What Is Your Favorite Movie Based On A Stephen King Short Story or Novella? No Novels!

by dgranger | created - 01 Aug 2017 | updated - 02 Aug 2017 | Public

A novella is a work of fiction that is too long to be a short story but too short and not complex enough to be a novel. It is essentially a long short story or short novel. What is your favorite film based on a Stephen King Novella or Short Story? The list is in publication order of the story collections.

To discuss the topic, join the imaginary IMDb book club here.

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1. Children of the Corn (1984)

R | 92 min | Horror, Thriller

45 Metascore

A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.

Director: Fritz Kiersch | Stars: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, John Franklin

Votes: 57,319 | Gross: $14.57M

In the collection "Night Shift".

2. Cat's Eye (1985)

PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller

70 Metascore

A stray cat is the linking element of three tales of suspense and horror.

Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan

Votes: 28,159 | Gross: $13.09M

It contains two short stories that are in King's "Night Shift" collection: "Quitters Inc" and "The Ledge".

3. Maximum Overdrive (1986)

R | 98 min | Action, Comedy, Horror

24 Metascore

A group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.

Director: Stephen King | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, Yeardley Smith

Votes: 35,807 | Gross: $7.43M

The story "Trucks" in the collection "Night Shift".

4. Graveyard Shift (1990)

R | 86 min | Horror

28 Metascore

In a very old textile mill with a serious rat infestation, deadly accidents start happening, but the corrupt foreman continues to put his workers in danger, until they discover a horrifying secret deep in the basement.

Director: Ralph S. Singleton | Stars: David Andrews, Kelly Wolf, Stephen Macht, Andrew Divoff

Votes: 12,640 | Gross: $11.58M

In the collection "Night Shift".

5. The Lawnmower Man (1992)

R | 108 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

42 Metascore

A simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.

Director: Brett Leonard | Stars: Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan, Jenny Wright, Mark Bringelson

Votes: 39,023 | Gross: $32.10M

In the collection "Night Shift".

6. The Mangler (1995)

R | 106 min | Horror, Mystery

8 Metascore

A laundry-folding machine has been possessed by a demon, causing it to develop homicidal tendencies.

Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: Robert Englund, Ted Levine, Daniel Matmor, Jeremy Crutchley

Votes: 9,963 | Gross: $1.78M

In the collection "Night Shift".

7. Sometimes They Come Back (1991 TV Movie)

R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

A man and his family return to his hometown, where he is then harassed by teenagers who died when he was a kid.

Director: Tom McLoughlin | Stars: Tim Matheson, Brooke Adams, Robert Rusler, Chris Demetral

Votes: 12,018

In the collection "Night Shift".

8. Trucks (1997 TV Movie)

R | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi

Aliens arrive, parking in a geostationary orbit over Nevada. Using powers unknown to us, they declare war, and use unmanned trucks as weapons.

Director: Chris Thomson | Stars: Timothy Busfield, Brenda Bakke, Aidan Devine, Roman Podhora

Votes: 3,698

In the collection "Night Shift".

9. Children of the Corn (2009 TV Movie)

TV-14 | 92 min | Horror, Thriller

While traveling, an unhappy married couple encounter a cult of murderous children who worship an entity called He Who Walks Behind the Rows.

Director: Donald P. Borchers | Stars: Robert Gerdisch, Jordan Schmidt, David Anders, Kandyse McClure

Votes: 6,444

In the collection "Night Shift".

10. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

R | 142 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

Votes: 2,887,854 | Gross: $28.34M

The story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" in the collection "Different Seasons".

11. Apt Pupil (1998)

R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

53 Metascore

A boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Joshua Jackson, Mickey Cottrell

Votes: 41,609 | Gross: $8.84M

In the collection "Different Seasons".

12. Stand by Me (1986)

R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

75 Metascore

A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell

Votes: 441,490 | Gross: $52.29M

in the collection "Different Seasons".

13. The Mist (2007)

R | 126 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

58 Metascore

A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher

Votes: 340,235 | Gross: $25.59M

in the collection "Skeleton Crew".

14. Creepshow 2 (1987)

R | 92 min | Fantasy, Horror

39 Metascore

Three macabre tales from the latest issue of a boy's favorite comic book, dealing with a vengeful wooden Native American, a monstrous blob in a lake, and an undying hitchhiker.

Director: Michael Gornick | Stars: George Kennedy, Lois Chiles, Domenick John, Tom Savini

Votes: 28,348 | Gross: $14.00M

"The Raft" in the collection "Skeleton Crew".

15. The Langoliers (1995)

PG-13 | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Most of the passengers on an airplane disappear, and the remainder land the plane in a mysteriously barren airport.

Stars: Patricia Wettig, Dean Stockwell, Tom Holland, Kate Maberly

Votes: 31,884

In the "Four Past Midnight" collection.

16. Secret Window (2004)

PG-13 | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

46 Metascore

A successful writer in the midst of a painful divorce is stalked at his remote lake house by a would-be scribe who accuses him of plagiarism.

Director: David Koepp | Stars: Johnny Depp, Maria Bello, John Turturro, Timothy Hutton

Votes: 209,497 | Gross: $48.02M

In the "Four Past Midnight" collection.

17. The Night Flier (1997)

R | 97 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

36 Metascore

A reporter is on the trail of a vampiric murderer who travels by plane.

Director: Mark Pavia | Stars: Miguel Ferrer, Julie Entwisle, Dan Monahan, Michael H. Moss

Votes: 12,009 | Gross: $0.13M

In the "Nightmares And Dreamscapes" collection.

18. Dolan's Cadillac (2009)

R | 89 min | Crime, Thriller

A young man attempts to seek to avenge his wife's death after she is murdered by a Las Vegas mobster.

Director: Jeff Beesley | Stars: Christian Slater, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Wes Bentley, Greg Bryk

Votes: 7,607

In the "Nightmares And Dreamscapes" collection.

19. Quicksilver Highway (1997 TV Movie)

90 min | Horror, Thriller

Traveling showman Aaron Quicksilver tells horror tales: a psychotic hitchhiker falls prey to a relentless dangerously-sharp set of chattering teeth, and a human hand that comes alive.

Director: Mick Garris | Stars: Christopher Lloyd, Matt Frewer, Raphael Sbarge, Missy Crider

Votes: 2,806

A segment called "Chattery Teeth" is a short story in the "Nightmares And Dreamscapes" collection.

20. Home delivery: Servicio a domicilio (2005)

11 min | Animation, Short, Comedy

An animated horror zombie-comedy about domestic violence.

Director: Elio Quiroga | Stars: Jeff Espinoza, Francesca Nicoll, Laura Palacios, Laura Palacios

Votes: 97

In the "Nightmares And Dreamscapes" collection.

21. Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Mystery

55 Metascore

Widowed Liz Garfield and her son Bobby change when mysterious stranger Ted Brautigan enters their lives.

Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Mika Boorem

Votes: 41,039 | Gross: $24.19M

The book "Hearts In Atlantis" is a collection of interconnected two novellas and three short stories that, when combined together, they form a loose novel in the same way that Ray Bradbury created his "The Martian Chronicles" out of interconnected short stories. The film only uses "Low Men in Yellow Coats and "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling" from the collection.

22. Riding the Bullet (2004)

R | 98 min | Horror, Thriller

37 Metascore

When a man finds out his mother is dying and tries to hitchhike his way to the hospital, he is picked up by a stranger with a deadly secret.

Director: Mick Garris | Stars: Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette, Barbara Hershey, Cliff Robertson

Votes: 10,767 | Gross: $0.10M

In the "Everything's Eventual" collection. A Dollar Baby movie.

23. 1408 (2007)

PG-13 | 104 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

64 Metascore

A man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

Director: Mikael Håfström | Stars: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub

Votes: 294,077 | Gross: $71.99M

In the "Everything's Eventual" collection.

24. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

R | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

54 Metascore

To stall a witch plotting to eat him, a boy reads her horror tales dealing with a collegian's resurrection of a mummy, a murderous cat, and an artist's pact with a gargoyle.

Director: John Harrison | Stars: Debbie Harry, Matthew Lawrence, Christian Slater, David Forrester

Votes: 19,357 | Gross: $16.32M

In includes the story "The Cat from Hell" that was included as a bonus story in the paperback edition of the "Just After Sunset" collection.

25. A Good Marriage (2014)

R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama

43 Metascore

After 25 years of a good marriage, what will Darcy do once she discovers her husband's sinister secret?

Director: Peter Askin | Stars: Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Stephen Lang, Cara Buono

Votes: 12,729

In the "Full Dark, No Stars" collection.

26. Big Driver (2014 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 87 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

A famous mystery writer sets out for revenge after a brutal attack.

Director: Mikael Salomon | Stars: Maria Bello, Ann Dowd, Will Harris, Joan Jett

Votes: 6,601



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