Best Stephen King Movies And TV Shows Streaming On Netflix

Movies (and TV shows) based on works by Stephen King tend to go one of two ways. The best Stephen King movies are some of the best movies of all time, including “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Shining.” In the right director’s hands, King’s idiosyncratic dialogue and eye for indelible imagery come alive on the screen like little else in the world, terrifying viewers while also stirring something emotional within them.

The worst King movies, on the other hand, are really, really bad. Did you know there are two sequels to “Sometimes They Come Back,” a short story from 1974 that wasn’t all that great to begin with? Did you know there are nearly a dozen “Children of the Corn” sequels?

In other words, when you want to watch something King-inspired, you never know what you’re going to get. If you narrow your search down by streaming service, you’re limiting your options even further. Netflix, thankfully, has gotten in the King business, and they’ve produced several original adaptations of his work that are well worth a look. They’ve also licensed classics, and they’ve even snatched up a few adaptations made by other streamers. Here are the best Stephen King movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix as of press time; you can also watch the Zac Efron-starring “Firestarter” remake there, but we strongly recommend against it.

Netflix is streaming an underrated adaptation from J.J. Abrams, originally produced for Hulu. The show stars James Franco as Jake, and in this version, he can only go back to 1960. (We weren’t kidding when we said the book is hefty; it was a smart decision to skip those few years of waiting around for the J.F.K. stuff to start happening). It’s a well-made slow-burn thriller rich in period detail, but “11.22.63” is worth watching mostly for its performances. Franco proves why he had a career as an entertaining leading man, but it’s “1917” and “The Beast” star George MacKay who steals the show, playing a guy named Bill who Jake ropes into his plan. Daniel Webber is great, too, as Lee Harvey Oswald, making the controversial killer (or patsy?) into a compelling, even sympathetic watch.

• Based On: “1922,” a novella by Stephen King (published in “Full Dark, No Stars”)
• Director: Zak Hilditch
• Cast: Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid
• Year: 2017
• Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

For several years in the late 2010s, Netflix had a good run producing some worthwhile King adaptations in-house. That includes the 2017 film “1922,” an adaptation of an unsettling novella from 2010. The film is about a man named Wilf (Thomas Jane), a strict farmer of a father who faces a frightening future, certain financial collapse settling over his land.

If Wilf can get rid of Arlette (Molly Parker), however, there might be some insurance money to help them stay afloat. He decides to convince his son Henry (Dylan Schmid) to help him out. “1922” is one of the most faithful Stephen King adaptations, Hilditch expertly translating King’s dark fable to the screen. “1922” seems inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, specifically “The Tell-Tale Heart,” imagining the stories people tell themselves after they’ve done something unforgivable.

Henry faces a difficult future, too, as “1922” answers a frightening question: What if you helped your father kill your mother, and then the heady mixture of sun-baked guilt, grief, and paranoia slowly drove your father insane?

• Based On: Various stories and novels by Stephen King
• Seasons: 2
• Episodes: 20
• Cast: André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgård, Sissy Spacek (Season 1); Lizzy Caplan, Barkhad Abdi, Tim Robbins (Season 2)
• Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

As with “11.22.63,” J.J. Abrams originally produced “Castle Rock” for Hulu. The show isn’t an adaptation of any one Stephen King story; instead, it tosses King classics in a blender and comes out with something original. Many King stories take place in the fictional Maine town of Castle Rock, so “Castle Rock” imagines that these people probably all know each other, and they probably live in a world that’s made them very familiar with supernatural, horrific happenings.

If you’re one of King’s beloved Constant Readers, you’re likely to recognize numerous character names that pop up in the show. In the second season, for example, the great Lizzy Caplan plays a young version of a nurse named Annie Wilkes … a character best-remembered for winning Kathy Bates an Oscar for “Misery.”

If you’re just a King watcher, though, there are casting Easter eggs galore. Sissy Spacek (“Carrie”) and Bill Skarsgård (the “It” films) star in the first season; in the second, you’ll spot “The Shawshank Redemption” star Tim Robbins. It’s rewarding no matter what kind of King fan you are, and if the anthology show ever returns for a third season, we imagine that one will be worth watching, too.

• Based On: “Christine,” a novel by Stephen King
• Director: John Carpenter
• Cast: Keith Gordon, Alexandra Paul, Harry Dean Stanton
• Year: 1983
• Rotten Tomatoes: 72%

Just like nearly every Stephen King book is worth reading, just about every John Carpenter movie is worth watching. In 1983, the two horror legends combined when Carpenter directed an adaptation of King’s book “Christine.” The result is one of the most underrated King adaptations, a deceptively-goofy movie that seems silly — wait, it’s about an evil car? — and then crawls under your skin.

Keith Gordon plays Arnie, a dorky high schooler who just wants to get laid. After he lays his eye on a cherry-red car he calls Christine, Arnie suddenly seems … different. He starts dressing in leather, like he thinks he’s Marlon Brando on the back of a motorcycle, and his newfound confidence gets him a girlfriend named Leigh (future “Baywatch” beauty Alexandra Paul).

Eventually, though, Arnie realizes that he’s not just possessive about his car; Christine is possessive about him, too. Backed by an excellent Carpenter-crafted electro score, “Christine” has some of the most gloriously-eighties imagery you’re likely to find on this list. When Christine chases some bullies to a gas station and ends up flying down the highway in flames, like a bat out of hell, there’s no denying the effectiveness of this silly-sounding horror movie about a demonic car.

• Based On: “Gerald’s Game,” a novel by Stephen King
• Director: Mike Flanagan
• Cast: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood
• Year: 2017
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

While much of Stephen King’s bibliography has been mined for cinematic gold, there are plenty of King stories that would be almost impossible to adapt. Before 2017, most people probably would’ve considered King’s 1992 novel “Gerald’s Game” to be one of those. After all, the book centers on one character, Jessie Burlingame, and for the vast majority of the book, she’s handcuffed to a bed after a BDSM situation goes horrifically wrong. Most of the book narrates her growing sense of dread, her delusional paranoia that someone is standing in the corner of the room watching her when the moon comes out.

Mike Flanagan understands King, though, and his version of “Gerald’s Game” tweaks the story just enough that the result is riveting. Carla Gugino plays Jessie, but Flanagan smartly cast Bruce Greenwood as the titular Gerald. He dies at the very beginning — some sex-induced excitement that was too much for his heart, we assume — but on screen, Gerald lingers, taunting Jessie, haunting her, serving as a sounding board for her escalating desperation. Gugino and Greenwood are phenomenal together, ably carrying the minimal story through the film’s runtime. It’s no coincidence that Flanagan brought them both back for “The Haunting of Hill House.”

• Based On: “In the Tall Grass,” a novel by Stephen King and Joe Hill (published in Hill’s collection “Full Throttle”)
• Director: Vincenzo Natali
• Cast: Patrick Wilson, Harrison Gilbertson, Laysla De Oliveira, Will Buie Jr.
• Year: 2019
• Rotten Tomatoes: 36%

On Rotten Tomatoes, only 36% of critics gave “In the Tall Grass” a positive notice, making it the worst-reviewed Stephen King adaptation on this list. Still, if you’re limiting your King consumption to Netflix, you could do a lot worse with giving this one a watch. (Need we mention again that Netflix is also streaming the “Firestarter” remake, which is godawful?)

“In the Tall Grass” feels a bit like King spinning his wheels and re-doing the ultra-rural, kid-induced paranoia of “Children of the Corn,” because this too is about a couple who find themselves stuck in a massive field, no society around them to help them escape. Thankfully, there’s more going on here than just that. The source novella was co-written with King’s son Joe Hill, and the resulting film is far stranger and more interesting than most critics gave it credit for.

Director Vincenzo Natali is the odd mind behind sci-fi brain-twisters like “Cube” and “Splice,” and it’s intriguing to see him apply his interest in ever-changing narratives to a Kingian story that seems like it might be sci-fi, but is also supernatural, and is also about religion, and the all-too-human instinct to fall under the sway of a charismatic man.

• Based On: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” a novella by Stephen King (published in “If It Bleeds”)
• Director: John Lee Hancock
• Cast: Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell, Joe Tippett
• Year: 2022
• Rotten Tomatoes: 47%

Writer/director John Lee Hancock has made some treacle in his day; while “The Blind Side” may have won Sandra Bullock an Oscar, the “Blind Side” adoption story is a lie that cost the NFL’s Michael Oher millions. He also directed supposedly-true stories like “The Founder,” a biopic about McDonalds founder Ray Kroc, and “The Highwaymen,” which focuses on the federal agents who trailed Bonnie and Clyde. Neither of those is particularly good either. In 2021, however, Hancock released “The Little Things,” a slow-burn police thriller well worth watching for its trio of excellent performances, from Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and even Jared Leto.

This is all to say that his 2022 film “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” isn’t necessarily anything special in the broad spectrum of Stephen King adaptations, but given the rest of his output, it’s one of Hancock’s best films. I’d also call it Jaeden Martell’s second-best King film; he’s great in “It: Chapter One,” but “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” blows “It: Chapter Two” out of the water.

Martell plays Craig, a kid who befriends the titular older man (Donald Sutherland). Mr. Harrigan buys Craig his first cell phone, and when Harrigan dies, he’s buried with a phone of his own. Guess who can text from the grave?

• Based On: “The Body,” a novella by Stephen King (published in “Different Seasons”)
• Director: Rob Reiner
• Cast: River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell
• Year: 1986
• Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

And then there’s “Stand By Me.” Depending on who you ask, they might just tell you that “Stand By Me” is the best film based on a Stephen King story. It’s certainly up there, and furthermore, it’s not just a great King film; it’s one of the best coming-of-age movies ever, too.

The original novella was called “The Body,” because it’s about four friends who face a difficult question one summer. A neighborhood boy says there’s a body in the woods, asking, do they want to see it? Their answers to that question, in some ways, determine the rest of their lives as their friendships are tested, strengthened, and/or are pushed beyond their breaking point.

Like most of the King adaptations on this list, it’s the performances that really make this one sing. Under the tender direction of the late, great Rob Reiner, you’ll be won over by the bonds between River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell, each of whom are giving some of the best child performances ever. Sure, casual fans may be disappointed that, unlike most of the King adaptations on this list, “Stand By Me” isn’t a horror movie; still, it’s one of the best things available to watch on Netflix, full-stop.