Stephen King‘s massive library of stories continues to be translated to film and television at a rapid pace, and for the most part, the results have been positive lately. Last year saw three new high-profile adaptations of his work hit the big screen — Oz Perkins‘ The Monkey, Francis Lawrence‘s The Long Walk, and Edgar Wright‘s The Running Man — all of which were mostly met with acclaim from critics and audiences. However, they also earned high praise from the author himself, solidifying the year as an all-around great one for fans of his novels, especially with Mike Flanagan‘s much-lauded The Life of Chuck also hitting theaters following its festival circuit premiere in 2024. It’s a notable feat considering how much each of the three sides can disagree with one another.
Case in point: Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining. Released in 1980 with Jack Nicholson in the leading role as the Overlook Hotel’s new caretaker, Jack Torrance, the film is considered one of the director’s and the horror genre’s crowning achievements, depicting the terrifying descent into madness of a father whose demons are preyed upon by the ghosts that haunt the lodging. However, opinions were more mixed at the time, and King himself famously lambasted Kubrick’s work for departing so wildly from his original vision. In particular, he voiced his disapproval of Jack’s portrayal, which leaned away from his more tragic depiction as a victim to create a frightening antagonist. His views now stand in contrast to a classic that’s defined by iconic shots and moments immortalized in cinematic history, from the Steadicam capture of Danny’s ride through the Overlook’s halls to Jack axing through the bathroom door and the elevator of blood.
Now, the classic is heading to HBO Max just in time for Halloween. The Shining will be part of a massive wave of movies coming to the platform on October 1, joining other horror hits next month ranging from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to the recent return of a horror mainstay, Evil Dead Burn. It’s a fitting home for the iconic film, considering how many King adaptations are available to stream there, including the aforementioned Long Walk, Misery, both adaptations of It, Brian De Palma‘s Carrie, and more. HBO Max is also the exclusive home of the prequel series It: Welcome to Derry, which has since been renewed for Season 2.
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Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Child’s Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
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🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)
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01
Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.
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02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.
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03
Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.
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04
Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.
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05
How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.
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06
Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.
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07
Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.
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08
Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.
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The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath
your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what
it would leave behind.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street · Since 1984
Elm Street
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you
to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever
won that particular argument.
Freddy is horror’s cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot
guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your
own head is where this does its damage.
These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose
because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.
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Child’s Play · Chucky · Since 1988
Chucky
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the
person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you
describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You
know that feeling from real life too.
The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you
have met those adults.
By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.
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Scream · Ghostface · Since 1996
Scream
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost
certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be
somebody who was at the party.
You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the
same way you watch films.
The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are
the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
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The Conjuring · The Warren Files · Since 2013
The Conjuring
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people
asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary
room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than
personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are
the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one
standing in the hallway.
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The Next Big Stephen King Adaptation Is Right Around the Corner
While HBO Max has a wealth of King films and series to binge during the spooky season, Prime Video will be the home to his next big adaptation — Flanagan’s version of Carrie. The series is set to premiere on October 7 and will put the Midnight Mass creator’s own spin on King’s debut novel across eight episodes. With the expanded runtime, he’s taking the titular high schooler into the social media age, a change that the author has wholeheartedly praised for separating Flanagan’s approach from De Palma’s. Summer H. Howell leads the cast as Carrie White, joining Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Amber Midthunder, Joel Oulette, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, and more.
The Shining checks into HBO Max on October 1. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on all the films coming to and leaving streaming throughout the year.
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