The almost-forgotten sequel titled “A Return to Salem’s Lot” marked the start of an unusual category in Stephen King’s movie adaptations. Stephen King’s novels have been a rich source for Hollywood, giving rise to masterpieces like “The Shining” and “The Shawshank Redemption“. However, not all films based on his work have been successful; some have been mediocre to poor, with the film “Maximum Overdrive“, directed by King himself, being one of the worst. Out of all his works, “Salem’s Lot” has been adapted the most. In this novel, a vampire gradually takes control of a small American town, draining it of its vitality and essence.
Nestled between the 1979 and 2004 miniseries lies A Return to Salem’s Lot, a sequel penned and directed by B-movie icon Larry Cohen. This was also the first Stephen King movie where he wasn’t the author himself.
A Return To Salem’s Lot Kicked Off A Run Of Stephen King Movies He Had No Hand In Writing
No, Stephen King did not pen the script for The Mangler: Reborn
Stephen King initially penned a script for the “Salem’s Lot” miniseries that ultimately went unused. Later, he proposed a sequel titled “Return to Salem’s Lot” as a direct-to-video production with Warner Bros. This follow-up lacked recurring characters and veered from traditional horror, offering a dark satire critique of contemporary America instead. The film, however, drew mostly negative reviews, despite having intriguing ideas. “Return to Salem’s Lot” remains obscure for valid reasons.
A film that King previously commented on was “The Lawnmower Man,” which bore little resemblance to his original work, despite sharing its title with a short story he wrote. After a lawsuit, King’s name was removed from the 1992 cyber thriller, and that same year, he also disassociated himself from “Pet Sematary Two,” another sequel not based on any of his books, although it did revisit themes from his initial novel. In 1992, several movies based on King’s works but not written by him were released, including the first “Children of the Corn” sequel titled “The Final Sacrifice.
Over time, we’ve seen an abundance of films lacking a King character. Examples such as numerous continuations of “Children of the Corn,” “The Rage: Carrie 2,” and “The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer” – a prequel to the author’s miniseries “Rose Red” – fall under this category. These productions are either prequels or sequels to King’s previous adaptations, where creators recognized franchise potential, even in the absence of original books by the author. Regrettably, many of these spin-offs have been poorly received.
How Stephen King Feels About “Adaptations” He Didn’t Write
Like most of us, he could “live without” the Children of the Corn follow-ups
In his later years, King has become more diplomatic about expressing his opinions on adaptations of his novels. Unlike before when he harshly criticized films like “Firestarter” and Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” he now expresses his views in a polite manner. For example, he politely said to Deadline in 2016 that “I could do without all the ‘Children of the Corn’ sequels,” while admitting to liking the 1984 original. On the other hand, he was more critical of “Pet Sematary Two” when asked about the sequel by Fangoria in 1992.
I went through the script as much as I could bear, and it became clear to me that it was reminiscent of the original Pet Sematary, just with new characters. I strongly dislike [Pet Sematary 2] and I wished it hadn’t been produced. I hope that fans of FANGORIA magazine, my readers, and anyone who appreciates my work will avoid this film. This is a movie that I have no intention of watching myself.
| Every Stephen King Sequel He Didn’t Write | Director | Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|---|---|---|
| A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) | Larry Cohen | N/A |
| Pet Sematary Two (1992) | Mary Lambert | 21% |
| Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) | David Price | 30% |
| Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995) | James D. R. Hickox | N/A |
| Sometimes They Come Back… Again (1996) | Adam Grossman | N/A |
| Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) | Greg Spence | N/A |
| Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996) | Farhad Mann | 18% |
| Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) | Ethan Wiley | 14% |
| Sometimes They Come Back… for More (1998) | Daniel Zelik Berk | 0% |
| The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) | Katt Shea | 23% |
| Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return (1999) | Kari Skogland | 0% |
| Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001) | Guy Magar | 0% |
| The Mangler 2 (2002) | Michael Hamilton-Wright | N/A |
| Firestarter: Rekindled (2002) | Robert Iscove | N/A |
| The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003) | Craig R. Baxley | 17% |
| The Mangler: Reborn (2005) | Erik Gardner & Matt Cunningham | N/A |
| Creepshow 3 (2006) | James Dudelson & Ana Clavell | 0% |
| Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011) | Joel Soisson | 0% |
| Children of the Corn: Runaway (2018) | John Gulager | 0% |
| Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) | Lindsey Anderson Beer | 24% |
The author expresses his intention of no longer granting sequel rights for his books, instead opting not to sell the book if studios push for them. He hasn’t mentioned the sequels like “Sometimes They Come Back” or “Creepshow 3,” but he was more accommodating towards the prequel “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” when it premiered on Paramount+. Taking to Twitter/X (via Variety), King shared a brief review of the movie.
In the book, Jud Crandall narrates a tale to Louis Creed in an attempt to discourage him from utilizing the Pet Sematary. While the screenplay makes some adjustments, it’s still a captivating story. David Duchovny delivers an outstanding performance. The key, as ever, lies in empathizing with the characters.
The novel “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” didn’t do well with critics, but Stephen King might have been more lenient towards it than other sequels because it drew from a passage in the original book. However, there don’t seem to be any more Stephen King derivatives planned, so this unique subgenre might be nearing its end – unless it gets buried in the Pet Sematary, of course.
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2025-06-06 16:49