Trust the Bearded King

Let's get right to the point, shall we?

There are bad Stephen King movies and there are good Stephen King movies. Lawnmower Man, that was a terrible Stephen King movie, The Shining, that was a good Stephen King movie. However the horrible movies always end up being tremendously amusing. I suppose this all has to do with the directors and, to some degree, the actors. Get good actors and a good director and Stephen King will win me over.

The Mist by Stephen King is one of his recent film encarnates and judging by the trailers it looks like it will fall into the latter category of good Stephen King movies. I was an idiot and lost my original post here so I'd like to add this little visual element to help make my post clear:



Why do I need to issue the Bearded Stephen King Stamp-o-Approval? Because there are too many terrible movies out there with his credit as writer. I also think he looks a little more charming with a beard, don't you? Kind of like a cross between George Lucas and a happy monkey.

I just want to list a few of my more favourite films of his that I think deserves this high honour:







I could add more but just remember this simple rule; if Stephen King with a beard would make a good substitute for the main character on a film poster, it will be a good adaptation. If he looks silly and uncomfortable (uhm...more silly and uncomfortable than he does normally), then it will be a bad movie and you should stay far, far away from it.

That being said, I hope that I can add The Mist to that list, at least from the trailers it looks promising. I'd like to believe that this director, Frank Darabont, who has also worked on The Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile, believes in Stephen King and will do his best with this film. The directors of a Stephen King Film are what make or break it really. The movie's website is pretty entertaining and contains a few webisodes that give you a behind the scenes look at the film. I highly recommend checking that out.

Of course, I can't issue an official Bearded Stephen King Stamp-o-Approval until the film is released, but I will reserve one now and judge whether to distinguish that honour later.