"King on Screen" is an exceedingly strange documentary. It begins and ends with an almost non-sequitur sequence and moves along without much organization or theme. Yet, it remains baseline watchable due to the insights of its subjects-especially the directors who have worked on Stephen King film/TV projects.

For a very basic overview, "King on Screen" looks at the numerous film/TV adaptations of Stephen King novels from 1976's "Carrie" all the way up to newer projects like "The Outsider" & "Lisey's Story". More time is spent on "The Shining", "The Green Mile", and "Creepshow" than anything else, but almost all of King's other adaptations are at least tertiarily mentioned.

Like I said, the format for "King on Screen" is quite odd. I cannot-for the life of me-understand what the beginning and ending have to do with anything. Those "dramatic" sequences confused me more than set a mood. Also, there is no overriding concept or theme tying the material together-it is simply a bit of an aimless wandering through King's on-screen works, with the amount of each discussed dependent on the subjects they are interviewing.

That being said, there are definitely some interesting nuggets to be uncovered in "King on Screen"-mainly when King's directors are speaking/reminiscing. When Mike Flanagan (of "Gerald's Game" & "Doctor Sleep" adaptation fame) is talking about King's work, it is clear that he understands what is needed to transition book-to-screen. It is also fascinating to hear Frank Darabont reminisce on "Shawshank Redemption" and "Green Mile" as well as see some behind-the-scenes clips from both. The prolonged discussion of "Stephen King's Shining" vs. "Stanley Kubrick's shining" is interesting, as all the subjects weigh in to round out that fascinating dichotomy.

Overall, though, I found "King on Screen" to be a little underwhelming for its meandering nature and odd general setup-hence the pedestrian 6/10 rating. Certainly some material that will be interesting for the Constant Readers among us, but it doesn't "all work" here to be sure.

Stephen King is an author who doesn't quite do it for me. He has some great ideas, but I find that many of his stories don't do them justice. I'm also one of those who has a problem with many of his endings. I have however enjoyed several screen adaptations of his work, particularly Salem's Lot (1979 - my favourite), Creepshow (1982), It (1990), Misery (1990), and The Mist (2007). This documentary (first shown at the Fantastic Fest film festival, Texas, in September 2022) focuses on the transposing of King's tales from page to screen, and is told almost entirely by various directors involved (such as Frank Darabont, Mike Flanagan, Mick Garris, Taylor Hackford). Their tales of the processes involved in bringing established written words to life really break down the work involved, and the professionals needed to produce these glossy, spectacular extravaganzas that are often taken for granted. Also interesting are their accounts of liaising with King himself, and his views (sometimes initially resistant) on the filmmakers' visions. However, it does feel overly drawn-out at times, and is bookended by a dramatised mini-story that feels oddly out of place.

I may not be a huge King fan, but I am a huge horror fan, and this film has plenty to interest. 7/10.

Taking a seemingly endless number of writers, directors and technicians, this documentary looks back at pretty much every film and series since Carrie and attempts to look at the themes that King brings forth around America's dark side (even Trump gets a mention) which has proved so successful over the years.

The documentary is a smorgasbord of interviews, behind the scene / making of clips and particularly insights by those who have adapted King's work, including interestingly the considerable amount of average and down right awful adaptations - so for every 'Carrie', there is a 'Thinner' given equal amounts of reverence. Overall it is a little scattershot with no clear direction as to what it's trying to say until the conclusion and the best bits are the more in depth stories - Frank Darobont talking 'Green Mile' or why King famously didn't like Kubrick's 'The Shining'. So so as a documentary but plenty to enjoy for King / Horror Movie fans.