7. The Shining (1997 TV miniseries)
King was famously dissatisfied with Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 feature adaptation of his 1977 book, so this allowed him something of a do-over (he wrote the screenplay and frequent King-adaptation helmer Mick Garris directed). In this version, we get the King-approved ending that sees the Overlook Hotel—played on-screen by King’s actual inspiration for the novel’s setting, Colorado’s Stanley Hotel—meeting fiery doom, but the entire viewing experience is haunted by the fact that Kubrick’s film is a visually stunning, genuinely scary horror masterpiece, and this is… a three-part made-for-ABC miniseries. The special effects are particularly distracting when seen through 2022 eyes.
