5 Best Stephen King Movies Of The '90s, Ranked

It's impossible to think of an author who has kept up with the kind of consistency that Stephen King has. His penchant for writing stories about strange supernatural occurrences, tales of human perseverance, and other dramatic odds and ends at such a rapid pace is staggeringly impressive, and a trend that he continues to this very day. It ensures there will almost never be a gap when it comes to works that can be adapted into different mediums.

King's written works number in the hundreds. The 1990s alone saw King publish more than a dozen novels and three short story collections. He also penned several screenplays and TV miniseries as well as a slew of episodes of anthology series adapting his short stories.

On the cinematic side of things, King's adaptive '90s output had a lot to live up to, especially since King's best film adaptations of the '80s featured the likes of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," David Cronenberg's "The Dead Zone," and Rob Reiner's "Stand by Me." While his numerous feature films throughout the decade aren't as collectively strong as the previous one, there are a number of individual works that represent some of the best King adaptations of all time. With this list, we've compiled the five best King movies of the '90s that not only best represent his work, but stand strong on their own.

1982's "Creepshow" and 1990's "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" are among the first projects to come to mind when talking about Stephen King's collaborations with acclaimed horror filmmaker George A. Romero. Within that breath, however, is one of Romero's more underseen gems in 1993's "The Dark Half," which itself is based on King's 1989 novel of the same name.

The supernatural horror-thriller follows Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), an author of academic works who uses the pen name George Stark to write a series of trashy thriller novels. Upon learning that someone is about to blow up his secret, Thad and his wife Liz (Amy Madigan) stage a photo shoot of a mock burial of the pseudonym. Not too long afterwards, those who participated in the photo, as well as other people close to Thad, start dying in increasingly gruesome manners. It's not too long before the actual George Stark (Timothy Hutton) starts taking credit for the deaths, with the intention of coming after his other half.

"The Dark Half" is very clearly inspired by King using the pseudonym Richard Bachman for some of the darker stories he wrote early on in his career, so it's fitting that he would want to explore a heightened version of that monstrous duality. While this is far from Romero's best work, it's a fairly underappreciated supernatural slasher that explores the nature of what happens when your worst subconscious impulses take on a literal life of their own. Hutton makes a meal out of his performance, especially whenever he's in Stark mode. Folks who really loved James Wan's "Malignant" really ought to check this out.

Avid Stephen King fans are well aware that the famed author has written his share of dramas that exist well beyond the realm of horror, yet stories like 1996's "The Green Mile" still find a way to incorporate elements of the supernatural. It's a delicate balancing act to translate from page to screen, so it only makes sense that Frank Darabont, director of "The Shawshank Redemption," would come on board to helm what is now considered one of the most faithful King adaptations.

Nominated for four Academy Awards, the 1999 big-screen adaptation follows the story of Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), one of the few corrections officers assigned with overseeing a death row prison facility called the Green Mile. His days of watching over these prisoners alongside the likes of his work colleagues (Barry Pepper, David Morse, and Jeffrey DeMunn) take an unexpected turn when a new inmate named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) takes residence. Initially intimidated by his massive stature, Paul and the others come to learn that John has incredible healing abilities, therefore making his inevitable death sentence that much more of a stain on their souls.

There's no doubt that "The Green Mile," however well-intentioned, can come across as manipulative, especially when it comes to the portrayal of John as an uneducated Black man whose presence mainly exists for the benefit of the white characters. But in spite of that complication, Darabont once again proves his worth as a director who is able to infuse such empathy and humanity into his characters that make you feel like a part of the story. There's also the matter of making a 188-minute-movie feel breathless, with its more haunting aspects lingering as long as the mile itself.

When a Stephen King novel invites us to read the following events through the singular perspective of a single character, it really allows us to get inside their head, as is the case with 1992's "Dolores Claiborne." The 1995 feature film adaptation from director Taylor Hackford and screenwriter Tony Gilroy opts to switch things up a bit by presenting the titular character's story in pieces through different characters.

Poor Dolores Claiborne (Kathy Bates) is put in an impossible predicament when she's discovered in a compromising position over her now-deceased elderly employer, Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt), at the bottom of the stairs. Her estranged daughter Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an esteemed journalist, returns to her childhood home of Little Tall Island after hearing that her mother is under investigation for the crime. Given that Dolores was suspected of killing her husband, Joe St. George (David Strathairn), nearly two decades prior, the detective isn't so quick to believe that she's innocent of Vera's murder.

While Bates is more widely lauded for her performance in "Misery," another King adaptation, she's every bit as compelling here as a woman who's been burdened with an enormous emotional weight. Although "Dolores Claiborne" initially starts as a psychological thriller with a murder mystery at the center, it ultimately becomes a gut-wrenching melodrama about the difficult positions women are forced into as a result of abusive men like Joe, played ever so repulsively by Strathairn. Leigh is equally as great as the daughter whose childhood repression comes out in ways that are difficult, yet compelling, to watch unfold. It's a brilliant character study that honors King's text, while still doing its own thing. Talk about the kind of movie that makes you want to go and hug your mom.

Whenever Stephen King leans into more grounded dramas, it reveals a greater sense of the human spirit persevering through difficult situations. His 1982 novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is a prison story from the perspective of a man who witnesses an entire emotional odyssey from another prisoner who keeps pushing through within those hopeless walls. Not only does Frank Darabont's 1994 adaptation (titled "The Shawshank Redemption") bring King's words to life, but it also expands upon them, resulting in one of the best and most popular movies of the 1990s.

As a result of being found guilty of the cold-blooded murder of his wife and her lover, banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is transferred to Shawshank prison. In spite of initially finding the day-to-day routine difficult on account of a corrupt warden (Bob Gunton), an especially aggressive guard (Clancy Brown), and a rapist prisoner (Mark Rolston) eyeing him, Andy finds purpose amid making friends with other prisoners, namely Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman). The two develop a strong bond over the many years at Shawshank, with Andy finding a renewed purpose in making the prison a more humane place to live.

"The Shawshank Redemption" is very much a King adaptation that has improved with time, as more people have taken to its timeless message of keeping hope alive when the world seems so cruel and dark. Darabont's screenplay presents a profound empathy with the many characters experiencing these inhumane humiliations, especially James Whitmore as the elderly Brooks Hatlen. It's an endlessly rewatchable film that you can hop into at any point and still get wrapped up in the emotional honesty within these lived-in performances. This is the kind of film that makes you feel like you've lived an entire life through the screen.

While being one of the most prolific authors of all time in the public eye comes with certain perks, it definitely comes with a whole other level of exposure regarding the people who become frighteningly obsessive over his work. Stephen King's 1987 novel "Misery" explored that anxiety in the form of an author being held captive by a fan. While not quite as graphic as the novel, Rob Reiner's 1990 feature film adaptation is no less horrifying, and an incredibly timely psychological nightmare about the toxicity embedded within entitled fan culture.

Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman personify that nightmare in the form of Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a recluse who rescues author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) after he crashes his car in a snowstorm. Initially, Annie seems like a good Samaritan trying to get her favorite author back on his feet. But once she reads his latest manuscript of the supposedly final installment in his "Misery" series and doesn't approve of how things wrap up, she becomes an increasingly psychopathic presence. It soon becomes clear that Paul is now her prisoner whose well-being depends on whether he can write a new novel that meets her approval.

Decades later, "Misery" is an exceptionally tense potboiler that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Caan is tremendous as a captive trying his absolute best to keep his captor happy. But the dilemma is that he's up against one of the best horror characters of all time in Annie, played to perfection by Bates in her well-deserved Academy Award-winning role. The hobbling scene (which horror fans can't stop watching) can't help but make you want to look away. "Misery" isn't just the best King adaptation of the '90s; it's one of the best King films altogether.