Carrie 3 Bring in a fearless actor. Tonally speaking, these novels sit just
across the border from good taste. So the best performances in successful King movies are hatched by actors willing to get completely unhinged. Christopher Walken’s wild-eyed prophet in The Dead Zone (1983) is probably that screen legend’s finest two hours, bar none. And for all of Sissy Spacek’s sensitivity over an Oscar-winning career, she’s never been as hypnotic as she was while covered in pig’s blood in Carrie (1976).
Christine
TOSEE
What’s showing in theaters this season
AUGUST
The Dark Tower Stephen King’s sci-fi Western
finally gets the big-screen treatment, pairing a young boy with a mysterious gunslinger (Idris Elba) on a quest for the titular monolith. à Dir. Nikolaj Arcel. 2017. Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor. Opens Aug 4.
4 Hire a director with a sense of humor. Let’s say you’re not Kubrick—because face it,
you’re not. The smart play would be to contract with someone who understands the naughty, often-funny strain of panic in King’s work. John Carpenter made a wry version of Christine (1983) that emphasized the book’s nerdy revenge; the film is now a beloved cult object. And zombie master George Romero turned five of the author’s short stories into Creepshow (1982), pound for pound the funniest King adaptation to date.
5 Never let the
home happy. Studio heads may prefer
audience go The Shawshank Redemption
a clean exit, but King’s material is supposed to linger in the mind. If you’re loving The Shawshank Redemption (1994)—and why shouldn’t you?—you’re connecting with a film
about the secret integrity of murderers and thieves. In Rob Reiner’s Misery (1990), the specter of crazy, sledgehammer-to-kneecap fandom is never quite vanquished. Terror is a free-floating idea that never dies. So leave us spooked, ’kay? King is watching.
à It opens Sept 8. 43 July 26–October 10, 2017 Time Out San Francisco
Ingrid Goes West Riding a wave of Sundance
Film Festival buzz, this dark comedy follows a social- media stalker (Aubrey Plaza) as she moves to L.A. and takes her girl crush on a chic Instagram star (Elizabeth Olsen) too far. à Dir. Matt Spicer. 2017. R. Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr. Opens Aug 11.
Detroit
This dramatic re-creation of the 1967 Detroit riot—a major episode of American civil unrest —is the new movie by The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow, still the only woman to win the Oscar for Best Director. à Dir. Kathryn Bigelow. 2017. John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith. Opens Aug 4.
Annabelle: Creation The Conjuring spin-off
Annabelle gets a sequel with this tale of the cursed doll’s origins. Don’t dismiss the film as regular horror fare; David F. Sandberg, who directed the genuinely creepy Lights Out, is at the helm. à Dir. David F. Sandberg. 2017. R. Miranda Otto, Anthony LaPaglia, Talitha Bateman. Opens Aug 11.
PHOTOGRAPHS: CENTER LEFT, BOTTOM LEFT: COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES/EVERETT COLLECTION
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