Every Stephen King Movie Adaptation on Netflix, Ranked

Picture: Netflix

American writer Stephen King is one of the most prolific and ubiquitous horror authors of all time. From IT to The Shining and beyond, his stories are everywhere. Netflix has gotten in on the Stephen King business a few times over the years. In this post, we take a look at the 5 Netflix Original adaptations of his stories. Stephen King is one of the most adapted authors in cinema history, and the movies and shows keep coming. Look no further than Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series coming to Prime Video, or 2025 big screen pictures The Long Walk and The Running Man. Over on the streaming side of things, Netflix has adapted a few King stories with varied success. There have been 4 Netflix Originals in total, so let’s take a look at them, starting with the best to worst.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Stephen King himself is a big Netflix user and has provided dozens of recommendations over the years.

Directed by modern horror legend Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass), Gerald’s Game was the first King adaptation on Netflix, and it’s quite possibly the greatest. It’s a weird concept, but it offers up all of the tension and psychological horror that King is best known for. 

The movie follows a couple, Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) and Jessie (Carla Gugino), who head to a secluded spot to rekindle their relationship. While sleeping together in a remote cabin, during foreplay, Gerald dies and Jessie is left handcuffed to the bed with her dead husband on top of him. As time passes, she grows delirious, and the plot takes terrifying twists and turns. 

While the movie is purely fictional, King took inspiration from some real-life horror stories, most notably that of serial killer Ed Gein (who is the subject of Netflix’s new Monster series). 

In the Tall Grass is based on the 2012 novella written by both Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. Incidentally, Hill has already had great success at Netflix with Locke & Key, which was based on his graphic novels of the same name. 

The cast of In the Tall Grass includes Patrick Wilson, Harrison Gilbertson, Rachel Wilson, and Tiffany Helm. Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, the movie has a simple concept: when a siblings Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) and Cal (Avery Whitted) enter a large grass field to rescue a young boy, they soon realise that the field has engulfed them, and there’s no way out. 

This movie is a far stretch from traditional horror. It doesn’t rely on ghosts and monsters, but rather an intense and claustrophobic atmosphere that creates some excellently crafted psychological terror. 

Directed by Zak Hilditch, 1922 was the second Stephen King adaptation on the streamer, although it arrived pretty much alongside Gerald’s Game. In true Stephen King fashion, 1922 is a totally self-contained horror story, delivering extremely dark, disturbing, and intense moments. It’s particularly grim and bleak.

The story begins with a farmer, Wilfred James (Thomas Jane), who, in the midst of a financial crisis, murders his wife for financial gain, convincing his son to help him. He pens a letter admitting to murdering his wife… and then his life spirals out of control. 

1922 debuted to average reviews, but time has aged the movie like fine wine. It’s got a solid place in Netflix’s horror catalog.

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022), the most recent Netflix Original movie based on a King story, is the most divisive. Directed by John Lee Hancock, it follows teenager Craig (Jaeden Martell) as he takes odd jobs and tasks for an elderly billionaire, John Harrigan (Donald Sutherland), ultimately forming a friendship with him. However, when Harrigan dies, Craig puts a smartphone in his pocket prior to burial, and soon learns that he can communicate with Harrigan from beyond the grave. 

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone received mixed reviews on release, currently standing at a below-average 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. If one thing is for sure, Jaeden Martell delivers a top-tier performance in yet another Stephen King adaptation. He previously played Bill in IT. 

Which of these four movies is your favorite? Tell us in the comments down below!