Every Dean Koontz Adaptation, Ranked

Dean Koontz is a bestselling author with book sales on par (if not exceeding) Stephen King's, and the two were often spoken of in the same breath in the late 1980s and 1990s. It was always a meaningless comparison since their themes, styles, and stories bear little resemblance to each other, but regardless, King came out on top in pop culture thanks in large part to the caliber of films adapted from his work. Koontz wasn't nearly as lucky, but fifteen movies/mini-series were still made between 1977 and 2013 — and we're ranking them all below.

While a few of them managed theatrical releases, most of these went either straight to video or to television, and Koontz, quite famously, was unhappy with almost every single one. He ultimately pressed pause on letting his work be optioned and has yet to give the green light again, which is bad news for fans of fantastic thrillers like "Lightning," "The Husband," "The Bad Place," "Dark Rivers of the Heart," and more that remain ideal material for the screen.

Fans will notice the absence of two titles, and that's because both 2001's "Black River" and 2004's "Frankenstein" are original content not based on Koontz's books. He did walk away from the latter and eventually turn his ideas into a series of five novels.

Now keep reading for a look at all fifteen Dean Koontz adaptations, ranked!

It's unfortunate that one of Koontz's best and most sincere novels has gotten shafted the most times onscreen, but such is the fate of "Watchers." It's been brought to the screen four times, with each entry featuring the book's core duo of psychically connected experiments — a Golden Retriever with human-like intelligence, and a sadistic and deranged monster — but without its engaging characters, palpable heart, and genuine suspense and terror.

"Watchers 3" deviates most from the novel and is a tenuous sequel to "Watchers II," and it exists mostly as a Roger Corman-approved ripoff of "Predator" (it probably belongs on this list). An ex-soldier (Wings Hauser) is sent into the jungles of South America with a small squad to get control of a situation involving the two rogue biological experiments. The men are surprised to discover the truth behind what they're hunting, and soon they're being beheaded, disemboweled, and worse. The gore is good, and Hauser is his usual charismatic self, but this is ultimately as forgettable as you're expecting.

Presumably emboldened by the Koontz brand making strides on television and the big screen at the time, Roger Corman and friends decided to dust off their sequel rights four years after "Watchers 3" to deliver another generic retread of the original story. "Watchers Reborn" sits a spot ahead of its predecessor on this list, but both films are equally unremarkable, with this fourth and final adaptation of the book again showing a real lack of effort and imagination.

Mark Hamill plays a homicide detective who finds Einstein, the genius dog, near a crime scene and soon learns about its monstrous counterpart, nicknamed The Outsider. The creature continues its rampage, the dog proves he's a good boy, and the cop learns the truth behind it all as all three come together for one final showdown. We've seen this before, and your enjoyment is once again left to rest on some entertaining gore and a recognizable cast that also includes Lisa Wilcox, Kane Hodder, and soul music sensation Lou Rawls.

The most critically successful and well-liked Koontz adaptation sits at number one below, and it works (in part) because it's a two-part mini-series affording the story and characters room to breathe. That's a format writers like Harlan Coben have seen work wonders for their adaptations and public awareness, but it stalled out pretty quickly for Koontz. 1998's "Mr. Murder" hoped to capture that "Intensity" lightning, but the end result is unfortunately a bit too dull for the two-part duration.

Marty (Stephen Baldwin) is a successful writer whose life takes a turn towards the weird and deadly. It seems a super soldier has been manufactured using Marty's DNA, and now the identical-looking killing machine is on a homicidal path straight towards Marty's family. Think of it like a riff on Stephen King's "The Dark Half," but fueled by science fiction rather than horror. Koontz's novel is an engaging, propulsive tale, but neither Baldwin nor the script can muster much in the way of excitement.

The first of four "Watchers" adaptations hit theaters in 1988 only to bomb with both audiences and critics. It thrived on home video, though, leading to the already mentioned sequels. While the highest profile of the four, this first film still changes the book's military vet protagonist for a horny teenager played by Corey Haim. Producer Roger Corman was probably hoping to capitalize on Haim's residual heat from the previous year's "The Lost Boys," but no such luck.

The core story remains the same as always — two experiments, one a smart and fluffy dog and the other an ugly monster, escape leaving a trail of carnage in their wake — and this time it comes down to a boy and his dog to end the violence. The film remains a B-movie mediocrity, but a slightly higher budget has things looking a bit better than the above sequels manage. Haim, a young talent who showed real skills in the underrated "Lucas," can't get out of his own way here as a teen so desperately wanting to seem cool and aloof. On the plus side, Michael Ironside is on hand to chew all the scenery like a man who hasn't eaten in weeks.

Arguably the most hated film on this list, "Hideaway" is a horror/thriller that felt dated even before it hit movie screens in 1995. Credit director Bret Leonard for that, as the success of 1992's "The Lawnmower Man" apparently made him think computer graphics were his lucky charm. They make sense in "Virtuosity," but the early CG effects here representing hell and the afterlife are pretty abysmal. Still, the story and cast make for a better, more enjoyable movie than most people seem to think.

Jeff Goldblum plays a man who dies in a car accident only to be resuscitated by a rogue doctor's experimental methods. Hooray! Downside? His return to life has him psychically linked with a recently deceased and murderous psychopath (Jeremy Sisto), and now each man can see through the other's eyes. Sisto isn't quite as weighty as he needs to be, but the rest of the cast (including Christine Lahti, Alicia Silverstone, and Alfred Molina) know what's what. CG aside, this is an entertaining enough piece of 1990s horror (that's curiously absent from our ranked list of Goldblum's best films).

"Demon Seed" was the first Koontz film made by an American studio, and it's once again better than its reputation suggests. The film sees a brilliant scientist create an even smarter artificial intelligence only to shut it down after the machine becomes obsessed with getting out of its box. Named the Proteus IV, it surreptitiously connects to the scientist's home computer network, takes it over, and begins to terrorize the man's wife (Julie Christie). And by "terrorize," we, of course, mean talk to, share movies with, and then impregnate.

The core story here walks a sloppy line between the prescient and the ludicrous, and while that balance isn't always maintained, the end result is a satisfyingly unsettling tale about ambitions both human and artificial. Christie is a real trooper given the predicaments she finds herself in, but the real star is the robotic work and practical effects that bring Proteus' physical manifestation to life. It's alternately nifty and cheesy, foul and frightening, and it caps off with a terrific ending.

Joe (Billy Zane) is an investigative reporter mourning the death of his wife and daughter in a plane crash, but he perks up when he sees a woman taking photographs at their graveside — and then sees her targeted by professional assassins. This kicks off the most important investigation of his career, and the answers will astound him ... provided he survives long enough to figure it all out.

The premise of "Sole Survivor," the third and final miniseries adaptation of one of Koontz's novels, is typical for the author in its mysterious setup, characters in emotional disarray, and inevitable search for a truth that's likely to be equal parts science fiction and conspiracy thriller. It sits pretty comfortably between the highs of "Intensity" and the slow thrills of "Mr. Murder," and delivers a satisfying tale of grief, wonder, and high-tech shenanigans. Does it justify its nearly three-hour length? Maybe not, but Zane is good as an everyman, and John C. McGinley's aggressively cuckoo villain steals the show.

Another "Watchers" movie?! In this economy? Well, we did say there were four of them, but the odds are you probably didn't expect the first sequel to be the highest ranked. Like the other entries, "Watchers II" is hampered by a low budget and features an Outsider creature that looks like it was made by an effects team trying desperately to get fired, but this is also the one film most closely aligned with Koontz's actual novel.

An ex-Marine (Marc Singer) on a lonely hike crosses paths with a Golden Retriever that warns him about danger ahead. As should be expected by this point, the dog is super intelligent, and the warning is about a deadly creature that's tracking the dog and slaughtering anyone who gets in its way. Paul's military experience allows for necessary action chops, and Singer delivers as both a capable action lead and a goofy animal lover. As in the novel, he's ultimately blamed for the killings making him a wanted man, and the film culminates in a faceoff revealing the Outsider's sad pathos as an ugly, unlovable creature. It's good, B-movie fun.

1998's "Phantoms" may not be the best Koontz adaptation, but it's definitely among the best known. Credit (or blame) Kevin Smith's "Affleck was the bomb in 'Phantoms'" line from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" for this 1998 chiller being part of the pop culture lexicon while the bulk of the other titles here are mostly unknown to the average filmgoer. The film bombed in theaters, but it's done well on home video thanks to Smith, an intriguing premise, and a pretty eclectic cast including Ben Affleck, Rose McGowan, Liev Schreiber, and the great Peter O'Toole.

The entire population of a small mountain town simply disappears, calling to mind historical mysteries like Roanoke and the Mary Celeste, and now a handful of folks are about to discover what's behind the event. Creepy moments, gory demises, and a grand Lovecraftian reveal follows, and it's an entertaining ride despite some tonal stumbles. As a personal aside, this is the novel that got me instantly hooked on Koontz's writing as a teenager, and while the film is messy fun, the book remains one hell of a read for horror fans.

"Whispers" was Koontz's first book to make the New York Times' bestseller list, and ten years later, it was adapted into a movie that seventeen people have seen. It went straight to video in the U.S. despite the recognizable talents of Victoria Tennant and Chris Sarandon in the leads. Like all of the films on this list, it's unable to match the level of thrills found in the source material, but it's still a solid enough suspense thriller teasing both the erotic and the supernatural before revealing its truths.

Tennant stars as Hilary, a writer being stalked by a madman calling her by a different name, and the terror only comes to an end when she fatally injures him during an attack. Case closed, you'd think, but all bets are off when he returns to finish what he started. Hilary and her lover/detective (Sarandon) discover some truly twisted and vile details about the man's life and death, and while the main reveal is a fairly common trope these days, the film offers up enough interesting and unsettling details to make the story work.

2013's "Odd Thomas" remains the last Koontz adaptation before his self-imposed screen sabbatical, and it's somewhat ironic, as it's by all accounts the adaptation that Koontz likes best. It's also the biggest financial bomb, unfortunately, and that, combined with the lead actor's untimely death, left a possible franchise doomed. Koontz wrote six sequels, and the character of Odd remains among his most popular on the page.

Odd (Anton Yelchin) is a diner cook who can see both ghosts and dark spirits that portend upcoming violence. He begins investigating a local man, but he's not prepared for the truths that are revealed. Both book and film find real heart and charm in Odd, and Yelchin does great work with the character even if the film's tone seems uneven. Koontz's writing often teases cheesiness, but the film crosses the line, meaning sincerity and sweetness can feel clunky instead. Still, the cast (including Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Patton Oswalt) is great, and director Stephen Sommers finds some thrilling beats along the way.

"The Face of Fear" aired on CBS on September 30th, 1990, directly against the season 2 premiere of "Twin Peaks," in case you're wondering why so few people seemed to have seen it. That's a shame, as it's actually a solid adaptation of one of Koontz's slimmer novels (originally published under the name Brian Coffey) and finds some genuine suspense and thrills 40 stories up a high-rise building. The film stars television veterans Lee Horsley, Pam Dawber, and a menacing Kevin Conroy as the sadistic serial killer stalking them both.

Graham (Horsley) was once a celebrated mountain climber, but a bad fall has left both his leg and his mind injured — but it's also given him a splash of clairvoyance that he sometimes uses to help the police. His latest visions connect him with a murderer who soon turns his sights on Graham and his girlfriend (Dawber), and when he corners them on the top floor of a high-rise, the pair are forced to test their skills and luck by climbing down the outside of the building. The kills are fairly intense and violent for an early 1990s television movie, the climbing sequences are well-crafted and suspenseful, and Conroy — arguably the best Batman — is fantastic as the cruel killer.

"The Servants of Twilight" is a 1991 thriller based on a Koontz book originally published under his Leigh Nichols pseudonym as "Twilight." He reportedly used the Nichols name for romantic suspense novels, but they're pretty indistinguishable from his regular books at the time, blending suspense, thrills, action, and a blossoming love story. Regardless, it's a great read with another irresistible premise, and the film gets most everything right, even as it's hindered by its low budget.

Christine and her young son Joey are on the run because a religious cult leader is convinced that the boy is the antichrist, destined to doom humankind. The cult members pursue them, killing anyone who gets in the way, and their only hope rests with a private eye (the always reliable Bruce Greenwood) who's quickly falling for this mother in distress. As mentioned, this is a film on a tight budget, but it manages plenty of action set pieces anyway, which helps keep energy and suspense at a steady level throughout. You can see why it went straight to video, but it's still a thrilling ride.

If there's a film on this list that even the Koontz faithful haven't heard of, it's probably this one. "The Passengers," aka "The Intruder," was the very first Koontz adaptation way back in 1977 and was based on the novel "Shattered," which was published under his K.R. Dwyer pseudonym. It's a French film, adding to its obscurity, and it's wholly unavailable here in the U.S. Both book and movie are also pretty damn terrific and deliver tight, fast-moving thrills without an ounce of fat to be found.

Alex (the great Jean-Louis Trintignant) and his stepson Marc are on a road trip through Europe en route to their new home where Marc's mom and Alex's new wife awaits. It's meant to be a bonding period, but Marc immediately notices a van following them. Both novel and film alternate between the protagonists and the madman in pursuit, and the danger ramps up as the motive for his actions comes clear. Director Serge Leroy crafts some legitimately exciting vehicular action along the way, making this a film that's well worth seeking out.

Any serious ranking of Koontz adaptations features "Intensity" in the top spot, and it remains the only time in his filmography when all the pieces came together to deliver on the novel's promise. Chyna is a college student staying with her friend's family over the Thanksgiving holiday who awakes in horror to an intruder who has murdered the parents and taken her friend. Chyna boards the killer's RV hoping to rescue her pal, but choice and circumstance see her in for the long haul when she discovers the killer has a teenager trapped back at his house.

Even as a two-part miniseries, this one lives up to its title with plenty of suspenseful, thrilling sequences and action set pieces. Molly Parker does good work as the young woman risking it all, but John C. McGinley kills it as a psychopath intrigued by prey trying to fight back with smarts and courage. Like the novel, the thing just cooks from start to finish. Viewers, and Koontz himself, saw some very distinct similarities between his 1995 novel and 2003's New French Extremity classic "High Tension" (which likely made a disastrous third-act choice hoping to avoid the comparison). Koontz declined to sue, though, because he didn't want to be associated with a film so "puerile and intellectually bankrupt."