Stephen KingThe vast library of stories continues to be translated into film and television at a rapid pace, and for the most part, the results have recently been positive. Last year saw three new high-profile adaptations of his work on the big screen – Oz Perkins‘ The Moor, Francis Lawrenceand The Long Wayand Edgar Wrightand The Running Man – and all received praise from critics and audiences. However, they also won great praise from the author himself, cementing the year as a great year for fans of his novels, especially with Mike Flanaganhighly recommended Chuck’s biography also hitting theaters after the first round of the festival circuit in 2024. It’s a unique act considering what each of the three sides can agree on.
Case in point: Stanley Kubrickand The Clarity. Published in 1980 by Jack Nicholson in the main role as the new caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Jack Torrance, the film is considered one of the director’s achievements and the horror genre, showing the terrifying descent into madness of a father whose demons prey on him with the ghosts that haunt the residence. However, opinions were more mixed at the time, and King himself famously lambasted Kubrick’s work for departing so wildly from his original vision. In particular, he expressed his disapproval of the portrayal of Jack, who strayed from his more tragic portrayal as a victim to create a terrifying antagonist. His views now vary from a classic defined by iconic scenes and immortal moments in cinematic history, from the Steadicam capture of Danny’s journey through the halls of the Overlook to Jack axing through the bathroom door and the bloody elevator.
Now, the classic is heading to HBO Max just in time for Halloween. The Clarity is part of a huge wave of films hitting theaters on October 1, joining other horror hits next month from Night on Elm Street franchise to the recent return of a major role horror, Burn dead evil. It’s a fitting home for the iconic film, considering the number of King adaptations available to air there, including the aforementioned. A Long Walk, miseryboth variations of he is, Brian De Palmaand Carrieand more. HBO Max is also the exclusive home of the prequel series It: Welcome to Derrywhich has since been renewed for a 2nd season.
Collider Exclusive · 8 questions · 2 minutes what are you The biggest horrible nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four awesome franchises. Four completely different ways to scare you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure that no one believes you. One of them is already in your friend group. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how horrible you really look, and find out what nightmare you’ve been made of.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Children’s Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
🕯️the conjuring(The Warren Files)
01
What horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic pictures. One is worse than the other for you.
02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everyone has one. It comes before you decide anything.
03
What horror movie rule did you break first? Everyone thinks they will survive. Almost no one does.
04
Something very scary happens. What are you doing? Not a movie. In your actual living room, tonight.
05
How do you watch a horror movie? Be honest about this one. No one is checking.
06
Someone offers you real money. What do you still refuse? The amount doesn’t matter. There is one on this list that you do not.
07
What feeling stays with you a week after the movie? Good horror doesn’t stop when the credits roll.
08
Something wakes you up at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that will decide your nightmare.
The Lights just went out You have a nightmare…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting under your skin. This is the one that was built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
A Nightmare on Elm Street · From 1984
Elm Street
Your nightmare is not waiting outside the door. He is waiting for you to close your eyes, which you will eventually have to do, because no one has ever won that particular argument.
Freddy is horror’s toughest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you can’t protect, can’t lock, and can never avoid.
You are the one who is well through the movie and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this will damage it.
These films understood fatigue as a terrible engine. The kids on Elm Street don’t lose because they’re weak. They lose because they are tired.
You can lock every door in the house. You still need to sleep.
Children’s Play · Chucky · From 1988
Chucky
The doll is definitely not your nightmare. It is the face of the person who tells you, and the way in which they decide, kindly, that you have thought of everything.
Chucky works precisely because it’s absurd. That’s the trap: the more accurately you describe it, the less anyone will believe you.
You’re the one yelling at the screen because the characters aren’t listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are a real obstacle, and you’ve met those adults.
By the time someone finally believes you, you will have handled most of it yourself.
Scream · Ghostface · Since 1996
Scream
You have the nightmare number, you know your name, and it has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes off the mask and turns out to be someone who was at the party.
You are the one who says the twist above before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch movies.
The franchise made the horror rules part of the plot, which means that the survivors are the ones who care. You would pay attention.
Everyone is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
The Conjuring · The Warren Files · From 2013
the conjuring
Your nightmare is not entirely about you. It’s about the people sleeping down the hall, and the feeling that nothing here wants to leave.
The Conjuring movies are domestic horror. The house, the family, the very ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
Your instinct is to get everyone into one room. Your fear is defensive rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
This is the only franchise where belief is a weapon. The people who come through are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
Whatever is here did not come for you. He came for the house, and you are the one standing in the hall.
The next big Stephen King adaptation is just around the corner
While HBO Max has a wealth of movies and series to get you through the scary season, Prime Video will be home to its next big change – Flanagan’s version of Carrie. The series is expected to premiere on October 7 and will send the Midnight mass the creator’s own spin on King’s first novel over eight episodes. With its extended running time, it brings the titular high schooler into the age of social media, a change that the author has highly praised for separating Flanagan’s approach from De Palma’s. Summer H. Howell leads the cast as Carrie White, joins Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Amber Midthunder, Joel Oulette, Josie Totah, Arthur Contiand more.
The Clarity checks in to HBO Max on October 1. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on all the movies coming to and leaving streaming throughout the year.
