Stephen King adaptations like The Long Walk have often found clever and creative ways to make his stories even darker. One of the 20th and 21st centuries’ most prolific writers, Stephen King’s horror stories and bleak plotlines often push audiences into incredibly dark places. However, it turns out some of his fans in the film industry can take things further.

In many of the adaptations of Stephen King’s books, the ending and story is tweaked to allow for more gruesome details. Sometimes this involves a higher body count than the source material or a flip on a character that makes them demonstrably worse people. Here are nine Stephen King movie adaptations that made the story even darker.

The Long Walk (2025)

One of the best modern adaptations of Stephen King’s works, The Long Walk flips the survivor of the novel and ends on a darker (if more cathartic) finale. In The Long Walk, the final two contestants left standing are Ray and Peter. Ray sacrifices himself to save Peter, allowing himself to be killed as McVriers is named the winner.

Heartbroken, Peter uses his “wish” to follow through on Ray’s plans to ask for a gun and use it to kill the Major. This is a big swerve from the original story, which instead had Peter earn third place and actually follow through on his intent to sit down and let himself be sH๏τ.

That’s not to say the book’s ending is optimistic. Ray is the winner in the original story, carrying on past the Major after some mysterious figure in the distance. The Major survives in the book, and Peter (who was overall a harsher character in the novel) doesn’t get the spiritual break that defines the cinematic Peter’s final scene.

The Shining (1980)

One of the most contentious Stephen King adaptations, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining made a lot of changes to the source material. While Jack Torrance goes mad in both versions, the film leans into the idea that Jack is a risk to his wife and son. The Overlook H๏τel only exacerbates this darker side of the character.

The book also ends on a more positive note than the film, which leans into a bleaker tale of survival for Wendy and Danny. Dick Hallorann arrives to help Danny in both films after being contacted through the Shining. He helps Wendy and Danny escape in the book, and survives. In the film, Jack kills Hallorann.

The death of Jack Torrance differs in both stories. In the book, Jack regains enough of himself to trigger an explosion in the boiler room. This kills Jack and destroys the Overlook. Jack never gets this redemptive moment in the film, instead dying of exposure after getting lost chasing Danny and being absorbed by the Overlook.

Doctor Sleep (2019)

The sequel to The Shining, the cinematic Doctor Sleep made some natural changes to the source material to better fit that universe. In both versions of Doctor Sleep, the True Knot are the primary antagonists of the story. However, they remain that way for the entirety of the novel version. The book brings the action back to the Overlook.

Since the Overlook H๏τel wasn’t destroyed at the end of The Shining, Jack also returns as Lloyd’s replacement, who tries to break Danny’s resolve. This is contrasted against his appearance in the book version of Doctor Sleep, where he’s a more helpful figure. This speaks to a more hopeful tone for the book version of Doctor Sleep.

Danny and Abra defeat the Top Knot without many major casualties in the book. In the film, Abra’s father, David, and Dan’s friend Billy are both killed in the fight. Danny also dies in the film despite surviving in the book, destroying the Overlook in the same manner that Jack used in the book version of The Shining.

Carrie (2013)

The novel that put Stephen King on the map, Carrie has been adapted multiple times. All of them make their own little tweaks to the story while largely remaining faithful. However, Sissy Spacek version from 1974 and the Chloë Grace Moretz-led version from 2013 make some real dark tweaks, including increasing the number of people killed at the prom mᴀssacre.

The 2013 version of Carrie also makes the scene a lot darker by having Tommy overtly killed by Chris and Billy’s prank. Carrie’s final confrontation with them is harsher, with Chris trying to murder Carrie by running her down in a car after Billy’s death. Sue is also only spared in the 2013 film because Carrie can tell she’s pregnant.

Both movies also made a distinct change to the ending. The novel details the fallout of Carrie’s mᴀssacre, hinting other children like her exist. In both movies, Carrie is remembered as a monster by everyone except Sue, who mourns for her by leaving flowers at her grave. The 2013 version ends on a tease that Carrie might still be alive.

The Mist (2007)

One of the darkest Stephen King stories, The Mist became even grimmer when it was adapted for the big screen in 2007 by Frank Darabont. In both versions of the story, a small New England town is overtaken by a mist that is filled with unspeakable horrors and monstrosities. In many regards, both versions are very similar until the ending.

The movie ending takes a much bleaker turn. The divergence comes when David, Billy, Amanda, and a few other survivors escape the grocery store and head into the mist. The book ends on an ambiguous note as they seek ᴀssistance, with a lingering chance of other survivors giving the novella a sense of hope as it concludes.

That isn’t brought over in the film adaptation. Instead, after discovering his wife is among the casualties and with no other ideas, David mercy kills Billy, Amanda, and the elderly couple they’re with. Out of bullets, David leaves the car to be killed, only to discover soldiers — making their deaths unnecessary in one of the darkest Stephen King adaptations.

1408 (2007)

1408 is a lean short story by King that was adapted into a John Cusack film. To expand the story to fit the longer run-time, the film version adds a lot of tragic elements that are absent in the book. In both versions, Mike is a skeptic about the supernatural. However, he is a more straightforward character in the book.

The movie gives him a wife he’s become estranged from and a daughter who died from an illness some time before the events of the film. The more psychological scares of the short story are replaced by more aggressive and painful hauntings, as well, with the enтιтy in the room even targeting Mike’s wife, Lily.

While the novel ends with Mike escaping the room, the film had Mike light the room on fire in a bid to destroy it. The film ends with Mike pensively confirming the haunting to Lily through his recorder, while the alternative ending to the extended edition of 1408 reveals Mike was killed in the act of destroying the H๏τel room.

The Night Flier (1998)

Both versions of The Night Flier focus on Richard Dees, a tabloid reporter who finds fame reporting on the mysterious Night Flyer killings. In both versions, Dees eventually tracks down the killer and discovers he is a vampire. However, the ending of both versions diverges immensely once Dees finds the killer, with the film taking on a much darker tone.

In the short story, Dees is scared off his report by the Night Flier, who spares his life and leaves him amid his most recent feeding for the police. In the film, the Night Flier forces Dees to consume some of his blood, which causes the reporter to hallucinate that the victims are rising up as unᴅᴇᴀᴅ creatures.

This leads to a scene where the police arrive and discover Dees chopping up the “monsters” with an axe, which gets him promptly sH๏τ and killed. The film even adds a bleaker note by having Dee’s reporter rival, Blair, publicly place the blame for the Night Flier’s killings on Dees.

Cell (2016)

Cell was Stephen King’s take on a zombie apocalypse story, focusing on the fallout of “The Pulse” that turned cell phone users into zombie-like ghouls. Both versions largely focus on Clay, a graphic artist who is trying to survive the chaos and find his infected son, Johnny.

In the novel, Clay is able to detonate a bomb that kills the Raggedy Man, who has become something of a figurehead for the “Phoners.” This leads to a more hopeful ending than in the film. In the movie adaptation, Cal only believes he was able to set off the explosion.

The final sH๏τs of Cell reveal that, despite his efforts to free the others, Cal was actually infected in the final confrontation and is now one of the “Phoners” among the horde. This gives the film a much bleaker conclusion, leaving the fates of the other potential survivors up in the air.

Thinner (1996)

In both versions of Thinner, Billy Halleck is a sleazy lawyer who is cursed to become emaciated until his death. To break the curse, Billy must pᴀss it along via a pie containing the dark spell. Both versions of Thinner are similar up until the final moments, with the film adding a grim touch to the story.

In both versions, Billy gives his wife the pie, sacrificing her life to save his own. However, he’s horrified to learn their daughter also ate the pie, dooming herself. In the book, a remorseful Billy eats some of the pie out of guilt. However, the cinematic version of Billy is interrupted before he can eat the pie.

He’s greeted by Dr. Mikey, who had been having an affair with his wife. Billy embraces a villainous path and invites Mikey inside for pie, implying the movie version of the character will survive by killing Mikey. It’s a surprisingly harsh way to make one of Stephen King‘s stories even darker.

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Followed

Stephen King

Birthdate

September 21, 1947

Birthplace

Portland, Maine, USA

Notable Projects

The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, It, The Stand, Misery, The Dark Tower, Mr. Mercedes, Carrie

Professions

Author, Screenwriter, Producer, Director, Actor

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