40 Years Ago Today: One Of The Greatest Stephen King Movies Ever Was Released

When you think of Stephen King, you probably envision tales of horror like "It" and "Carrie." However, one of the best films based on his works has nothing to do with monsters and evil spirits. Instead, the horrors are of how fleeting childhood is and that even breaking out of generational cycles of violence doesn't guarantee a long life. That's why "Stand By Me" continues to be essential watching, even 40 years after it came out. 

Based on the King novella "The Body," "Stand By Me," directed by Rob Reiner, was released in theaters on August 22, 1986. It's an appropriate release for the end of summer, the film follows four friends over one fateful Labor Day weekend. They hear of a boy's corpse in the woods, and embark on a quest to find it. Along with threats like bullies and oncoming trains, the boys use the time to talk about their deepest fears and secrets, like Chris (River Phoenix) struggling with being labeled a bad kid due to his criminal father. 

"Stand By Me" is easily the best film based on a Stephen King story for the authenticity of its main characters. The boys deal with parental abuse and the idea that they could die at any moment. This comes full circle upon seeing the corpse, who's around the same age as them. While "Stand By Me" released in the 1980s and is mostly set in the '50s, its message still resonates. 

"Stand By Me" has become the quintessential coming-of-age story, harkening back to a time before smartphones where four friends could ride their bikes into the woods without needing to check in with their folks. So it's no surprise that it's influenced a generation of filmmakers looking to express the carefree nature of childhood and the impending loss of innocence.

Most notably, "Stranger Things," especially Season 1, feels like a total "Stand By Me" rip-off. That 1st season also involves a child going missing. But whereas the kids of "Stand By Me" didn't know him, "Stranger Things" has his friends leading the charge. In fact, the similarities run so deep that the "Stranger Things" cast auditioned by reading lines from "Stand By Me."

Virtually any movie involving kids riding bikes into the woods has some "Stand By Me" DNA. "Super 8" is essentially "Stand By Me" and "E.T." mashed together, as a group of friends discover a train derailed that was carrying an alien. "The Sandlot" while not as perilous, does feature someone recounting a past summer that fundamentally shaped them as a person. 

Tragically, the themes of "Stand By Me" have only become more poignant with the recent death of its director Rob Reiner. The news was as sudden and horrific as an adult Gordie (Wil Wheaton) finding the obituary notice of his old friend Chris. Somehow, the Stephen King story without monsters features his most gut-wrenching portrayal of death.