Are you scared of It? Explore Stephen King’s universe
Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
Stephen King has a variety of famous books and movies.
It
Fans of Steven King’s novel It (1986) and the movies It (2017) and It, Chapter 2 (2019), and even the mini-series of Steven King’s It (1990) noticed that there were many differences between the book and the screen versions.
While the book featured Maturin the Turtle, a very important character to the mythos of Stephen King’s universe, he was nowhere to be seen in the screen versions. The only mentions of the turtle are to a Lego in Georgie’s room, the barrens, and in the waters. In the novel, the turtle is the one that informs Bill Denbrough how to defeat Pennywise, his sworn nemesis.
The novel is set in two different time periods: 1957-1958 and 1984-1985, where the characters are shown growing up in and out of Derry, Maine. The first movie was set in 1989 where Batman and Lethal Weapon 2 were playing in the local theater. The story’s narrative is not linear, dipping back and forth between the past and the present, from the 1950s and 1980s. In the movie, Stanley Uris is having fun with his pals, not knowing he will not come back to reunite with the Losers Club 27 years later.
The events of It, Chapter 2 were played in 2016 where it shows the adult Losers Club coming back to fulfill their promise to come back and defeat Pennywise if he ever came back. In the first It movie, the losers were able to escape after defeating Pennywise but in the book the losers can’t find a way to escape and suffer the consequences. The Ritual of Chud was another thing that was left out of the movie.
Cujo
Cujo is another one of Stephen King’s famous works where the movie (1983) has a much darker ending than the book (1981). Cujo is Stephen King’s tale of a dog made murderous by rabies. The plot of the movie is mainly focused on Donna and Tad being trapped inside their broken down car and going to Cujo’s owner’s house to get it repaired. By that time Cujo, already infected with rabies, has killed two people. In the end of the movie, in order to protect herself and her son, Donna has to take Cujo out with a shotgun and Tad is on the verge of dehydration, but Donna revives him and they reunite with Tad’s father.
In the book, it is completely different. Donna kills Cujo but Tad dies of dehydration and heatstroke. Donna also gets rabies and recovers, but Tad’s death leaves a huge impact on Donna afterwards.
Salem’s Lot
Stephen King’s novel Salem’s Lot (1975) had three different related miniseries (1979, 2004 and Return to Salem’s Lot (1987)). Salem’s Lot is based on writer Ben Mears returning to the town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, only to find out it was sold to Kurt Barlow who is never seen.
The original miniseries changed to the character of Father Callahan, whose screen time was limited in the sequel. In the miniseries of 1979 Kurt Barlow is a creature who has supernatural powers such as telekinesis.
The Dead Zone
The Dead Zone has different scenes and things that were left out of the book (1979). In the book, Johnny handles a cigarette pack in the station where he can’t get anything. When he showed up at the crime scene he had figured out that Frank Dodd was the killer.
In the movie (1983), they had visited the crime scene where the murder took place but they are called after another murder scene took place. Deputy Dodd drives to the scene and attempts to take control.
Another difference is that in the book, Sarah and Johnny get together and Sarah makes it clear that she is lost; it was ritualistic, and it was emotionally uplifting. In the movie, Sarah is trying to figure herself out and she didn’t want to know anything about Johnny. She had cut any plans of her and Johnny getting back together.
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary was first published in 1983, and there have been three different adaptations (Pet Sematary and Pet Sematary 2 (1989, 1992), and a remake of Pet Sematary (2019)).
There were certain things that were changed from the book to the movies. In the movie, the Creeds go on a long road trip from Chicago to Maine. In the book, Louis and her family pack their bags from Boston, Massachusetts, to eventually move to Maine when Lou secures a spot at a University.
In the book Ellie is turning 5 and she is just starting kindergarten; in the movie, Ellie turns 9 and dies on her birthday.
Another difference from the book to the movie is that the name of Jud’s dog is changed from Spot in the book to Biffer in the movie. Biffer was the name of another owner’s cocker spaniel, and, according to Jud, the dog was run over by a dumpster.
The Shining
In The Shining, there are big changes that were left out of the book (1977) that were in the movie (1980). In the book, the Overlook Hotel is actually haunted, but in the movie Jack’s health is what drives him crazy and it’s his own mental health that breaks him apart, not any supernatural forces.
The famous line “Here’s Johnny!” is not in the book. In the movie there are tons and tons of famous lines and scenes, but no line stands out more than Jack Nicholson breaking the bathroom door with an axe and saying, “Here’s Johnny!” In the book the scene plays out the same but, instead of breaking the door with an axe, he uses a croquet mallet.
The Green Mile
The Green Mile was originally a serial novel that emerged in 1996. The film, which was released in 1999, is set in 1935, closer to WWII than the 1932 setting of the book. In the film, Paul is 108 years old, while he is only 104 at the end of the book.
The book is set in Georgia, while the film is set in Louisiana. It is unclear why the change in places was made but with the laws and different years had to be a cause of the change in places.
Misery
Another of Stephen King’s famous works, Misery, differs in several ways from the book form (1987) to the movie version (1990). One big difference is, in the movie, Annie Wilkes uses a sledgehammer to shatter Paul’s feet while he is in bed. In the book, she uses an axe to chop one of Paul’s feet clean off and she also cuts off one of his thumbs while she is at it.
The film and book are both set in Colorado, but in the book the story is set in SideWinder, a fictional place in Stephen King’s universe. The movie is set in a real place called Silver Creek.
Full Dark, No Stars
Stephen Kings book Full Dark No Stars (2010) was made into a movie adaptation called 1922 (2017). In the movie, everything goes by fast. In a normal movie, the plot usually starts with a backstory and builds up to the main character’s goal, but in 1922 the film gets to Arlette’s death very quickly. Since it’s a 100 minute film, it does take away the experience of what a reader could read in the book.
The ending of the movie was very different from the book. In the novel it starts out hazy and it leaves the fans with a lot to interpret that ends conclusively and brutally, but Hilditch wrote the ending of the movie to fit more in Stephen King’s imagination. Hilditch mainly focuses on the ghost story aspects, but Stephen King focused more on the mental aspect of guilt and the large impact it leaves on the psyche.
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Aldo Suarez is an artist. A resident of California, he is a very kind and helpful, always wanting to help people no matter what. He has always found creativity...
