The 10/10 Masterpiece That Stephen King Called “Maddening and Perverse” Is an HBO Max Hit

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Published Oct 6, 2026, 10:46 PM EDT

Rohan Naahar is a News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Stephen King is credited as an executive producer on this week's highly anticipated Carrie miniseries, which continues the author's long and fruitful collaboration with filmmaker Mike Flanagan. In the past, King has trusted Flanagan with numerous adaptations, some of which have worked commercially while others haven't. However, all of them have received positive reviews, with King himself voicing appreciation on a few occasions. He wasn't as enthusiastic about Stanley Kubrick's classic 1980 adaptation of The Shining. In fact, he was so disappointed by Kubrick's movie that he created his own limited series adaptation some years later. Now, as excitement for the new Carrie series grows, the original The Shining seems to be having a resurgence on streaming.

The movie featured Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in the lead roles, and emerged as a solid hit at the time of its release. However, critical reception was mixed. While King initially provided cursory praise for the film, he later admitted that he wasn't a fan. Something similar unfolded with Lee Child, who originally seemed to be supportive of Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher movies, but eventually confessed that Cruise was miscast as the famously hulking character. In his non-fiction book "Danse Macabre," King described Kubrick's The Shining as "a maddening, perverse, and disappointing film." He compared it to "a big, beautiful Cadillac with no motor inside."

Stephen King Remains As Popular As Ever

That said, The Shining is now regarded as a classic of the horror genre. According to FlixPatrol, the movie ranked among the most-watched titles on the domestic HBO Max chart this week, when the leaderboard was topped by Evil Dead Burn. King wrote a sequel to The Shining, which was turned into a movie titled Doctor Sleep by Flanagan. It functioned as both a follow-up to Kubrick's film and an adaptation of King's sequel novel, but the film underperformed at the box office despite earning critical praise. Flanagan also directed the King adaptations Gerald's Game and The Life of Chuck, both of which received high praise as well. The new Carrie limited series will debut on Prime Video on October 7, following a string of successful King adaptations such as The Long Walk and The Monkey.