1970s Horror Classic Is Stephen King’s Highest-Ranked Film on Rotten Tomatoes

Among Stephen King adaptations on Rotten Tomatoes, Brian De Palma's 1976 Carrie sits at the top, holding a 94% Tomatometer score based on 82 critic reviews. The film began life as King's first novel and has been reassessed by critics over decades. Rotten Tomatoes lists 68 Stephen King films, and the range of scores is wide: Graveyard Shift and several Children of the Corn entries sit at 0%, Maximum Overdrive is at 14%, and more recent entries like The Rage: Carrie 2 (23%), the 2002 Carrie (20%) and the 2013 Carrie (51%) fall lower.

Even The Shining, often hailed as a landmark horror film, appears at 84% and ranks 11th, while 2017's IT cracks the top 10; The Shawshank Redemption, Misery and Stand by Me are among the higher-rated adaptations, and Gerald's Game and 1922 sit above 90%. Critics have offered strong praise: Pauline Kael called it a "terrifying lyrical thriller," and outlets including The Guardian, Empire, Slant and Bloody Disgusting gave perfect scores.

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