Stephen King Every Night Shift Story Adapted So Far
Stephen King: Every Night Shift Story Adapted So Far
Contents
Every adaptation of Stephen King’s Night Shift stories, be they good (Children of the Corn), bad (The Mangler), or weird (The Lawnmower Man).
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Author Stephen King’s short story collection Night Shift remains one of the writer’s most-loved works, but just how many of the book’s tales have earned television or movie adaptations? Beginning in 1974 with the outsized success of his debut novel Carrie, Stephen King’s reign as the world’s favorite horror author has lasted decades and shows no sign of stopping soon. 1978’s Night Shift is a classic short story collection that followed King’s rise to stardom and boasts an impressive number of page-to-screen adaptations.
It’s easy to see why, as King’s talent for cinematic, digestible scary stories is arguably at its peak in this terrifying collection, which includes stories ranging from “Children of the Corn” to Maximum Overdrive’s source material, “Trucks”. Many stories from the writer’s later collections Everything’s Eventual and Skeleton Crew spawned several movie adaptations and small-screen re-imaginings of their own, and both books won effusive critical acclaim similar to the reception of Night Shift.
But Night Shift remains the King collection with the most impressive track record of adaptations to date, with no less than ten of its stories being adapted. Three of these earned themselves sequels, while another two spawned remakes. Some of the films were flops, some of the TV episodes are underrated gems, but all of Night Shift’s screen adaptations are testament to the enduring appeal of King’s prolific output.
Children of the Corn
The story of two newlyweds who stumble across a deserted small town run by a cult of creepy kids, 1984’s Children of the Corn is one of those ‘80s horrors that managed to spawn an entire franchise despite the original not being much to write home about. Despite its less-than-stellar critical reputation, the original Children of the Corn was recently remade by Equilibrium’s Kurt Wimmer. The 1984 film, which is largely faithful to the source material save for making the protagonists more likable and the ending less bleak, is an atmospheric-if-aimless outing that peaks in its surprisingly scary opening wherein the kids kill off the town adults (mostly) off-screen. There’s not a lot notable about the adaptation, although Children of the Corn does feature a pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton as its leading lady.
Sometimes They Come Back
This creepy tale of hoodlums who return from the grave was originally intended to be a segment in Cat’s Eye (more on that 1985 movie later) but ended up earning a TV movie adaptation of its own. It also received two subsequent sequels, though neither lives up to the original. It’s not a classic, but Sometimes They Come Back is stronger than many of Night Shift’s adaptations. However, the movie does share a too-dour, downbeat tone with the source material.
The Mangler
The less said about Tobe Hooper’s adaptation of this “killer laundry press” story, the better. Suffice to say that, despite hiring the creator of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Freddy Krueger star Robert Englund, neither horror icon could turn the story of a possessed mangler into anything more than an unintentionally funny misfire. This one is worth a watch as a wild comedy, but it is embarrassing as an attempt at horror.
Gray Matter
The gruesome story of a boy trying to save his father from becoming a blob of sentient mold thanks to tainted beer was adapted for TV by Shudder’s Creepshow recently. It’s a solid adaptation that boasts an impressive cast, including Giancarlo Esposito. However, ultimately the limitations of the surprisingly sparse original tale mean this one isn’t quite an instant classic.
Quitters Inc
Also featured in Cat’s Eye, “Quitters Inc” was adapted for TV as the Tales From The Darkside outing “Bigalow’s Last Smoke.” It’s easy to see why this story of a smoker who tries to kick the habit with the help of a shady health firm was so popular, as the blackly funny tale is an effective satire of 1980s health crazes. Both versions of the story are worth a watch, though the Cat’s Eye adaptation benefits from the comparative creative freedom of an R-rating resulting in a grislier, sicker spin on the story.
The Ledge
Featured as a segment in the aforementioned anthology Cat’s Eye, “The Ledge” is a classic King story that strands a likable everyman on the ledge of a hotel. Played by Airplane!’s underrated leading man Robert Hays, Jimmy is forced to travel the treacherous path around the building back to safety as penance for having an affair with a mobster’s wife. This one is pleasingly mean-spirited and wouldn’t have been out of place in the Stephen King/George A Romero Creepshow movies.
The Lawnmower Man
The bizarre ’90s movie, an ill-considered sci-fi spin on Flowers For Algernon, only really borrows a title from the original story. King’s effective short is a gory tale of a creepy cult (which, unlike the movie, does actually feature a lawnmower prominently). The Pierce Brosnan-starring adaptation was disliked by critics but was enough of a hit to receive a critically reviled sequel in 1996.
Graveyard Shift
A gross story of mutated killer rats being unearthed by doomed cleaners beneath a mill earned itself one of King’s least favorite movie adaptations, with the writer calling the 1990 movie “a quick exploitation picture.” It is admittedly hard to fault the author in this summation, particularly when Graveyard Shift was released during the 90s when many classic miniseries were being adapted from King’s output. That said, horror fans can look forward to a typically great turn from Chucky himself Brad Dourif in this otherwise middling creature feature.
Battleground
Nightmares and Dreamscapes offered an impressive dialogue-free television adaptation of this zany tale featuring a hitman doing battle with a squadron of toy soldiers. The television episode does skew close to territory Joe Dante had explored in Small Soldiers and is missing that movie’s impressive satire of the military-industrial complex. That said, it is a fun ride and the commitment to silent cinema-style theatrics is to be commended.
Trucks
“Trucks” has the dubious honor of being adapted twice, first as the expensive ‘80s misfire Maximum Overdrive and later as the more faithful TV movie Trucks in 1997. A flashy, gory sci-fi horror, Maximum Overdrive remains King’s lone directorial attempt as the unintentionally hilarious gore fest flopped with critics and viewers. Trucks, however, belatedly proved King had a point about Kubrick taking creative liberties with The Shining, as it skewed closer to the original story and earned better notices than Stephen King’s movie as a result.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/stephen-king-night-shift-story-adaptations/
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