10 Stephen King Adaptations That Ignored the Books (Including The Long Walk’s Superior Ending)

The most successful Stephen King movie and TV adaptations aren’t simply direct, scene-for-scene recreations of the source material. Adapting a story *always* involves some changes, but certain filmmakers take more liberties with the process than others.

Stephen King adaptations often differ from his books, especially when it comes to the endings. King is famous for leaving things ambiguous, a fact even acknowledged within one of his movie appearances. Sometimes, filmmakers choose to provide a clear resolution instead of mirroring his open-ended style, while other times, they significantly alter or even abandon the story’s core themes and plot – a prime example being the film *The Lawnmower Man*.

These projects all took inspiration from their original sources, but then deliberately went in a different direction, challenging established ideas.

10) The Night Flier

In the story *The Night Flier*, Richard Dees, a disreputable tabloid journalist, investigates a series of killings happening at small airports. His search for answers points to Dwight Renfield, a vampire who also happens to be a licensed pilot.

The film stays true to the original story for most of its length, but the ending differs. Dees eventually encounters Renfield immediately after a feeding. Renfield compels Dees to drink his blood, causing Dees to hallucinate that the corpses nearby are alive. In a frenzy, Dees attacks the bodies with an axe before being fatally shot by the police. Afterward, Dees’s coworker falsely claims Dees was responsible for all the killings.

In the initial story, Renfield simply gets rid of Dees’ evidence, leaving Dees disturbed and facing the police. However, a slight alteration allows Dees to experience some of the consequences of the harm his work has caused, which feels more fitting.

9) 1408

I’ve experienced both the book and movie of *1408*, and they both center around this incredibly creepy hotel room in New York City. But what *causes* the haunting feels really different in each version. The story and the film really explore the source of the evil in unique ways.

Mike Enslin, a writer who investigates haunted locations, spent roughly an hour and ten minutes in the room, where he encountered strange and unsettling events. He began to feel like something was about to appear from within the walls and narrowly managed to get out just in time.

The movie ‘1408’ tailors a terrifying experience for the main character, Mike, using his personal memories, and traps him in a repeating hour of horror until he either escapes or dies. The film presents the haunted room as simply a malevolent place intent on killing anyone who enters, rather than a location with a deeper, supernatural purpose. Both versions work, but they offer very different takes on the source material.

7) The Raft

“The Raft” is a short film within the horror anthology *Creepshow 2*. It’s based on a story about teenagers who venture out to a raft on a lake and are attacked by a flesh-eating substance in the water.

In the original story, the last person left, Randy, simply waits to be eaten by the creature, wondering if it will hurt. The movie changes this: Randy tries to escape while the monster is busy with someone else. He almost succeeds, but the creature rises up from the water and pulls him under. The scene ends with a funny shot of a hidden “No Swimming” sign.

6) The Mist (2007)

The film closely follows the plot of the original story – about people sheltering in a supermarket from a terrifying, monster-filled fog. However, like before, the filmmakers significantly altered the ending. While the story concludes with the remaining survivors driving off into the uncertain future, the movie delivers a much more depressing conclusion.

The movie ends with the remaining survivors stranded in a car, out of gas, and hearing terrifying sounds that they believe are monsters closing in. David, believing he’s acting mercifully, uses his last bullets to kill everyone quickly, including his son. He steps out of the car to face his death, and at that moment, we realize the sounds were actually military vehicles arriving to clear the mist and destroy the monsters. While this ending is an improvement, it’s still deeply upsetting.

5) The Long Walk

The film *The Long Walk* closely follows Stephen King’s novel of the same name. The story centers around a group of boys forced to walk continuously down a highway until only one remains. The last boy standing – the ‘winner’ – receives a prize: in the book, it’s anything they desire forever, while the movie offers money and a single wish. However, the filmmakers decided to make some changes to the ending.

Both the book and movie of *The Walk* conclude with the winner continuing to walk endlessly, but their endings differ significantly. In the book, Ray Garraty, the winner, has a complete mental breakdown and keeps walking towards an unseen figure. The movie offers a more hopeful conclusion: Peter McVries, the film’s winner, uses his prize to fulfill Ray Garraty’s wish to eliminate the Major, the person in charge of the Walk. While Peter also continues walking afterward, this act provides a sense of resolution that the book lacks.

4) The Running Man (1987)

The book *Running Man* follows the participants of a dangerous reality show as they’re chased across the globe. The game is massive in scope, lasting as long as a month. The main character, Ben Richards, constantly changes his appearance, travels to different cities, and has frequent encounters with both law enforcement and ordinary citizens, all while trying to evade those who are hunting him.

The 1987 film version simplifies the original story considerably. Instead of a sprawling hunt, the movie’s action takes place over a single night in a rundown part of Los Angeles. The character of Ben is also reimagined, becoming the muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger. These changes create a more focused and fast-paced movie, shifting the tone from the book’s dark and pessimistic themes to a lighthearted, action-packed adventure.

8) The Boogeyman

2023’s The Boogeyman shares a character’s name and history with the original work … and that’s it.

It’s common for movies based on short stories to add extra details, and we understand that. In the original story, Lester Billings shares with his doctor, Dr. Harper, that his young children died mysteriously, each saying “Boogeyman” before passing away alone in their rooms, with their closets left open. The story culminates in the revelation that Harper himself was the Boogeyman all along.

The film begins by focusing on Lester, but the curse that haunts him quickly moves to Harper’s family. It becomes clear that the Boogeyman isn’t just a monster, but a manifestation of grief, similar to the creature in ‘The Babadook,’ and it has found a new family to torment. Ultimately, the movie expands on the frightening elements of the original story, turning it into a longer, symbolic exploration of those fears.

3) Doctor Sleep

Mike Flanagan, the writer and director, faced a challenge when creating a sequel: should he base it on the original book or the first movie? He ultimately blended elements of both.

Although the movie *Doctor Sleep* follows the same basic story as the book – an adult Danny Torrance teams up with a child who has psychic abilities to fight a group of energy-draining predators – it feels more like a continuation of the 1980 film adaptation of *The Shining*. The Overlook Hotel hasn’t been destroyed, the character Dick Hallorann appears as a ghost, and Danny’s parents in this film look exactly like the actors Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson who played them in the original movie.

Flanagan does offer a nod to King’s original story by having Danny share his father’s fate – he destroys the Overlook’s boiler, sacrificing himself to save a friend. However, overall, the film’s style and atmosphere are much closer to Kubrick’s vision than King’s.

2) The Shining

Stanley Kubrick’s film version of Stephen King’s novel is a classic horror movie, but King himself doesn’t like it. He’s been very open about his dislike of the adaptation.

The basic story remains the same: the Torrance family – Jack, Wendy, and their son Danny – spend the winter as caretakers of the Overlook Hotel. Danny has some psychic abilities, and strange things begin to happen, leading to a descent into madness. However, the film focuses less on ghosts and the supernatural, and more on Jack Torrance himself as the primary source of conflict. Instead of the hotel and its ghosts being the main threat, as in the book, the film portrays Jack’s own struggles with alcoholism and rage as the driving force behind the unfolding horror.

We won’t weigh in on who directed the better film overall, but we definitely think Kubrick’s version is far superior to the TV remake.

1) The Monkey

Osgood Perkins, who wrote and directed the film, adapted Stephen King’s unsettling tale of a deadly toy monkey. He transformed the story into a darkly humorous experience, and while he swapped the monkey’s cymbals for a drum, the shift in tone is the more important change he made.

Stephen King’s *The Monkey* adaptation is notably different from the original story, but that’s not a criticism of either one. King’s version creates a sense of deep fear, while director Mark Perkins’ take is a darkly funny look at how unpredictable life can be. Unlike many horror films that deal with loss and focus on sadness, this movie is a violent but surprisingly comedic experience.

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2025-09-18 00:43