Stephen King chose chaos on Twitter a couple of days ago by announcing the name of the only movie he’s ever walked out of and inviting others to share which movies they had walked out on.
“I have walked out of only one movie as an adult: Transformers. Would like to know what other movies people have walked out on.” King later confirmed that it was the first Michael Bay movie in the newer franchise, released in 2007. It’s probably for the best that King quit while he was ahead, as the first movie is actually the best-reviewed in the franchise (not including Bumblebee), with a whopping 58% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The franchise went downhill from there, with Revenge of the Fallen (2009) getting 20% and Dark of the Moon (2011) getting 35% approval ratings on the review aggregation site. When Mark Whalberg took the franchise over from Shia LaBeouf, things only got worse. Even dinobots couldn’t save the movie’s prospects, with Age of Extinction (2014) getting 14% and The Last Knight (2017) getting 16%. This hasn’t deterred them from making Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, set for release in 2023.
Every time Stephen King tweets about a movie or TV series, it’s a big deal. Especially if it’s in the horror genre of course – the King seal of approval can help a new movie (such as X or Malignant) or TV show be taken more seriously and more people see it as a result. Therefore, him giving a negative opinion on a film is a fairly big deal, but at least in this case, it isn’t a new release.
There have been a plethora of Stephen King adaptations recently. This year alone has brought us Firestarter, Salem’s Lot, and Mr Harrigan’s Phone. Forthcoming adaptations reportedly include The Boogeyman (directed by Rob Savage), The Breathing Method (directed by Scott Derrickson), Christine (directed by Bryan Fuller), The Dark Half and Rest Stop (both directed by Alex Ross Perry), The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon (directed by Lynne Ramsay), and The Running Man (directed by Edgar Wright).
While we wait to find out if all of those adaptations come to fruition, check out our guide to the best horror movies, where you’re sure to find plenty of King.