There's nothing quite like sitting back and watching one of the best Stephen King movies at this time of year – after all, he is king (pun intended) of the horror genre. Finding Stephen King movies to watch on a streaming platform can be a bit of a task, but one of the best streaming services is about to make this easier for you.
When scouring the list of everything new on Max in October 2024, there were six Stephen King movies mentioned that I had to bring to your attention. In the mix are classic adaptations of his novels, as well as modern remakes and a movie inspired by the characters from King's vampire thriller Salem's Lot, which is being remade into a new movie that's being release on Max on October 3.
With so many options available, I couldn't think of a better way to welcome October 2024 than with the horror king himself, and in addition to the best horror movies that make up some of the best Max movies in next month's list, you're spoilt for choice.
It (2017)
RT Score: 85%
Age rating: R
Length: 135 minutes
Director: Andy Muschietti
Arriving on: October 1
When It was reimagined in 2017, it became an immediate hit with younger horror fans and, overall, was a positively-received remake of of its 1990 predecessor. Every 27 years in a small town in Maine, a shape-shifting demon torments the town's children by morphing into their worst fears. When a group of seven teenagers learn that the evil is back they team up to come face-to-face with its different forms and battle their worst nightmares.
It Chapter 2 (2019)
RT Score: 62%
Age rating: R
Length: 169 minutes
Director: Andy Muschietti
Arriving on: October 1
Because it's near impossible to squeeze all of the events of Stephen King's 1,138 page book into one movie, Muschietti returned two years after his successful attempt at recreating one of King's most famous works to finish telling the story. Taking place 27 years after the events of the first movie, shape-shifting evil Pennywise returns to Derry, Maine to finish what he started. After going their separate ways, the seven friends reunite after learning that people start going missing and once again, they must face their worst fears to defeat Pennywise once and for all.
Misery (1990)
RT Score: 91%
Age rating: R
Length: 107 minutes
Director: Rob Reiner
Arriving on: October 1
One of the most deserved Best Actress Oscar performances went to Kathy Bates after her frighteningly convincing portrayal of this iconic Stephen King villain. When famous novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is seriously injured in a car crash, he's rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates) who happens to be his biggest fan. While helping him recover, she finds out that her favorite character in his books has been killed off, and her rage and obsessiveness takes over. When her controlling nature becomes violent, Sheldon plans to escape – but it's not an easy getaway.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
RT Score: 79%
Age rating: R
Length: 151 minutes
Director: Mike Flanagan
Arriving on: October 1
Almost 40 years after Stanley Kubrick made King's The Shining (1980) a horror classic, his sequel novel Doctor Sleep tells Danny Torrance's side of the story years after what occurred at the Overlook Hotel. Living with alcoholism and reaping the traumatic after affects of his experiences at the hotel as a child, Danny (Ewan McGregor) longs to find peace. When he encounters Abra (Kyliegh Curran) who shares his same gift of 'the shine', they band together to defeat the True Knot cult who feed off those with the gift.
A Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
RT Score: 24%
Age rating: R
Length: 101 minutes
Director: Larry Cohen
Arriving on: October 1
While this entry is inspired by characters invented by King and not an entire body of work, it still makes the cut for our Stephen King roundup (and we're going to ignore its Rotten Tomato score just this once). Anthropologist Joe Weber (Michael Moriarty) travels to the town Salem's Lot, New England with his son Jeremy (Ricky Addison Reed), both of whom are unaware of its population of vampires. The locals reveal the secrets of the town to Weber and with no one else to turn to, they enlist him to create a bible for them.
It (1990)
RT Score: 68%
Age rating: TV-14
Length: 192 minutes
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Like its 2017 and 2019 remakes, the original It was released as a two-parter in a miniseries on ABC starring Tim Curry as Pennywise. Set in 1960, a shape-shifting evil wreaks havoc among the children of a small town every 27 years, presenting itself in different forms that match each child's worst fear. A group of teenage outcasts come together to defeat the monster, only to reunite 27 years later when it returns.
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