The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most beloved movies of the 20th century, notable for its heartwarming message and moving spiritual themes. Interestingly enough, it was penned by one of the most notorious writers of the horror genre in American literary history, Stephen King. Shawshank director Frank Darabont is a loyal follower of King's, and has adapted three of his works into feature films (Shawshank, The Green Mile, and The Mist), and he is certainly not the only filmmaker to do so. Stephen King's work has been adapted many times, to varying degrees of success.
The first movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel is one of his best-known and most-loved: Carrie, directed by Brian de Palma, released in 1976, about a sheltered young girl who takes her telekinesis to horrifying ends. In 1980, Stanley Kubrick directed an adaptation of another of King's most famous stories, The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Other King adaptations include Cujo, The Dead Zone, Children of the Corn, Firestarter, Stand by Me, Pet Sematary, Misery, Secret Window, and The Mist.
Of the adaptations that have been made of his work, King has stated that Darabont's adaptation of The Mist is among his favorites. He also stated that Rob Reiner's adaptation of his novella Stand by Me moved him to tears, and at the time of its release, was his favorite adaptation of his work. Much debate has gone on around the best adaptations of his work, with critics in agreement that no one has a greater mastery of the horror genre than King. In his review of the 1990 adaptation of Misery starring Kathy Bates, Roger Ebert wrote, "Stephen King has a modest but undeniable genius for being able to find horror in everyday situations. My notion is that he starts with a germ of truth from his own life, and then takes it as far as he can into the macabre and the bizarre."
