Stand By Me
As an author , Stephen Kingis bed as the master key of repugnance , but his most critically acclaimed movie adaptations be given to be of non - horror tale . That ’s not say that there are n’t some great , acclaimed horror pic ground on King script , admit , The Shining , IT , Carrie , and more . But for whatever rationality , Hollywood ’s track record for adapt King ’s horror tales tend to be much more hit and miss than his non - horror storey . There may not be as many of them , but their success rate is definitely higher .
The three most prominent examples of this phenomenon are 1986’sStand by Me , 1994’sThe Shawshank Redemption , and 1999’sThe Green Mile , the latter two of which were both written and directed byFrank Darabont . All three experience beam critical review from most critic of the clip , and are still very highly regarded today . The Green Mileearned four Oscar nomination , and was a huge box office hit , whileStand by Mereceived two Oscar nomination and made $ 52 million on an $ 8 million budget . The Shawshank Redemptionwas a loge agency disappointment , but it gain seven Oscar nominations and is today considered by some to be one of the groovy films in chronicle .
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invest aside Hollywood ’s award - give body ' oecumenical bias against horror , there ’s clearly something special about the times studios ' adapt King ’s non - horror employment . Here ’s why we think that might be .
The Best Stephen King Movies AREN’T Horror - Here’s Why
WhileStephen Kingis principally have it off as a horror author , anyone familiar with his novel and brusque taradiddle outside the literary genre is well aware that his talents extend beyond the realm of fright . King has a hang for building world and developing characters that lends itself just as well to interpersonal drama as it does to horror . One thing work against King ’s repugnance movie adaptations though is his tendency to save supernatural baddie and scenarios that can be very hard to credibly realize onscreen . While an evil motorcar and and a giant so-and-so devil might work on the pageboy , they can come off as airheaded when done visually . By contrast , a write up about two man in prison house , or four friends coming of old age is much easier for most multitude to relate to , and can be recreated much easy without special effect .
EvenThe Green Mile , which does let in supernatural element , is presented in a much more down to Earth way than say theITmovies , which are squeeze withbad CGI lusus naturae . Also , while horror is beloved by millions , there are still millions more that do n’t wish it . The good deal at gravid do n’t lean to love gore , big wretched monsters , and scenes designed to scare off the snake pit out of them . Thus , when a non - horror King storey is accommodate , more people are inclined to go see it , and experience tale that are still unmistakably King , but probably wo n’t require one to slumber with the light on after leaving the theater . With this increased mass charm , a film ’s report for sizeableness more easily spread , leading a celluloid to become more iconic .
There ’s also a third factor worth considering , one that ties into the above . WithShawshank RedemptionandGreen Miledirected by Frank Darabont , andStand by Medirected by Rob Reiner , it seems like King ’s non - horror stories tend to draw in better filmmakers , Stanley Kubrickand Brian De Palma notwithstanding . It ’s no wonder , as they have more possible to get on with the general moviegoer , instead of just the horror devotee . Reiner also manoeuver 1990’sMisery , which is kind of horror , but sort of skirt ’s the edge of the genre ’s stock trappings , and definitely is n’t King ’s usual fare . As usual , Oscar nominating speech were had , and reviews were glowing . It would appear that the formula for critical success with a King version is to stick aside from the thing that go swelling in the nighttime .
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