It is amazing that in an age where we are getting comprehensive documentaries on horror franchises such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, we hadn’t got a full chronicle of the adaptations of Stephen King’s work – until now.
King On Screen is a jam-packed doc which gives us insights into various King movies, including classics such as Carrie, Misery and The Shining but also saves room for lesser known or loved movies or mini series such as Thinner, Cell and The Mangler.
The only drawback of this great doc is not being able to get names such as Brian De Palma along for the ride. One of the most fascinating parts is the section on The Shining, given its two adaptations and King’s renowned distaste for the Kubrick version.
One of the other highlights is the insights of Mike Flanagan who has created two of the best King movies of recent years in Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game. To hear Flanagan wax lyrical about King’s work is a sight to behold.
The other interesting anecdote that King on Screen explores, is how King has become part of the zeitgeist, with his work sometimes unknowingly parodied or riffed on for a cheap pop by filmmakers who may have not read the books in the first place.
Sections on The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me and The Green Mile show King is much more than a horror fiction writer and he is, as we know, a great writer of characters, who sometimes ended up in horrific scenarios.
King On Screen is a fantastic chronicle of the legend of the genre, and can comfortably sit alongside the juggernauts that are Crystal Lake Memories and Never Sleep Again.
Signature Entertainment presents Stephen King on Screen on Digital Platforms 26th June & Blu-ray 18th September
Bloody Flicks 