Author Stephen King is widely recognized for having scared both literary and cinematic audiences with his iconic stories. However, Stephen King isn’t invulnerable from being scared himself – and he’s revealed the very horror movie that “scared the daylights” out of him.
Obviously this is a major statement coming from King, who is often considered the “king of horror” himself. With that in mind, this particular movie is often considered a classic both by fans and critics. Thus it’s not too far-fetched to believe the movie really did leave a heavy impression on the author of IT.
King revealed the title of this film in 2017, when he spoke with the British Film Institute about his eight favorite films. With quite a few notable picks to choose from, this particular title stood out as having truly scared the author.
Here’s what he shared with BFI about the supernatural horror film which is now considered a classic of the genre:
“For supernatural horror, I like Peter Medak’s film The Changeling, starring George C. Scott in perhaps his last great screen role. There are no monsters bursting from chests; just a child’s ball bouncing down a flight of stairs was enough to scare the daylights out of me.”
The 1980 horror film revolves around George C. Scott’s character John Russell, a composer who recently lost both his wife and daughter to a horrible accident on the road. This sets the mood for the rest of the film which is incredibly emotional and gothic. It’s a style of horror so few modern movies have tapped into, but knowing King’s love of strong characters, it’s no surprise why he’s drawn to this movie.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more Stephen King content as we have it. Of course, in addition to checking out King’s own works, it might be nice for fans to check out one of his favorite movies. Especially when it’s a proper classic like The Changeling – a horror movie so powerful that it scared the daylights out of Stephen King.