A divisive Stephen King adaptation has found a new streaming home more than four decades after its theatrical debut. Over the years, the prolific horror author has had dozens of movies, miniseries, and television shows adapted from his work, many of which have been very well received. Adaptations including Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone are widely considered to be minted classics, and the movies The Green Mile, Carrie, Stand by Me, Misery, and The Shawshank Redemption have been nominated for a cumulative 15 Oscars.
However, not all Stephen King movies have received such a glowing reception. Many adaptations of his novels and short stories have been spurned by critics, such as 2022’s Firestarter (10% on Rotten Tomatoes), The Dark Tower (16%), Cell (11%), Thinner (19%), The Mangler (27%), 1984’s Children of the Corn (38%), and Graveyard Shift (0%). Others have been commercial flops, including Apt Pupil (which earned $8.9 million against a $14 million budget), The Dark Half ($10.6 million against $15 million), and King’s directorial debut Maximum Overdrive ($7.4 million against $9 million).
Christine Has Found A Streaming Home

The 1983 Movie Was Directed By John Carpenter

The 1983 Stephen King adaptation Christine has finally found a streaming home. The movie, which was directed by horror icon John Carpenter, follows the nerdy Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) becoming obsessed with his new classic car, which turns out to be sentient and deadly. The Christine cast also includes John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, and Harry Dean Stanton. The movie received mixed reviews, earning a 55% score from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 57 out of 100 on Metacritic.

The audience scores for Christine are generally more positive, with the Stephen King adaptation earning 64% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.2 out of 10 on Metacritic.

The cult and horror-themed streaming service Shudder has now announced that Christine will begin streaming on their platform on March 1. This is the first time that the 42-year-old movie has been available on any streaming platform for quite some time. In the meantime, it has been available for purchase and rental on various video on demand platforms. It was also given a 4K UHD physical media release for its 35th anniversary in 2018.
What This Means For Christine

It Is A Fertile Period For Stephen King Adaptations

The John Carpenter movie landing on Shudder after such a long time could be the perfect moment for it to become a major streaming hit. Its streaming return comes during a period that is packed with anticipated Stephen King adaptations, beginning with Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey, which opens in theaters on on February 21. This will be followed in short order by Edgar Wright’s The Running Man and Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, putting Christine in good company and potentially raising its stature as one of the earliest adaptations of the iconic author’s work.
Source: Shudder

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Christine

Release Date

December 9, 1983

Runtime

110 minutes