Two Stephen King Horror Movies Surge On HBO Max Ahead Of Halloween

It's October, which means it's time to watch nothing but horror movies for the next month. In the lead-up to Halloween, it's only appropriate that one catches up on the vast cannon of the horror genre, which has been pervasive throughout cinema since its very inception. Indeed, there are so many trends and sub-genres of horror that every October can be specially programmed to represent a very specific horror niche. Are you behind on your Italian zombie movies? There are scads. Found-footage? Easy to find. Lesbian vampires? So, so many. Werewolves on motorcycles? More than you might think.

And many are likely gearing up to watch a marathon of films and TV shows based on the writings of Stephen King. A massively prolific author, King has seen his work adapted for the screen again and again, starting with the release of Brian De Palma's "Carrie" in 1976. King adaptations have been released almost every year since then, with two big ones having already come out in 2025 alone: "The Monkey" and the much-celebrated "The Long Walk." Some King adaptations have gone on to spawn entire franchises; counting the short film "The Disciples of the Crow," there have been 12 "Children of the Corn" movies. That's a lot of films centered on a cereal grain.

Two King adaptations are currently proving very popular on HBO Max (per FlixPatrol), one of which may come as a surprise. Unsurprisingly, the service's subscribers are re-watching 2017's "It," the mega-blockbuster based on King's 1986 novel. "It," directed by Andy Muschietti, has since become a horror touchstone in its own right, with its monstrous clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) becoming canonized in the theogony of memorable movie monsters. Unexpectedly, though, the 2024 film version of "Salem's Lot" (based on King's 1975 vampire novel) is also charting.

"It" was, as mentioned, a gigantic box office success in 2017. King's original novel is infamously long (it runs 1,138 pages), so Muschietti's film only adapts the first half of the story. This was easy to achieve, however, as the first part of the book takes place in the 1950s when the protagonists are all 12, while the second half is set in 1986, when they're all traumatized, dysfunctional adults. Muschietti's movie merely time-shifts the events forward, setting the childhood stuff in the 1980s instead. The adult stuff was later adapted in 2019's "It Chapter Two" (another huge hit).

The popularity of "'Salem's Lot" is surprising, however, as it didn't gain much attention when it initially released on HBO Max in 2024. The film was originally set to hit theaters in 2022, but it was delayed during post-production for COVID-related reasons. It was later delayed again during the infamous Warner Bros./Discovery fire sale, and then once more due to 2023's WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. It eventually arrived to minimal fanfare and middling reviews (like this one from /Film's Chris Evangelista).

Both "It" and "'Salem's Lot" had previously been turned into famous TV miniseries as well. "It" was adapted in 1990, while "'Salem's Lot" made its way onto CBS in 1979. Both the 1990 "It" and the 1979 "Salem's Lot" have been widely seen and are beloved in the horror community. "'Salem's Lot" even inspired a 1987 TV sequel titled "Return to 'Salem's Lot," along with a second miniseries adaptation on TNT in 2004. There was also a 2021 TV series titled "Chapelwaite," which was based on King's 1850s-set "'Salem's Lot" prequel story "Jerusalem's Lot."

Presumably, "Salem's Lot" (2024) is getting more attention now since many people missed it last year. Still, that's a lotta "Lot."