Stephen King Picked 3 Of His Movies To Take To A Desert Island & His Choices Are Fascinating

Stephen King picked three horror movies of his own to take to a desert island – one of which would be sheer misery. Stephen King movies and books have shaped an entire generation of horror fans, and the author has never been shy about sharing his thoughts on adaptations of his work or pop culture in general.

King famously hates Kubrick’s The Shining – an opinion that hasn’t dulled in the decades since the movie arrived – and has declared his love for everything from The Shawshank Redemption to Gerald’s Game. King has become a tastemaker on social media too, often recommending books, movies and TV shows to his followers.

In 2011, he took part in the TCM documentary A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King. This saw the author explore the history of big screen horror, from the silent era up to 2000s outings like Saw. During the closing credits, King offered up his healthy list of “desert island” movies.

Stephen King’s Desert Island Horror Movie Picks Are Cujo, The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone and Misery

Cujo covered in blood in front of a car in Cujo

King throws out a lot of suggestions for films he’d bring to this hypothetical island – ᴀssuming, of course, it had electricity. When specially asked to pick three horror movies based on Stephen King’s books, the author’s desert island picks were Misery, The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone and Cujo.

None of these are light watches, but they’re all three captured the tones of their source material while translating them to the big screen. Misery would be the most acclaimed of the trio, with the story following a wounded author who is held captive by an obsessed, homicidal fan who forces him to write her a new book.

Misery is the only King movie to date that has won an Academy Award too, as Kathy Bates took home the statue for her incredible performance. The film is a taut thriller anchored by Bates and co-star James Caan, and despite its stagy concept, it features some wince-inducing horror.

It appeared to be a rite of pᴀssage for horror directors to tackle a King film during the 1980s. John Carpenter took Christine, George A. Romero handled Creepshow while David Cronenberg directed The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone. This followed Christopher Walken’s schoolteacher, who awakens from a coma with psychic abilities that both save lives but often force him to make tough choices.

The film can be very episodic, but Walken’s touching performance, Cronenberg’s talent for understated dread and the incredible ending see The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone overcome any faults. King’s final desert island choice is the most interesting, since Cujo is one of the most underrated of King’s adaptations from the 1980s.

This finds a mother and her young son trapped in a boiling-H๏τ car by a rabid dog; to survive, mummy must figure out a way to outsmart their tormentor. Cujo can be a grueling experience – which is exactly what the King book is like. Thankfully, the filmmakers gave the story a happier ending.

King Has Plenty Of Other Movies He’d Want To Take To That Island

A hoard of Romero's classic zombies reach through an elevator door in Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1978).

King made his name in the genre, but he has plenty of interests outside horror. In fact, the first two movies King cites are Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane and Casablanca, two black and white classics that are a country mile from horror. Citizen Kane is often labeled the greatest film ever too – which is a hard label to argue against.

When it comes to horror movies not based on his work, King wants to take the original Psycho – the great granddaddy of the slasher genre – The Exorcist and Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. In the latter case, King wants BOTH versions of Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, consisting of Romero’s 1978 original and the 2004 remake from Zack Snyder.

Returning to his own work, the non-horror Stephen King movies he wants on his island are The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Both were helmed by Frank Darabont, with the former regularly topping lists of the best King adaptations despite being a drama, not a horror film.

It’s amazing watching King talk about what movies he’d want to take, because he soon finds himself unable to stop. Once his brain starts turning, he can’t help throwing more and more films on his desert island pile.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Is Stephen King’s Perfect Desert Island Horror

Miles looking scared and covered in sweat in Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Earlier in A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King, the author sings the praises of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Based on the 1950s sci-fi novel of the same name, this sees a small town being taken over by alien doppelgängers utterly lacking in emotion or humanity.

Stephen King’s Desert Island Movies List	Release Year
Citizen Kane	1940
Casablanca	1942
Invasion of the Body Snatchers	1956
Psycho	1960
The Exorcist	1973
Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ	1978
Cujo	1983
The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Zone	1983
Misery	1990
The Shawshank Redemption	1994
The Green Mile	1999
Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ	2004

The subtext of Invasion of the Body Snatchers – where individuality is subsumed by a mindless horde – is evergreen, and only seems to get more relevant with each pᴀssing decade. That’s why the film has been remade three times too, with 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1993’s Body Snatchers and the Nicole Kidman-fronted The Invasion.

King picked the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers as his ultimate desert island horror movie – which is high praise indeed. While the film will no doubt be dated to younger viewers, it is still a nightmarish ride.

Some of the biggest shocks still have the power to chill, though the film is somewhat undermined by a studio-imposed happy ending. Some of King’s work has shared themes with Invasion of the Body Snatchers too, including Salem’s Lot and The Tommyknockers. In both cases, these involve small American towns being consumed by a malevolent force that wipes out individuality.

Source: TCM/YouTube