THE TOP TEN

1 THE SHINING

(1980) Simon: “Justice. You can’t have the greatest horror movie ever made in second place. Even if, irony of ironies, Stephen King himself hates Stanley Kubrick’s take on it.”

2 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

(1994) Chris: “Robbed of its rightful first place after Simon didn’t place it in his top ten. His judgement cometh: and that right soon.”

3 THE MIST

(2007) Nick: “It may have just ‘mist’ the top spot, but for me it’s still the best King film of the past 20 years. Sorry, 1408.”

4 CARRIE

(1976) James: “I can take or leave Carrie, dirty pillows and all. Would have put it lower on the list. (In fact, I did.)”

5 MISERY

(1990) Nick: “Every writer’s worst nightmare. Brutal, claustrophobic and manages to make a bed scary. A bed!”

6 THE DEAD ZONE

(1983) Simon: “I saw this in the top three but clearly my psychic powers are on the fritz. James prefers The Running Man. James is weird.”

7 IT (2017)

James: “A great updating of the classic King story (that I haven’t read), but is it scary enough? I’d argue that it’s not.”

8 SALEM’S LOT

(1979) Chris: “Scratching at the window of the top ten, Tobe Hooper’s terrifying miniseries is the reason we allowed TV entries as well.”

9 STAND BY ME

(1986) Simon: “It ain’t horror, but I stand by it as a tough, touching coming-of-age movie. King makes you feel 12 again.”

10 CHRISTINE

(1983) Chris: “I’m to blame for this, placing John Carpenter’s super-stylish movie second in my top ten. But it needs to be on this list.”