Fans of the master of horror Stephen King are enjoying a new wave of cinematic adaptations after the record-breaking success ofIt: Chapter One, with many of his novels and short story collections being mined for the next big hit. This wave is not a new phenomenon, as every decade has seen its own share of adaptations, though some turned out better than others.
RELATED:10 Most Terrifying Villains In Stephen King Movies, Ranked
Carriewas King's first published novel and first film adaptation back in 1976 and since then we've seen almost 50 film and TV adaptations, so there are bound to be a few bad apples among the bunch. Today we are going to exploresome of the more laughable villains from Stephen King movies that weren't scaring anybody.
One of King's most frightening novels isPet Sematary, which was first adapted into a film back in 1989 and features horrific reanimated pets and children. In both films, Church the family cat is killed and then brought back to life by the power of the local pet burial grounds, though they weren't quite the same.
Honestly, Church in the original adaptation terrified us, but Church in the new film from 2019 had us smiling every time we saw him. Whether it was the cuteness of the cat playing Church or just the overall effect of the cat culture we live in today, we'd happily watch more videos of Church being evil next Caturday.
While there were quite a fewKing adaptations seen in theaters during the 90s, some of the more memorable stories appeared in the form of TV movies, such as the four-part adaptation ofThe Stand. The TV mini-serieswas directed by Mick Garris, who has brought a number of King's stories to life.
The Standfeatures the survivors of a worldwide plague as they are brought together in a showdown between good and evil, with the forces of darkness led by the walking man, Randall Flagg. Flagg is the personification of one of King's darkest and most villainous characters from multiple book series,but the TV adaptation missed the markwith "Denim Dan" and his bad demonic makeup.
Stephen King stepped behind the camera in 1986 to direct an adaptation of his own short story"Trucks" with the filmMaximum Overdrive, and he has never been back since. The film starred Emilio Estevez and is not well-regarded by critics, fans, or Stephen King himself.
RELATED:10 Stephen King Movie Memes That Are Too Hilarious For Words
Maximum Overdrive featured machines and vehicles brought to life and gone mad, with one rig in particular standing out as it had a giantreplicaof Spider-Man villain Green Goblin's grinning face on the front of the vehicle. While the whole film is more laughable than scary, the Green Goblin rig (and some gory death scenes) was the most memorable part ofMaximum Overdrive.
1985'sSilver Bullettook place in a town dealing with a rash of mysterious deaths that a brother and sister soon come to realize is the work of a werewolf. Most of the filmgoes by without seeing the werewolf at all, but when he makes his full-blown debut in the finale of the film, it was kind of hard to watch.
The werewolf transformation of the film was well-done, but the final product still looked like a guy in a bad bear costume. The bearwolf wasthe most laughable part ofSilver Bullet mainly because we just expected more from the monster, even back in the '80s.
1997 saw the release ofThe Night Flier starring Miguel Ferrer, who appeared inThe StandTV mini-series as well.The Night Flier was based on a short story from Stephen King of the same name and focused on a reporter investigating a series of deaths at isolated airfields.
The deaths are caused by a vampire who doesn't appear much throughout the film except to highlight the Dracula-esque cape of the mysterious pilot who is believed to be responsible for the deaths. It isn't until Ferrer's Richard Dees encounters the vampire in a men's bathroom that we see the less-than-terrifying Night Flier,but we also couldn't help but laugh at the situation.
Tobe Hooper brought horror fans classics likeThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre andPoltergeist (with Steven Spielberg),and of course, 1995'sThe Mangler. The film wasbased on King's short story of the same name about a possessed laundry press responsible for a number of murders.
RELATED:10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Stephen King Movies
While the original story played with the comedy aspect of a murderous laundry press a bit, the film took itself a bit too seriously and wewere howling with laughter when the Mangler tore itself free and began stalking the streets for more prey. Somehow this film received two more sequels, even though we're still laughing atThe Mangler.
Frequent King adapter Mick Garris directedSleepwalkers,which was Stephen King's first original screenplay. The film focused on the last two surviving members of a shape-shifting feline species known as Sleepwalkers, who were basically vampiric werecats whose main weakness was cats.
The werecats transformations weren't awesome, the incestuous relationship between them was distracting, and their weakness to cats was hilarious and while played for dramatic effect in the film, we were hollering at the image of these terrifying monsters being taken down by Mr. Bigglesworth.
It is one of the most well-known and terrifying novels from Stephen King, and we've also seen a couple of adaptations of the book. The first was a 1990 TV mini-series directed by Tommy Lee Wallace while the most recent was a two-part film adaptation directed by Andy Muschietti that featured the children-turned-adults of the Losers Club against an eternal evil they called "It."
RELATED:It Chapter Two Easter Eggs: 10 Subtle Details You Probably Missed
To clarify, we're not referring to Pennywise the Dancing Cl0wn because both versions we've seen are terrifying in their own ways. Rather, the spider-monster creature that faced the grown-up Losers Club in the 1990 TV mini-series was a laughably bad stop motion monstrosity that had us giggling when we should have been screaming.
There are a lot of things wrong with Lawrence Kasdan's 2003 adaptation ofDreamcatcher, which followed four friends (with psychic powers) on a hunting trip who get caught in the middle of the government and an alien invasion.
While the obvious choice for the most laughable villainin Dreamcatcheris without a doubt Morgan Freeman's bushy white eyebrows, thoughwe couldn't help but smile at the unfortunately-named alien "sh*tweasels," though the debut of the creatures was terrifying for other gastrointestinal reasons.
2004 saw the release ofSecret Window, which was based on King's short storySecret Window, Secret Garden about an author who is accused of plagiarism by a mysterious stranger. Secret Window starred Johnny Depp as author Mort Rainey, while John Turturro portrayed John Shooter, who blamed Rainey for stealing his story.
The film was an odd adaptation that dramatically changed the ending of the story, but Turturro's Shooter is anything but menacing, and each time he says "you stole my story" we laugh a little bit more. The unsurprising twist ending made Depp's Rainey more terrifying than John Shooter ever was, but only by a little.
NEXT:Stephen King's Strongest Female Leads, Ranked
NextUnderwater: The 10 Most Frightening Movie Monsters To Emerge From The Oceans, Ranked
Entertainment reporter, writer, and all-around geek. I like salad but prefer french fries.
See the article here:
10 Villains In Stephen King Movies That Were More Laughable Than Scary - Screen Rant
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
- Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie Dominates The Razzie Awards - 106.3 The Groove - March 16th, 2024
- This Underrated Blumhouse Horror Movie Is Unlike Any Other Creature Feature - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- 13 Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience Villain The Unknown Gets Its Own Horror Movie - TMZ - March 8th, 2024
- The 13 Scariest Horror Movies Streaming on Peacock: Alien, Leprechaun, The Exorcist: Believer and More - Syfy - March 8th, 2024
- Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024 - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Scariest Movies That Have Won Oscars - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The 10 Best New Horror Movies To Watch in March 2024 - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on Viral Willy Wonka Experience Coming Soon - Bloody Disgusting - March 8th, 2024
- Where To Watch Imaginary: Showtimes & Streaming Status - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Immaculate: Eveything You Need to Know About Sydney Sweeney's Upcoming Horror Movie That Will Give You ... - FandomWire - March 8th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Peacock - Entertainment Weekly News - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on the Willy Wonka Experience Villain, The Unknown, Now in the Works - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Melissa Barrera's Scream 7 Replacement Actually Sounds Better Than Fighting Ghostface Again - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'Shaitaan' Movie 2024 Filming Locations: Shooting Spots Of The Horror Flick - TRAVEL + LEISURE INDIA - March 8th, 2024
- The Horror Movie Franchise With the Most Sequels Ever Is One You've Never Heard of - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title - Upworthy - March 8th, 2024
- The Absolute Best Horror Movies on Hulu - CNET - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience creepy character 'The Unknown' handed role in new horror movie - The Mirror - March 8th, 2024
- The Best Sea Monster Movies, Ranked - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- The Borderlands Movie's Scary Behind The Scenes Drama That Has Us Worried - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- Netflix Just Quietly Added the Best Holiday Thriller of the Decade - Inverse - February 28th, 2024
- The 20 best scary movies streaming right now - Entertainment Weekly News - February 19th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - Rotten Tomatoes - February 19th, 2024
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Adds Molly Shannon to Season 4 Cast - Yahoo Eurosport UK - February 19th, 2024
- Why Lindsay Lohan Refused to Kiss Charlie Sheen in "Scary Movie 5" - Best Life - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Scary Movies To Stream - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- Eight Skin-Crawling Scary Films That Don't Have Any Jump Scares In Them - Digg - February 11th, 2024
- David Cronenberg names some of the scariest movies ever - Far Out Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- 12 Horror Movies That Will Give You the Biggest Jump Scares - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- TAROT's Trailer Brings the Iconic Cards to Life and Things Get Weird - Nerdist - February 3rd, 2024
- Review: Baghead - Is the Movie as Scary as it Looks? - Blazing Minds - February 3rd, 2024
- Natasha Lyonne Says James Woods Hit On Her As A Teenager While Filming Scary Movie 2 - 106.3 The Groove - February 3rd, 2024
- The Witcher's Freya Allan explains the challenges of filming her first horror movie Baghead: "You have to surrender ... - Gamesradar - January 26th, 2024
- The 5 Best Uses of Popcorn in Scary Movies - Dread Central - January 26th, 2024
- 5 Horror Films That Transformed The Genre - Study Finds - January 26th, 2024
- Kristen Stewart Wants to Star in Another Horror Movie in the Future - ComingSoon.net - January 26th, 2024
- Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - January 26th, 2024
- Presence Review: Steven Soderbergh Tells a Ghost Story from the Ghosts POV. It Is Scary? Not Quite. But the Family Demons Lure You In - Variety - January 26th, 2024
- 55 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying - Digital Spy - January 18th, 2024
- She is a Real Housewife, was in a scary movie franchise, is pals with Bethenny Frankel, has a Hilton connectio - Daily Mail - January 18th, 2024
- The Scream cast talk about the legacy of Scary Movie - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix: January 2024 - Vulture - January 9th, 2024
- Scream cast reveals their favorite scary movies - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- Horror fanatics are 'desperate' to watch the first scary movie of the year Night Swim after trailer leaves the - Daily Mail - January 9th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies That Are Too Disturbing to Re-Watch - Collider - January 1st, 2024
- Raging Grace review politicised critique of imperialism in horror movie form - The Guardian - January 1st, 2024
- 15 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - January 1st, 2024
- The 19 Best Horror Films of 2023 Best Life - Best Life - January 1st, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked by Tomatometer - Rotten Tomatoes - December 23rd, 2023
- This Is What Takes 'The Descent' From Scary to Terrifying - Collider - December 23rd, 2023
- 15 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 - Screen Rant - December 23rd, 2023
- 25 Best Horror Movies Created in the Last 5 Years - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 12th, 2023
- 25 horror movies that were based on true stories - Yardbarker - December 12th, 2023
- The 30 best horror movies of all time - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movies In Theaters Now (2023/12/06)- Tickets to Movies in Theaters, Broadway Shows, London Theatre & More - Hollywood.com - December 12th, 2023
- What Is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time? - Collider - December 12th, 2023
- The 27 Best Horror Films of 2023 - MarieClaire.com - December 12th, 2023
- Upcoming horror movies: new scary films coming in 2023 and beyond - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- 20 Best Horror Movies on Max (Formerly HBO Max): Dec. 2023 - Vulture - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movie (2000) - Plot - IMDb - December 3rd, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Netflix - Rotten Tomatoes - October 16th, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now - October 16th, 2023
- From Psycho to a new crop of horror movies, the genre has some mommy issues - The Seattle Times - May 13th, 2023
- Months After Hulu Controversy, Mike Tyson Makes Major Move in the World of Cinema - EssentiallySports - April 8th, 2023
- Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - March 31st, 2023
- Three cheers for the Moose: Everybody knows the name of beloved '80s sitcom star and 'Masked Singer' eliminee - Yahoo Entertainment - March 31st, 2023
- The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever - Rotten Tomatoes - February 26th, 2023
- Films Turning 10 in 2013: Oz the Great and Poweful The Croods Oblivion Labor ... - Latest Tweet by Pop - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- Family of slain Idaho student from Skagit County relieved to hear of suspect's arrest - KPIC News - January 1st, 2023
- The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time - Reader's Digest - December 24th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy ... - December 24th, 2022
- "I was a side piece and you're a str*pper": Nia Long spills tea about Regina Halls role in The Best Man: The Final Chapters - Sportskeeda - December 24th, 2022
- Mother says scary movie guy wanted to kidnap her child in Spains Castellon area - The Olive Press - December 16th, 2022
- The Daily Show To Replace Trevor Noah with Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman & Leslie Jones - Television - December 8th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy: 'We don't want to try to educate' - Fox News - November 11th, 2022
- 20 Scary Horror Movies to Watch on HBO Max - Harper's BAZAAR - October 2nd, 2022
- Best scary movies of 2022 to watch for Halloween - Dexerto - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero