Stephen King short stories that deserve to be made into full length movies.

Stephen King short stories that deserve to be made into full length movies.

 Over here at Staystillreviews we're currently at the Atlantic Chapter for the next few days, enjoying our latest theme which is Castle Rock Terror aka all things Stephen King. Today we're talking which short stories of his deserve to be turned into a full length movie. Now take into mind that some of these, if not all have in fact been turned into a short film. These are called Dollar Babies, which King allows up and coming filmmakers buy the rights to his short stories for just a dollar as long as they don't promote it and keep it strictly to the film festivals. Here is my top 5 list of which ones I think would make killer movies.

1) The Monkey 

- I remember for years I mixed up this short story with the George Romero movie Monkey Shines. Still, this is a super spooky story that I honestly am blown away that's never been on the radar to be made into a movie. It's got enough material to do so, most of all to elaborate on. The Monkey tells the story of a middle aged married man with two sons, who goes to his late aunt's house shortly after she passed away to help clean out some storage closets. Here his young son discovers one of those old fashion toy monkeys with symbols. Instantly the man is frightened seeing this toy since he clearly remembers throwing it down a well when he was a young boy after he became fully convinced that the monkey was responsible for several deaths every time it banged it's symbols together.

2) Trucks

- I know, I know. This was made into two separate movies. One was King's first time directing with the coked out mess otherwise known as Maximum Overdrive. The second was back in 1997 as Trucks, which I'll admit I've never seen. I think this short story honestly deserves another shot at life. If you ever do read the short story it's really unsettling. Think...Night Of The Living Dead but with trucks. This story is about several strangers who are stranded at a highway side truck-stop/diner. Here they watch as giant 18-wheelers are speeding around. It appears out of nowhere that all the vehicles have developed a mind of their own and are running over and killing anyone outside.

3) Strawberry Spring

- Strawberry Spring has gotten some pretty decent short films made based off this highly underrated story by King. I think if expanded, it could make a really awesome full length movie. Strawberry Spring is about a series of brutal murders that plague a Maine campus one winter many years ago durning what locals call Strawberry Spring is when tons of the snow melts and there's a brief week of thick fog, and warmer weather as if spring has come early. Several students at the college are found butchered as one student recalls how scary that period was when he was attending the school at that time.

4) Gray Matter

- Gray Matter is another one of King's best short stories. Personally I remember really loving re-reading this one over and over again. As far as I know some great short films have been based off this one, but I think it deserves it's very own full length movie. Like I said expand a little, and you got one scary story. Gray Matter is about how a group of old men are passing a blizzard inside a local market when a young boy comes in completely terrified. He tells them that his dad has changed into something horrible. It appears a few months back the father drank a bottle of beer that didn't taste quite right, and slowly began to transform into a giant slug. He locked himself into his apartment, making sure there was no light, and hiding from everyone. The young boy watches helplessly as his father transforms into this creature, and one night after witnessing him eating a dead cat, he runs off to seek help. Here the men begin to think of some locals who have recently gone missing, and decide to make the walk up the hill to the apartment building to confront whatever has become of their friend. For those who have read the short story, the ending lines are beyond creepy and I'm stunned he never made a sequel to this one.

5) Gramma

- Gramma is one of King's best short stories. It truly was made to justice with the re-vamp of The Twilight Zone from the 1980's. It got remade a few years ago as a movie called Mercy that's sorta grown on me, but honestly I feel they really missed the boat. Gramma has rich backstory, and a KILLER ending. I would have died to see them capture the spirit between this segment and the short story. Gramma is another classic story that takes place in Castle Rock (there is even a mention of Cujo in this one.) It shows how a young boy is left home alone with his sick grandmother who he's very scared of. It appears that there have been rumors for years at grandma is a witch, and ever since she's become sick, she's become very violent. I can't urge people enough to watch the Twilight Zone segment. They make that grandmother is one of the scariest monsters ever!

Long live King's short stories!!!