5 Stephen King Adaptations The Author Hated

With dozens of films, TV series, and derived works based on his books and short stories, Stephen King has tons of options to choose from for his favorite and least favorite adaptations of his work. While some stories of his should never be adapted, others have received the silver screen treatment multiple times, giving audiences and the author their pick of what to watch.

King is incredibly outspoken when it comes to his thoughts on film, often posting reviews of movies on social media, including those based on his books. Though he has been complimentary of several projects based on his stories, like the Rob Reiner-directed "Misery" or Frank Darabont's "The Shawshank Redemption," others are on his radar for different reasons. Sometimes a film adaptation doesn't capture the spirit of the novel in the right way, or maybe he just doesn't like the cast. Others don't follow the author's suggestions, resulting in a lackluster product. No matter the reason, Stephen King isn't afraid to talk about which of his adaptations he hates.

Based on a short story of the same name, "Graveyard Shift" follows what begins as a rat infestation in a textile mill. However, it turns into a creature feature as something else lurks in the basement of the mill. David Andrews, known for "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," stars as John Hall, a worker who is part of a group meant to clean out the basement to ensure the mill isn't shut down over safety issues. The movie was critically panned, earning a 0% from critics and a 24% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Stephen King agrees with their assessment. In a 2016 interview with Deadline, when asked about his least favorite adaptation of his work, the author mentions "Graveyard Shift" first. "Should I even say that? I guess there are a number of pictures that I feel like, a little bit like, yuck," King said. "There's one, 'Graveyard Shift,' that was made in the ['80s]. Just kind of a quick exploitation picture." While he also gives a shout-out to the various "Children of the Corn" sequels, "Graveyard Shift" is what came to his mind first when considering the adaptations he dislikes the most.

Of all his adaptations, Stephen King has been particularly vocal about his thoughts on Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." Though the film is easily considered a masterpiece in the horror genre, it marked the first time King was so openly negative about one of his adaptations.

While he's said plenty over the years, his 2016 Deadline interview distills his opinion down to the important points: Kubrick's version lacks some of the themes King worked to include in his book, even if he thinks the director is great. "Anyway, I think 'The Shining' is a beautiful film and it looks terrific and as I've said before, it's like a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it," the author said. "I kept my mouth shut at the time, but I didn't care for it much."

King continued, being complimentary of Kubrick and calling him "a terrifically smart guy," but noting that he gave no arc to the story's main character Jack Torrance. "When we first see Jack Nicholson, he's in the office of Mr. Ullman, the manager of the hotel, and you know, then, he's crazy as a s*** house rat. All he does is get crazier," he said. "In the book, he's a guy who's struggling with his sanity and finally loses it. To me, that's a tragedy. In the movie, there's no tragedy because there's no real change." The author tried to make a more faithful adaptation with a 1997 miniseries, even choosing one of the lead actors himself, but it's widely considered the inferior version.

"The Lawnmower Man," an adaptation of Stephen King's 1975 short story of the same name, stars Jeff Fahey and Pierce Brosnan and is an easy inclusion on this list. The author disliked it so much that he did something he hadn't even done with "The Shining:" he sued to have his name removed from the marketing.

This may seem extreme, but King had a good reason. Writers Brett Leonard and Gimel Everett took significant creative liberties with the story, resulting in something that really shouldn't be called an adaptation of "The Lawnmower Man." The short story is about a murderous landscaper, whereas the film is rooted in virtual reality. There are plenty of adaptations that modify the original material, but in this case, it became an entirely new story.

King sued in May 1992 to have his name removed from marketing because the movie "bore no meaningful resemblance" to his work. Originally named "Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man," the lawsuit would force the production company Allied Vision and distributor New Line Cinema to remove King from the film's name. After an initial ruling and a subsequent appeal by Allied Vision, the courts ruled that they had to remove his name from marketing materials, but could keep his name in the credits. However, King figured out his name was still being used in some marketing with the help of private investigators (namely on the VHS home release), and they went back to court in 1994. Distributor New Line Cinema was found in contempt of the court, and owed King revenue on the VHS sales in addition to the $2.5 million settlement from the initial lawsuit.

1984's "Firestarter" is many things. It's a movie with cool special effects for the time. It's one of the first projects on Drew Barrymore's resume. But it's also one of Stephen King's least favorite adaptations. This may come as a surprise to fans of the book, since this is actually one of the most faithful adaptations, but even that doesn't save it from being a boring film in the author's eyes.

While speaking with American Film in 1986 (via Cult Oddities), King called the film "flavorless," despite liking the majority of the cast. "'Firestarter' is one of the worst of the bunch, even though in terms of story it's very close to the original," he said. "There are things that happen in terms of special effects in that movie that make no sense to me whatsoever."

He further discusses that he believes the actors received "literally no direction," and that Dino De Laurentiis, owner of the production company behind the film and someone who has worked on many King adaptations, "was regularly asking [him] for input" that wasn't always incorporated.

Before the Glen Powell-led version of "The Running Man" in 2025, there was Arnold Schwarzenegger's version in 1987. It isn't the best movie in Schwarzenegger's filmography or in Stephen King's adaptation library, but audiences liked it well enough, awarding it a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Like other projects included on this list, "The Running Man" veers from King's book, but his complaints are mostly rooted in the main character of Ben Richards. He's described as a standard guy, but the author believes Schwarzenegger's casting changed that. "Arnold didn't look like somebody who had been missing many meals. He was ripped," King told USA Today in 2025. "He doesn't seem like an Everyman. He seems like Arnold."

With "The Terminator" star as the lead, "The Running Man" became an action film that lacked the depth the author intended. However, King does believe the second adaptation captures his original work a bit better in this respect. "It has a little bit of a texture to it that you don't find in a lot of Jason Statham pictures. Or Arnold Schwarzenegger pictures," he continued in the interview, referencing the social commentary included in the new adaptation.