Last Updated on August 3, 2021
Pennywise
The new version of Pennywise looks to be far more monstrous than what Tim Curry brought to the small screen, but something lingers in how the British actor turned the wholesome visage of a clown into one of the scariest horror creations of all time. Clowns were never the same after Curry donned the white make-up and fanged teeth. As much as Bill Skarsgard manages to put his own stamp on the IT villain, the original version will remain the scariest Stephen King villain ever.
The Mist Monsters
Few directors know how to handle the writing of Stephen King better than Frank Darabont. His adaptation of King’s beloved novella puts the Lovecraftian monsters in the shadowy mist and only pops them out in brief snippets. The majority of the horror in this story is thanks to Mrs. Carmody and her zealots, but the creatures themselves are hauntingly beautiful and terrifying at once.
Annie Wilkes
One of the single finest Stephen King adaptations of all time, MISERY also earned Kathy Bates a very deserved Oscar. Playing Annie Wilkes could have been an over-the-top performance but Bates imbues the insane Annie with a level of human pathos that makes her one of the scariest human monsters since Hannibal Lecter.
Gage
PET SEMATARY still ranks as one of the scariest movies i have ever seen. Maybe it is cousin Zelda or maybe it is the awful scene of baby Gage’s death and funeral, but I find it incredibly hard to watch this movie without cringing. Once Gage comes back, there is nothing cute about this little monster as he slices Achilles’ tendons and chews through windpipes. So, so f*cking disturbing.
Jack Torrance
Another human monster, Jack Torrance is one of actor Jack Nicholson’s best roles. It is hard to tell exactly what Stanley Kubrick was trying to accomplish with the story of THE SHINING as it differs greatly from King’s novel, but the essence of a man battling substance abuse who becomes a conduit for the seething evil in a haunted hotel still pervades the screen. Nicholson’s manic face is put to perfect use here.
Margaret White
CARRIE is a masterpiece and not just because director Brian De Palma managed to capture the essence of puberty in horror movie form. No, CARRIE may be mostly remembered for the prom massacre scene, but it is Piper Laurie’s insanely religious Margaret White that turns her daughter into the title monster. This is one of the most f*cked up movie parents ever to grace the big screen. They are all going to laugh at you!
Barlow
Vampires have lost some of the edge that makes them so scary. In recent years, vampires have turned into moody millennials rather than the demonic monsters they are supposed to be. The 1979 Tobe Hooper adaptation of SALEM’S LOT is a prime example of how to make a scary vampire. While the scary kid floating at the window may be the movie’s most memorable scene, the vampire known as Barlow is the ideal mix of the classic Nosferatu make-up with a modern horror sensibility.
Children of the Corn
Not the best King adaptation, but there is something unsettling about Isaac and his army of children. The opening sequence showing the kids killing all of the adults in Gatlin remains one of the most uncomfortably creepy scenes I have ever seen. While we never see what He Who Walks Behind the Rows actually looks like, the human monsters here are even scarier.
The Oil Slick
While the first CREEPSHOW is the superior movie, the segment called “The Raft” has always made me uncomfortable. Maybe it is the fact that the monster seems like a harmless puddle but when it eats away human flesh and eventually leaps out of the water, it is the scariest puddle ever imagined.
Percy Wetmore
Stephen King is really good at creating sadistic bad guys. Like the warden in THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE features a guard who thinks that inmates are less than human. While he was far more disturbing in the novel, Doug Hutchinson brings a sleazy edge to Percy that makes him someone you should never turn your back on.
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