Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation, Ranked

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Stephen King’s rival for the title of horror’s biggest bestseller Dean Koontz has seen his novels turned into great, flawed, and awful movies.

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Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Horror author Dean Koontz may not be quite as famous as his rival Stephen King, but he also has numerous movie adaptations of his bestsellers that range from great to subpar. Despite selling millions of novels in his many decades as a novelist, like Goosebumps creator RL Stine, Dean Koontz has never quite been able to fully emerge from the shadow of horror colossus King. Carrie creator King has remained the first name in horror fiction since 1974, but the equally prolific Koontz has actually been writing for longer than his nearest rival.

Koontz’s first novel was published back in 1968, and since then he has churned out dozens of standalone books as well as numerous novel series. Perhaps part of what makes King the more popular creator in the eyes of the public, despite Koontz sharing his status as a bestseller, is the fact Koontz’s work has not produced as many blockbuster adaptations as Stephen King’s (although King does have some flops to his name like 2003’s Dreamcatcher). However, it may surprise some fans of Koontz to discover the writer’s work has actually been adapted to the screen numerous times, to varying degrees of success.

A television movie adaptation of Intensity starring Scrubs’ John C. McGinley is widely believed to have influenced Alexandre Aja’s unbearably tense Haute Tension, for example. This ranking proves the popular author has been no slouch when it comes to big-screen adaptations either.

Hideaway (1995)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Starring Jeremy Sisto of Clueless fame as a serial-killing Satan worshipper, Hideaway is about as successful at conjuring up scares as the beginning of this sentence may imply. Koontz himself hated this convoluted adaptation of his work, which is a shame when Jurassic Park’s Jeff Goldblum has some corny fun playing the movie’s hero. Goldblum is the unfortunate motorist who forges a psychic connection with the aforementioned murderer when he is revived after a car crash, but tragically Hideaway doesn’t make much use of this conceit. Outside of an early turn from Alicia Silverstone, there’s next to nothing to recommend in this critically dismissed adaptation.

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Whispers (1990)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Whispers was largely credited with starting Koontz’s career as an author after years of producing largely unread sci-fi fare. Unfortunately, this toothless 1990 movie adaptation fails to capture the novel’s creepy intensity. The story of a woman repeatedly targeted by a supposedly dead killer, Whispers boasts a killer premise and a stellar supporting co-star in Fright Night’s Chris Sarandon. Despite this pedigree, there’s not much to recommend about this forgettable slasher.

Servants of Twilight (1991)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Originally titled Twilight Koontz’s 1984 novel bears no relation to Stephenie Meyer’s infamously cheesy paranormal romance saga of the same name. Koontz’s book, faithfully adapted as the 1991 movie Servants of Twilight, follows the story of a woman plagued by cult members who believe her child is the son of Satan. If that sounds like over-explored horror territory, that’s because it is. Despite a solid central performance from a perpetually distressed Belinda Bauer, this one is a thrill-free effort that squanders the source novel’s interesting inversion of The Omen’s plot.

Phantoms (1998)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

1998’s Phantoms saw Koontz pick up a pen to script this horror mystery, wherein the small town of Snowfield is wiped out by an unseen evil force. With an intriguing premise, an ensemble that includes screen veteran Peter O’Toole, Ben Affleck and Scream standout star Rose McGowan, and Koontz’s involvement, this one seemed set for success. However, eliding the novel’s nods to H.P. Lovecraft took away the story’s fear factor too, and although it’s not disastrous, there’s not much to recommend in the thinly-plotted, overlong Phantoms.

The Passengers (1977)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Bizarrely (given how all-American many of Koontz’s stories, characters, and recurring themes are), the first movie adaptation of the writer’s work came from France. 1977’s The Passengers sees The Track director Serge Leroy relocate the action of Koontz’s simple-but-brutally-effective 1973 novel Shattered. The novel and its adaptation both follow a father and his stepson who are besieged by an unhinged driver and must drive for their lives in a passable chase movie that unfortunately fails to match the freeway-set thrills of Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller Duel from 1971.

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Watchers (1988)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Based on one of Dean Koontz’s most popular horror novels, the 1988 adaptation of Watchers can’t quite faithfully recreate the magic of the source novel’s twisty “a boy and his hyper-intelligent dog” story. However, this fun b-movie from Alligator II director Jon Hess does boast an agreeably goofy ‘80s movie monster, a charming central performance from late teen star Corey Haim, and some solid hammy supporting work from genre icon Michael Ironside. The movie also spawned a string of STV sequels, with Watchers 4 starring Mark Hamill.

Demon Seed (1977)

Every Dean Koontz Movie Adaptation Ranked

Directed by Performance’s Donald Cammel, Demon Seed may not match that trippy movie’s intensity but this tale of a seemingly perfect A.I. house that soon goes haywire and traps a terrified Julie Christie is an undeniably effective sci-fi movie. Memorable enough to earn a parody from The Simpsons’ annual “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween specials (wherein the house is played by Pierce Brosnan), this solid sci-fi horror mixes the satire of The Stepford Wives with an uncomfortably brutal spin on 2001: A Space Odyssey’s self-aware AI.

Odd Thomas (2013)

Benefitting from a typically superb turn by the late, great Anton Yelchin in the title role, 2013’s Odd Thomas is comfortably the best of Koontz’s screen adaptations so far. Infused with quirky humor and a fast pace, Odd Thomas tells the tale of the titular clairvoyant who can see the dead and vanquish evil but would rather eke out an existence as a small-town chef instead. A streak of Ash Vs the Evil Dead-style humor sees The Mummy director Stephen Sommers turn this into a stellar Dean Koontz adaptation, while Yelchin’s considerable charm carries the action-horror-comedy to success despite some tonal inconsistency. Between this, Green Room and the wildly underrated Fright Night remake from 2011, Yelchin’s tragically short career nonetheless managed to leave an indelible mark on the history of screen horror.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dean-koontz-movies-ranked/

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