THE HORRIFYINGLY GOOD
5 (TIE) CARRIE (1976)
Sissy Spacek exudes quiet, tortured grace as a teenager just blossoming into womanhood, leading to bullying from classmates and her abusively religious mom (Piper Laurie). The last 30 minutes is a jawdropping transformation from childhood innocence to murderous hysteria.
5( TIE) IT (2017)
Taking the friendship stuff from Stand By Me and weaving in a deliciously evil clown in a poufy wardrobe, It works magic on a lot of different levels. Warning: May not be for those skeeved out by buckets of blood shooting out of a sink.
4 THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
Christopher Walken is a psychic schoolteacher who “sees” someone’s secrets if he touches them, including a vision of a nuclear holocaust after shaking the hand of a senatorial candidate (Martin Sheen). Did we mention this thing feels kinda timely?
3 1408 (2007)
In the most underrated King movie, a supernatural skeptic (John Cusack) who writes about haunted places takes interest in the legendarily creepy room of a New York high-rise. It’s astoundingly kooky but also a thoughtful study of cynicism and belief.
2 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
There’s not much scary here other than some jail guards. Instead, what makes Shawshank an all-timer is the core friendship of two inmates (played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) who figure out they’d better “get busy living or get busy dying.”
1 THE SHINING (1980)
King notoriously disliked Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, but it’s by far the best of the lot. Come for the infamous scenes — “Heeeeere’s Johnny,” anyone? — but stay for the exploration of isolation, one man’s descent into madness and the terrifying effect on his family.