Netflix Just Added 2 1990s Stephen King Movies (& They Couldn’t Be More Different)

After the golden era of Stephen King movies in the ‘80s, the ‘90s provided another prolific decade for the King of Horror on the big screen. More than a dozen King movies were released in the 10-year period, ranging from critical darlings like The Shawshank Redemption to more polarizing entries such as Thinner and The Lawnmower Man. Netflix subscribers can now stream two of King’s films from the ‘90s, but they cater to two very different subgenres of horror and different audience expectations.

As Netflix welcomed March with a wave of new arrivals, both Misery and Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers started streaming on March 1st. Directed by Rob Reiner and based on King’s 1987 novel of the same name, Misery hit theaters in 1990 as King’s first big screen release of the decade. The film centers around a famous novelist held captive and forced to rewrite his latest book by his “number one fan.” Just two years later, Sleepwalkers was released, a movie about the last of a dying breed of incestuous, vampiric shape-shifters who feed on the life force of virgin women to survive.

Misery and Sleepwalkers Highlight the Extreme Highs and Lows of Stephen King’s ‘90s Movie

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Misery and Sleepwalkers represent opposite ends of King’s movie spectrum. Holding a “Certified Fresh” critic score of 86% and a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Misery is ranked alongside The Shawshank Redemption as one of the best King adaptations ever and one of the best King movies of the decade. The movie showcased the peak of ‘90s King adaptations and delivered a grounded, psychological horror led by Kathy Bates’ Oscar-winning, terrifyingly nuanced performance as Annie Wilkes opposite James Caan’s desperate, claustrophobic portrayal of a captive author. The movie is an absolute masterclass in tension, with Reiner expertly building a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere in a movie that delves into the dark side of obsession, celebrity, and consumerism, all things that are still relevant today. Then there’s Sleepwalkers.

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It’s not that Sleepwalkers is the worst movie out there, but it’s worlds apart from Misery in just about every way. The movie was King’s first original screenplay specifically for a feature film rather than an adaptation, and in terms of overall consensus, Sleepwalkers ranks pretty low with just a 29% critic score and 32% audience rating. The movie is defined by a generally messy, nonsensical plot that leans into excessive B-movie horror conventions, and while it is a stark contrast to the refined quality of Misery, it’s still a pretty fun and worthwhile watch if you can embrace its campy supernatural horror. Sleepwalkers lands more as a wonderfully bizarre guilty pleasure watch than it does as a high-quality movie, filled with cheesy dialogue, questionable acting, early 90s CGI that has not aged well, and high-energy, gory scenes paired with impressive practical gore effects.

What’s New on Netflix?

Netflix subscribers have plenty of great streaming options this March. Horror fans looking for more viewing options after Misery and Sleepwalkers can now also stream 2015’s family-friendly horror Goosebumps and the cult favorite zombie movie Zombieland. Other new-to-Netflix titles include Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Lego Movie, Matilda, and Sicario.

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