6. “The Institute”

“The Institute’s” spot at the bottom of this list doesn’t make it a bad show. Instead, that indicates what a strong year it was for Stephen King adaptations. That said, there were moments when the story strayed from the source material in shocking ways – mostly in how the MGM+ series plans to run for a number of seasons after the psychic kids who were kidnapped and taken to the titular institute raze it to the ground by the finale. With most of the major players dead or on the run, it is equally baffling and intriguing to see where the series goes when it returns, but without King’s book as a blueprint, I worry.

5. “The Running Man”

“The Running Man” had so much going for it – a charismatic lead in Glen Powell, strong directing from Edgar Wright – and yet the pieces never really coalesced into a whole. Powell feels pigeon-holed into playing angry as Ben Richards, but when his charm comes through, it feels jarring for the character. Wright’s unique directorial flair and style only translate in certain scenes rather than throughout the whole movie, so much of the two-hour-and-15-minute movie feels like a by-the-numbers dystopian flick.

That said, there is still plenty to enjoy from the first two-thirds of “The Running Man.” It isn’t until the final act that all the cracks are finally noticeable and the plane comes in for a (canon) rather rough landing – if you know, you know.

4. “The Monkey”

“The Monkey” is crazy. “The Monkey” likely won’t be for everyone. “The Monkey” was very much for me. As a follow-up to his supremely popular film “Longlegs,” Osgood Perkins went with a Stephen King adaptation that made some pretty significant changes too, while suffusing it with Looney Tunes levels of violence as one man tries to hunt down and destroy a toy monkey that brings death and ill omens to anyone possessing it. The result is what’s sneakily one of the best comedies of the year, pulling in fun performances from Theo James and Tatiana Maslany. For all the fellow sickos who find their comfort movies in hyper-violent horror movies, this one is a strong modern contender.

3. “It: Welcome to Derry”

Stephen King’s “It” is such a gargantuan project to adapt that much of it ended up on the cutting-room floor, even after Andy Muschietti spread the story across two films. Lucky for HBO, and King’s Constant Readers, the hunger for more stories in Derry was almost as vast as Pennywise’s hunger for kids. “It: Welcome to Derry” examined the town in an earlier cycle of the cosmic killer’s hunting and haunting.

The HBO series continues the solid jump scares and storytelling the films flaunted and Bill Skarsgård remains deeply captivating as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. If you’re looking for solid horror on the small screen, then “Welcome to Derry” represented some of the best in 2025.

2. “The Life of Chuck”

“The Life of Chuck” may have been a bit too saccharine-sweet for some when the credits finally rolled, but for me, it worked great. Mike Flanagan’s latest Stephen King adaptation tells the story of average tax accountant Chuck Krantz’s life in reverse. From the apocalyptic destruction of the world in his head burning out on his deathbed, to dance classes as an awkward teen, “The Life of Chuck” captures the beauty in the mundanity, and that a life well lived often boils down to simply the people you choose to let in – whether you know you’re doing it or not.

1. “The Long Walk”

As a lifelong fan of Stephen King’s books, “The Long Walk” has always stood as one I felt was under-appreciated. It’s also the selection I gave to people who wanted to try out the author but were intimidated by the doorstop nature of some of his classics, like “It” or “The Stand.” So there was some hand-wringing involved when the adaptation was announced, but Francis Lawrence’s version of the story knocked it out of the park and improved on the book in some ways.

The film does not shy away from the brutality of what these games are in ways that Lawrence’s PG-13 “Hunger Games” films can’t fully capture. Despite the carnage of these boys dying, it’s the quiet moments as the competitors talk, form bonds and unburden themselves, knowing they’ll likely be dead a few miles down the road, that make the movie sing. Know that if 2025 wasn’t a stacked year for the Best Actor category, I’d be stumping for David Jonsson’s performance in “The Long Walk” – I still might anyway.