Stephen King's repertoire is irresistible to book nerds and horror fans alike. Whether a book has the King label or the Richard Bachman level, one could likely look forward to a fantastic read. As such, it's unsurprising that King's influence has reached beyond the confines of printed works to touch the film industry. One could argue that Stephen King's life work is a goldmine for horror directors and showrunners, and history has only supported that assessment.

Stephen King is the modern King of Horror writing and has a seemingly endless stream of writings to earn him that title. He sold his first story in 1967, and only a couple of years later, in 1974, he published his first full-length novel, Carrie. Since then, he's written over 60 full-length books and hundreds of short stories. There are no signs of King slowing down as his newest book's release date gets closer by the day. Still, fans would agree that, despite his unequivocal talent, not every Stephen King novel is equal. As such, not every movie or TV adaptation does the source material justice, and even the high-quality ones could benefit from an update.

10 The Dark Tower is Stephen King's Magnum Opus

Stephen King's The Dark Tower novel series tells the story of Rolan Deschain, the Mid-World's last Gunslinger. The books follow his journey traveling across Mid-World's post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful and mysterious building known as The Dark Tower. The 2017 movie intended to launch a film and television franchise and blends certain elements from the eight-novel series, focusing mainly on the first and third volumes. But it's not a faithful adaptation of the series. Instead, the Dark Tower movie is a sequel to the novels, allowing for more exploration that doesn't overwrite or contradict the novels. It follows a little boy named Jake who meets the last Gunslinger as he pursues the Man in Black, seeking revenge for his father's murder and stopping him from destroying the Dark Tower.

The movie got many mixed reviews, and fans of the novels generally disliked the adaptation. It had a stellar cast, including Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey as the Gunslinger and Man in Black, respectively, but the movie was a box office and critical flop. Considering Stephen King considers The Dark Tower his magnum opus, and it has a complex story, there's room for improvement with a future adaptation. Mike Flannagan's Dark Tower adaptation has hovered in production limbo with Amazon Prime Video for a while now. So, King fans can only hope the series executes the beloved story better.

9 Graveyard Shift Was a Disaster

"Graveyard Shift" is a short story written by Stephen King in 1970 and tossed into his first short story collection, Night Shift, in 1978. The story follows a young drifter named Hall who works at a run-down textile mill in Gates Falls, Maine. It focuses on him after his cruel taskmaster boss recruits him and a few others to assist with a massive cleaning effort in the mill's basement during the graveyard shift. Specifically, the boss wants them to clean up all the rats in the basement. Even though it seems like a simple job, they encounter a sinister monster as they dig deeper underground. The 1990 movie follows the same premise as a relatively faithful adaptation of King's story.

Even though Graveyard Shift doesn't have many total reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the glaring zero percent rating is enough to raise eyebrows. Simply put, the first adaptation wasn't scary and lacked elements to make up for the lackluster scares. Audiences also slammed the poor acting, sloppy directing, and low-quality writing, especially compared to the source material. The story gives an adaptation enough substance to produce a killer creature feature, but as the movie proves, it can turn into a disaster.

8 Desperation Needs a Bigger Budget

Desperation stands out from many Stephen King stories simply because it's not set in Maine. Instead, the novel unfolds in a desolate part of Nevada. It follows various people traveling down Route 50 in the summer heat, heading to different places. The people, including a couple heading back to NYC, a family vacationing at Lake Tahoe, and a Harley-riding literary lion, have no obvious connections until they pass through a small mining town called Desperation. If the dead cat nailed to the road sign wasn't enough to deter visitors, they soon encounter Collie Entragian. The cruel and power-hungry Sheriff Entragian is only the surface of a deep evil infecting the elusive town.

Desperation is another Stephen King adaptation that received mixed reviews. Some viewers criticized the made-for-TV movie for its often overbearing religious elements, as references to faith drowned out anything horror-related by the end. Other than that, Desperation was a solid movie and faithful adaptation, with audiences praising the performance of actor Ron Pearlman, especially. Desperation was notably released as a mirror novel to another King book called The Regulators, which also has a movie adaptation in the works. Not only would it make perfect sense for The Regulators and its companion story, Desperation, to have modern movie adaptations, but Desperation could highly benefit from a theatrical update with a bigger budget.

7 Dreamcatcher Could Strengthen the Story

Unlike Desperation, Dreamcatcher sits square in the middle of King's Maine-based horror world as it takes place in It's Derry, Maine. The book has other similarities to It, including the storyline, which follows a group of childhood friends bound together by bravery and the supernatural. Dreamcatcher follows the group around 25 years after a significant incident changed them. Every year, the group reunites around their hometown, but on the 25th year, a stranger stumbles into their camp disoriented, mumbling about lights in the sky. It doesn't take long after that for the men to get trapped in a fight against an alien invasion and are forced to turn to their past to survive.

Dreamcatcher is one of the novels that Stephen King isn't a massive fan of, though he wrote it during a difficult part of his life. The movie adaptation hasn't done much better, as it was a box office and critical flop. Despite having a stellar cast and overall high-quality performances, people criticized the half-baked story, constant clichés, and the movie's drawn-out nature. Since its release, Dreamcatcher has gained a bit of a cult following, so a modern adaptation could give it another chance to shine.

6 Sleepwalkers Could Benefit from CGI

Sleepwalkers is the first Stephen King movie adaptation that wasn't based on a preexisting story. Instead, Stephen King wrote the screenplay, meaning the story is exclusive to Sleepwalkers, with no books as the direct source. It follows Charles and Mary Brady as they settle into a new town where the residents don't suspect anything's off about them. Unfortunately for the townsfolk, the Bradys are the last of a dying breed of twisted vampiric werewolf/cat hybrid creatures known as Sleepwakers. They survive by feeding on virgin women, and when Charles befriends the innocent Tanya, things don't go as planned.

Werewolves are nothing new in the horror genre, but it's not very often that a movie's monster is a blend between a werewolf, a vampire, and a cat. Critics say Sleepwalkers is ridiculous, but it's also a cult classic film, with many considering the movie campy, especially with the low-budget makeup and special effects. Even though it's tricky to readapt cult classic movies, movie technology has evolved so much since 1992 that a remake could turn Sleepwalkers into a terrifying feature, which most Stephen King fans desire.

5 Maximum Overdrive Could Reinvent the Slasher

The idea of a killer vehicle is nothing new for Stephen King, and sentient machinery is a common subject in fiction. Maximum Overdrive is one of those stories, as it follows a group of survivors taking refuge in a North Carolina truck stop after a comet causes a radiation storm on Earth and grants every truck sentience. Just like Christine, the trucks become homicidal. As such, the group has to fight for survival while escaping the truck stop.

The 1986 movie Maximum Overdrive and the 1997 film Trucks are based on a Stephen King short story called "Trucks," also featured in the Night Shift collection alongside "Graveyard Shift." It doesn't have a unique premise, even for Stephen King. But killer machinery is a solid angle for an unconventional slasher. It's also a perfect opportunity for a horror movie that's intentionally funny.

4 Silver Bullet Could Boost the Lycanthrope-Based Mystery

Silver Bullet is based on Cycle of the Werewolf, one of the shortest books in Stephen King's repertoire. It's set in the fictional Tarker's Mills, Maine, and centers around a group of inexplicable and sudden murders in the area. Each chapter is notably set in a different month on the calendar, depicting the monthly sprees and the little boy who encounters the werewolf spilling all the blood.

The 1985 movie follows the same premise, with the residents of Tarker's Mill deciding to hunt down the killer. But many of the vigilantes turn up dead, and the rest have no leads about the killer. So, when young Marty encounters a werewolf and starts connecting the dots, he, his sister, and their uncle start a mission to capture and defeat the wolf. The movie features names like Gary Busey and Corey Haim and takes a slasher-movie approach, framing the kills as a mystery. It's an effective lycanthrope-based film with silly elements, but it's not scary for older audiences, with many considering it a classic cozy Halloween flick. Unsurprisingly, the best approach for a remake would be to dive head-in to either the horror side or the comedy aspect, as Silver Bullet already successfully blended the two.

3 Cujo Could Scar a New Generation of Dog Lovers

Cujo is a well-known Stephen King novel, and those who haven't watched or read it likely know the premise. It's a simple story set in the peaceful town of Castle Rock, Maine. Cujo centers around Donna Trenton and her son Tad as they take their car for repairs at Joe Cambers' garage. But they soon get trapped in the vehicle by the Cambers' once-friendly Saint Bernard dog, Cujo, who turned into a bloodthirsty beast after getting bitten by a rabid bat.

Stephen King found the 1983 film to be a terrific adaptation of his novel, and despite a slightly different ending, it's a faithful one, too. One of the biggest flaws pointed out by the audience is a pacing issue, as the beginning of the film draws out a bit too long, and the time the Trentons spend in the vehicle doesn't feel as long as expressed in the book. Still, Cujo is effective in its storytelling, and a remake could improve some of the low points. There's, unfortunately, no way for a remake to make the premise easier for a dog lover to sit through, though.

2 Cat's Eye is a Stephen King Anthology Movie

Cat's Eye is one of the few Stephen King movie adaptations that blends mainly unrelated stories into one cohesive movie. It's based on "Quitters, Inc.", which follows a man named Dick Morrison who discovers the brutal enforcement methods used by the titular organization which he uses to quit smoking. It's also based on "The Ledge," which follows Stan Norris, who, after carrying on with an affair with a Mafia boss's wife, gets offered an impossible-to-refuse offer: walk around the penthouse and survive in exchange for his freedom. "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge" are both short stories featured in the Night Shift collection, and the third story featured in Cat's Eye is "General," which Stephen King wrote specifically for the film.

The movie follows a kitty named General as he ventures through a smoker's clinic, onto a penthouse ledge, and into a little girl's bedroom. Of course, the first two locations follow the stories of "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge" as mentioned. In the little girl's bedroom, General must save a child named Amanda from a small, troll-like creature trying to steal her breath. Cat's Eye doesn't have a horrible rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many enjoying the story. But others criticize the movie as disjointed and poorly framed. As such, it could benefit greatly from a remake to tie the anthology together more.

1 Misery is one of King's Best Adaptations

Misery follows bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon, who makes a bold career shift by killing off the protagonist, Misery Chastain, in his beloved romance series. He intends to broaden his creative horizons after feeling trapped by the romance genre. However, his fans don't like this decision, especially his self-proclaimed number-one fan, Annie Wilkes. In retaliation for the decision, Annie kidnaps Paul, holding him hostage in a secluded cabin until he rewrites the story to fit her expectations.

Unlike many Stephen King stories, Misery is completely based in reality, and it's a situation that could unfold, which makes it one of King's scariest novels. The movie follows the story and creates a masterpiece in the psychological thriller genre. Both Misery's movie adaptation and the original novel are widely considered masterpieces. It has near-perfect ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and stands out as the only Stephen King adaptation to win an Oscar, which actor Kathy Bates won for her role as Annie Wilkes. While many would understandably argue that Misery is perfect just the way it is, it's one of the few Stephen King adaptations that hasn't received the remake treatment. Considering the story comments on celebrity culture and the often-toxic influence of fandoms, it's as relevant as ever. So, a modern take on the beloved tale certainly wouldn't hurt anything.