Stephen King movies are often ᴅᴇᴀᴅly affairs with plenty of characters killed off, but there are some character deaths in these movies that are especially hard to get over. King cemented himself as one of the greatest horror writers of all time with classic books, including Salem’s Lot, The Shining, and Cujo. His legacy has only grown with Hollywood adapting many of his novels into movies over the years, bringing his frightening tales and memorable death scenes to the big and small screens.

King’s writing is not relegated to horror, as adaptations like The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me showcase his less dark and twisted work. However, even in those stories, there are usually some notable deaths that rock the audience. While I can handle some of the most gruesome deaths, like the many gory kills in The Monkey, or the heartbreaking deaths, like John Coffey in The Green Mile, I am still frustrated by these deaths in Stephen King movies that just feel unfair.

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Beaver – Dreamcatcher (2003)

Played By Jason Lee

Dreamcatcher is far from the best Stephen King movie, and the book isn’t well regarded either. However, it did ᴀssemble a star-studded cast, including Morgan Freeman, Damien Lewis, and Timothy Olyphant, for this story of four friends on a reunion getaway to a remote cabin in the woods who become at the center of a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly alien invasion and the government cover-up that sees them as expendable liabilities. However, the friendship at the center of the movie is the most effective aspect, which falls apart when Beaver is the first to die.

Part of the reason Beaver’s death is so frustrating is that he was the best character up to that point. Jason Lee gave a solid performance that fit into the cheesy tone of the movie better than some of his costars, while also bringing a lot of humor. Losing the best character in the film so early is a problem, but it was made worse by the fact that Beaver heroically sacrificed himself to save his friend from the worm-like alien, Jonesy, who did absolutely nothing to help.

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Dave Stone – Doctor Sleep (2019)

Played By Zackary Momoh

Many Stephen King movies deal with young children with extraordinary abilities, and in most cases, their parents play small roles in these stories. In the case of Dave Stone in Doctor Sleep, we get a chance to see what becomes of a parent of a supernatural child who is more present and tries to help out. In the sequel to The Shining, young Abra Stone has the same abilities that Danny Torrance did in the original story, thus making her a target of the villainous cult known as the True Knot.

While Abra’s father, Dave, is understandably reluctant to believe his daughter’s abilities at first, he eventually does and tries all he can to protect her and help her. However, this loving relationship ends in a tragic reveal as Abra is abducted and Dave is killed off-screen. The bluntness of his death is made more frustrating by how Abra finds out about it, as Dave’s killer insults her for dragging her father into this situation and getting him killed.

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Ollie Weeks – The Mist (2007)

Played By Toby Jones

The Mist‘s ending is one of the most infamous movie conclusions of all time, with even Stephen King himself shocked by the adaptation’s choice. However, while the final deaths are heartbreaking and shocking, the death of Ollie Weeks shortly before that final scene is a frustrating end for a hugely likable character. Ollie is the unᴀssuming ᴀssistant store manager who becomes one of the movie’s most unlikely heroes.

With a mist filled with monsters seemingly taking over the world outside, Ollie is a voice of reason among those trapped in the store, shutting down hysterical talk and risking his life more than once to protect people. He also proves to be a great gunman, taking out several monsters and even the villainous Mrs. Carmody. However, after leading the survivors to the car at the end, Ollie is suddenly snatched up by a monster and killed, giving this underdog hero an unceremonious ending.

5

The Green Mile (1999)

Played By Eduard “Del” Delacroix

John Coffey’s role in The Green Mile is heartbreaking, making for one of the most tragic characters that Stephen King has created. However, the death that most people remember from The Green Mile is that of Eduard “Del” Delacroix. Being a death row inmate, it is not surprising that Del dies in the story, and it also suggests he did something terrible to lead him to this situation. However, there is a sense that Del is not mentally capable of understanding his circumstances or even that he is going to be executed.

While that reality and the injustice of it are disturbing in themselves, it is made worse that this seemingly kind and harmless man is given the most painful and prolonged death in the movie. It is all the doing of the insecure and cruel prison guard Percy, who neglects to douse Del’s head sponge in water, making the electrocution take much longer than it should. The fact that Percy cannot even bear to witness the results of his cruelty proves how terrible Del’s death was.

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Sheriff Buster – Misery (1990)

Played By Richard Farnsworth

Misery is one of the most intense Stephen King movies, which is quite impressive considering the movie is largely a two-hander between imprisoned author, Paul Sheldon, and his deranged captor, Annie Wilkes. However, their story is occasionally interrupted by the investigation of Sheriff Buster, a small town lawman looking into the disappearance of the famous author, which leads him to Annie’s home.

While Buster avoids his more grisly death from the novel, in which Annie runs him over with a lawn mower, he still doesn’t get out of the movie alive. Buster seems poised to play a bigger role in the film as his laid-back persona still leads him to get to the bottom of the case. It feels quite anticlimactic and frustratingly abrupt that Buster is almost immediately sH๏τ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ by Annie when he arrives at her home.

3

Miss Collins – Carrie (1976)

Played By Betty Buckley

Carrie White is one of the most complex of Stephen King’s protagonists, with many fans still debating whether she is a sympathetic character or a villain. The death of Miss Collins in Carrie is one of the reasons this debate still goes on. Carrie is a sheltered young woman from an abusive household who is cruelly ridiculed by her classmates. One of the only allies she has in her life is Miss Collins, the gym teacher who punishes the bullies who taunt Carrie and attempts to help her cope with being an outsider.

Miss Collins’ kindness was well-placed, but didn’t stop the bullying directed at Carrie, which led to the infamous prom prank. When Carrie is traumatized as a result, she uses her telekinetic powers to kill everyone in the gymnasium in a fit of revenge. Sadly, it is an indiscriminate mᴀssacre as Miss Collins is among the victims, crushed by a falling backboard. It is a frustrating yet fitting message for the story that kindness is not always rewarded.

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Fat ᴀss – The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Played By Frank Medrano

Not only regarded by many as one of the best Stephen King adaptations, The Shawshank Redemption is often considered one of the best movies of all time by many fans. It is also a story that contains various sad deaths, such as Brooks’ heartbreaking end and the shocking murder of Tommy. However, it is the first death seen inside the prison that is the most frustrating and gives a sense of the immense injustice and inhumanity that exists inside the walls.

The fact that the character is only known as Fat ᴀss speaks to the saddness of his final moments. He is a newly arrived prisoner who is taunted for being overweight by the other prisoners until he breaks down and cries for his mother, prompting the annoyed guards to beat him to death. His final moments were filled with fear and sadness, with cruelty all around him, and even Andy Dufresne only stood up for the man after he was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

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Dick Hallorann – The Shining (1980)

Played By Scatman Crothers

Stephen King’s dislike of The Shining movie and the changes made to the source material is a complex subject to explore. However, one such change that he might have particularly dislikes was the death of Dick Hollorann. Hollorann is the kind and helpful head chef of the Overlook H๏τel and the man who helps teach Danny Torrance about “The Shining” powers that they both share. While Hollorann survives in the book and even appears in Doctor Sleep, his death in The Shining movie remains a frustrating end for the likable character.

As Jack Torrance slips into madness and targets his family, Danny uses the Shining connection to reach out to Hollorann for help. Like Sheriff Buster in Misery, it seems as though Hollorann is set up to have a heroic moment, only to get a quick death from Jack’s axe without contributing much. It would have been nice to see the character get more of a heroic moment, even if he still died.