5 Stephen King Movies That Critics Hated But Audiences Loved

It isn't only superhero movies that have critics and audiences split all the time. As it turns out, a few Stephen King movies have divided folks, too. It should be expected, though, especially taking into account how the horror master's stories often push the boundaries of storytelling and veer in controversial directions. When a writer does this, consensus is nothing but a pipe dream — maybe one where Pennywise the Dancing Clown lurks and says something or other about floating down here!

Surprisingly, it's not the big King movies that have everyone up in arms about whether they're great or not; it's the tier right below them. It's the films that almost everyone has heard about, probably watched late in the night, and has many opinions about. Think the likes of "Secret Window" and "Children of the Corn" — not "Carrie" and "The Shining."

These five King films all have a critical score of 49% or less on Rotten Tomatoes. However, their audience scores are far higher than the reviewer scores, the movies continue to receive love from fans, and some have even become cult classics. With that said, let's get to it and discuss the King movies that critics hated but audiences loved — heck, even Kurt Barlow from "Salem's Lot" probably gave these flicks a toothy smile.

Based on the Stephen King novella "Secret Window, Secret Garden," David Koepp's "Secret Window" thrusts Johnny Depp into the role of writer Mort Rainey. Mort is going through the most, experiencing both a divorce and writer's block at the same time. At his cabin, he attempts to piece his life back together, but this all goes to a ball of elephant dung after someone named John Shooter (John Turturro) accuses him of plagiarism. When Mort takes a look at Shooter's story, he realizes that there's truth to his claims, with only the ending differing. It isn't the first time that Mort pinched someone else's work, but what the heck happened here? Oh, and Shooter isn't about to let this matter go in a polite manner.

Twisty until the brain ties itself into knots, "Secret Window" turns into quite the ride for first-time viewers, since the big reveal in the story ultimately changes the way anyone interprets it for subsequent viewings. On Reddit's horror subreddit, there's a lot of love for the movie, with many praising Depp's performance as Mort, the constant tension throughout the runtime, and the score by Philip Glass and Geoff Zanelli. One Redditor even wrote, "Loved the movie ending more than the book ending, which is rare for me!"

On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 65% audience score, but only a 46% score among critics. Ironically enough, one of the chief complaints among the reviewers is the ending of "Secret Window." Go figure.

Scott Hicks' "Hearts in Atlantis" adapts Stephen King's short story "Low Men in Yellow Coats." Blending the supernatural with heartfelt drama, the tale shares many similarities with "The Green Mile," especially in terms of its poignancy and ability to put a lump in the throat. It follows Bobby Garfield (David Morse), who returns to his hometown and recalls the vivid memories of his youth. Viewers experience how the then-11-year-old Bobby (Anton Yelchin) forms a friendship with the older Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins), who moves into his family home. Ted possesses supernatural abilities, but it's his friendship with the young boy that proves more powerful than anything he can conjure.

Critics, however, weren't left mesmerized by this 2001 film. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has only a 49% score, with criticism aimed at its sentimentality for sentimentality's sake, as well as how it lacks the special qualities of King's more popular coming-of-age story, "Stand By Me."

The audience reviews are much more positive, standing at a 64% score on Rotten Tomatoes. There are more than a few five-star reviews dished out here, with many fans praising how it makes them long for their own childhoods. "I love this sweet tale of innocence and youth and magical redemption. If only more movies were made like this," a user named Pamela H. wrote.

If you want to find the scariest kids in horror movie history, look no further than those young whippersnappers from 1984's "Children of the Corn." Based on the Stephen King story of the same name, the Fritz Kiersch-directed film sees the children of Gatlin, Nebraska come under the influence of an evil spirit known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows, who encourages the kids to kill the adults of the town. The reason for this is that the adults serve as a sacrifice to promote a good harvest. Whatever happened to good ol'-fashioned fertilizer and regular watering, huh?!

"Children of the Corn" is a quintessential '80s movie that resulted in an endless slew of sequels. Yeah, it's all silly, and belongs in the same crop-horror subgenre as "Pumpkinhead" and "Clown in a Cornfield," but hey, these films are about the thrills and spills — not the Oscar-worthy screenplays. Expectedly, critics hated it at the time. On Rotten Tomatoes, it sits with only 36% on the Tomatometer, with the issues listed likely to be the sole reasons anyone would watch this horror in the first place.

Fortunately, "Children of the Corn" aged better than the corn in the field, as viewers consider it a cult classic. On Reddit, many agree that the effects don't hold up today, but the eerie premise still works and keeps the audience invested in the story. "Creepy kids are creepy. Creepy 80s kids are the creepiest," wrote a Redditor.

Stephen King sure likes his stories about cars turning homicidal. It isn't only "Christine" that boasts a violent vehicle, but so too does 1986's "Maximum Overdrive," which King both wrote and directed. Hey, maybe someone should have given him the keys to 2016's eternally silly "Monster Trucks," but that's a topic for another day.

In "Maximum Overdrive," Earth intersects with a comet, resulting in machines becoming sentient and trying to murder people. From arcade machines to trucks, these hunks of metal want nothing more than to crush the human race for reasons that are eventually revealed in the film. Emilio Estevez stars, though he regrets appearing in this horror movie, while Giancarlo Esposito also shows up in a minor role, confirming this isn't a cheese-sandwich-after-midnight-induced fever dream.

"Maximum Overdrive" isn't "The Terminator," nor "Christine," and neither does King show the aptitude to become the next Spielberg. Heck, the 14% score on Rotten Tomatoes confirms this. Yet, this is the type of film that could only happen in the '80s — and viewers recognize it, too. It's campy, over the top, and boasts an AC/DC soundtrack that makes you want to ride the highway to hell. "Maximum Overdrive" is also a B-movie to the core, and that's part of its appeal, as it takes risks normally not seen in traditional movies. "The killer soda machine is one of the best things in horror," wrote one Reddit user, while others praised this bountifully bonkers piece of filmmaking.

What would happen if someone combined "Dracula" and "ThunderCats"? Introducing 1992's "Sleepwalkers," directed by Mick Garris and written by Stephen King. Here's the gist of it: There used to be a race of shapeshifting vampire-cat creatures. However, Charles (Brian Krause) and Mary Brady (Alice Krige) are the last of their kind. They plan to stay alive by feeding on the life force of virgin girls. In this instance, they target a high school student named Tanya Robertson (Mädchen Amick).

Based on the premise alone, it's easy to see how dumb "Sleepwalkers" sounds to the average person. Reviewers thought the same. More than a few joked that the film "sleepwalks" all the way through, while others criticized it for being one of King's least-interesting stories. As it stands on Rotten Tomatoes, only 29% of critics recommend "Sleepwalkers."

Audience members don't kid themselves that this is one of King's best efforts. However, they have found the fun in its campiness and all the cameos from horror royalty like Clive Barker, Joe Dante, and Tobe Hooper. As a matter of fact, it seems like it's best to approach it more like a horror comedy than a straight-up fright fest. "I loved that movie growing up," a Redditor wrote. "I thought it was funny that someone was stabbed with a corn cob."