst Stephen King adaptation I’ve seen. With absolutely no redeeming qualities, it’s a pathetic attempt at stretching the source material to a feature-length film. Avoid at all costs.