Stephen King is arguably the master of horror. His scary stories have consistently been made into classic films for almost 50 years starting with Carrie. In fact, he has four adaptations of his work releasing in theaters in 2025: The Life of Chuck, The Monkey, The Running Man and The Long Walk. If King is one thing, he’s prolific.

And while his horrors and thrillers garner the most attention and box office draw, he has also more than proven himself in drama. His latest film The Life of Chuck is a heartbreaking tale about love, loss and small things that make life worth living. Now, that doesn’t sound like Stephen King, unless you factor in his films about the regular folks who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances, such as a life in prison, the long hall to an electric chair or kids in search of a dead body.

Based on a short story in the If It Bleeds collection of King’s short stories, The Life of Chuck was adapted by writer/director Mike Flanagan, whose previous King collaborations included Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. The Life of Chuck is a departure from those thrillers and delivers something more dramatic; the type of film like The Green Mile or The Shawshank Redemption that has the capability of making the toughest moviegoers shed a tear.

Let’s dive into some examples of King’s dramatic stories that have made their way to the screen.

River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton, and Jerry OConnell in 'Stand by Me'

Stand by Me (1986)

Based on the short story The Body from Different Seasons

When Stand by Me was made, Stephen King was already an established horror writer whose works could be turned into commercially and critically successful films. This particular story took a different approach as it focused on four 12-year-old boys who hear about another boy who had disappeared and is possibly dead. So, as people were wont to do pre-internet, they embark on a two-day adventure through the woods to locate the body, just to see if it is true.

What gives this story heart is how the kids stand by each other, not only on this adventure, but as they navigate their chaotic lives in a go-nowhere small town. They are a foursome of friends that are like so many groups in movies that stick together through thick and thin: The Hangover, Girls Trip, The Goonies and Sex and the City. They are people we know or may fondly remember being and their problems, as specific as they are, we feel we can relate to.

This is true for both the short story and the film. The short story has more detail than the movie, which is pretty standard in an adaptation, but screenwriters can see how King crafted a story with a group of characters with unique personalities and arcs that not only appeals to 12-year-olds, but becomes a timeless tale that all ages enjoy.

In an interview with AMC TV, King admitted that he saw a boy hit by a train when he was four years old. This prompted the small spark that turned into The Body then Stand By Me. In the same interview, King said there was a lot of history in the story. This is a good approach for writers to take. Many initially feel that going broad will appeal to more people, but rather people have a tendency to empathize with the specific. When crafting your stories, think in specific, personal terms.

Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in 'The Shawshank Redemption'

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Based on the short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption from Different Seasons 

Arguably one of the best movies ever made, The Shawshank Redemption was adapted from a short story originally published in 1982. While the movie follows Andy (Tim Robbins) after being sentenced to Shawshank Penitentiary for the murder of his wife and the man with which she was having an affair, the story is told by Red (Morgan Freeman), a fellow prisoner who becomes Andy’s friend and helps him navigate the corrupt and violent prison system.

The short story goes into greater detail behind Red’s reason for imprisonment, while the film doesn’t. There are other aspects in the short story that never make it into the feature film, but remains context for the character. By the way stories are told, you’re always going to get more detail in the written words than a moving picture.

The Shawshank Redemption is unique because it found success on video and DVD (it barely made back its $25 million budget in theaters) in spite of it being a drama, with a title that doesn’t reveal anything about the plot. Therefore, the story was compelling to so many, that word-of-mouth spread like wildfire.

There are several factors that make this movie such an excellent piece of dramatic work. For one, the characters. Even though they are all serving long prison sentences for heinous crimes, there are clearly good guys, bad guys and worse guys. We immediately empathize with Andy because he was wrongly convicted – a concept that would scare the hell out of any of us. Also, how he handles the first part of his prison sentence commands respect. The other prisoners (who are considered allies) are curious about him, wonder why he never talks to anyone and holds his head high. Once he interacts with Red, they become a core group of prisoners that help each other out.

Andy has several enemies and adversaries, including some of the guards, prisoners and even the warden, who is kind to Andy when he wants to be and malicious when deciding not to.

The Shawshank Redemption is a great study in character development, the importance of supporting characters and how to keep a story moving while showing the slow progression of spending decades in prison.

Michael Clarke Duncan, Tom Hanks, David Morse, and Barry Pepper, in 'The Green Mile'

The Green Mile (1999)

The Green Mile was adapted into an Academy Award nominated film a few years after its initial publication. It wasn’t a novel, at first, but rather 6 separate short stories (approximately 100 pages each, with the sixth story stretching to 140+ pages) that were released at certain intervals in 1996. It then was pressed together into a full novel in 1997.

Even as the tearjerker-prison drama clocked in at over 3 hours, adapting a 600+ page novel involved cutting several key components and making the storytelling of the movie different from the book. Like The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile followed several similar patterns: mostly male characters, prison setting, violence and negligence, as well as the central prison figure innocent of the crimes that put them there. Even the prisoner John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) is empathetic and exudes innocence, similar to Shawshank’s Andy Dufresne.

The difference is Coffey’s mystical powers. He shows his magical gift of healing and even experiencing an extrasensory perception, seeing both positives and negatives of people. In a way, he can see into their hearts.

In a nutshell, screenwriters and storytellers alike can take away a concept of “When bad things happen to good people” and what empathy (either realized or lacking) means during the darkest parts of people’s lives.

--

Over the course of 13 years (1986-1999), three of King’s stories became a part of the cinematic conversation showing the commercial and critical viability of a simple drama told well.

• Stand By Me has become a classic many parents continue to show their children because they remember the way the movie impacted them when they were young.
• The Shawshank Redemption is considered by both cinephiles and the moviegoing public to be one of the best films ever made.
• The Green Mile remains an enduring film with heart and emotion, even though it (rightfully so) questions the role of the white savior in storytelling.

The Life of Chuck is another example of the power of telling a story about a compelling, seemingly ordinary character who has greatness thrust upon them. Reading the short story and then watching the adapted film version can show screenwriters how any story (big or small, short story or novel) can find its way from written word to feature film.