Nothing against Mick Garris, but look at how Stephen King entered the cinematic world: DePalma. Carpenter. Kubrick. Hooper. Cronenberg. Reiner. Those are heavy hitters. Until Frank Darabont brought balance to the force there was a B-movie stink associates with King onscreen. It was a well-earned stink.

The horror genre is wonderful but also the genre most loaded with trash. Much of King’s work in the short form isn’t baked enough to warrant a feature. In the hands of lesser talents it can be unbearable. Even the stronger material needs a deft touch to be executed. Hearts in Atlantis is a wonderful and heartfelt book. The film is merely good when it should be great.

In a world where there are very few new IP’s of value and even more in the genre that are successful but unspectacular (The Purge, Glass, and Us for example), Stephen King’s properties have a built-in audience but plenty of room for interpretation. A perfect bedrock to attach unique and diverse talents. Let them have their way with the material and at the worst the finished films will be ambitious failures but always interesting. The current King protector is Mike Flanagan and while he isn’t as majestic as Kubrick or Carpenter he’s certainly the right cocktail of talent and drive.

Actually a little against Mick Garris. Love the guy, but he’s not up to the task.