Many movies, miniseries, and television anthology episodes have been adapted from the short story collections of Night Shift, spawned numerous adaptations on the big and small screen and contributed to the early success that made him a household name.
However, for all of Night Shift’s fame, the television and film adaptations derived from the collection’s stories received a mixed critical reception. The comparatively solid The Lawnmower Man and Graveyard Shift (which King himself disliked). Since that iconic collection was published, at least one movie or television adaptation has come from almost every one of King’s subsequent short story collections.
Some, such as Different Seasons, have managed to spawn iconic cinematic hits like Skeleton Crew’s adaptations being well-liked or some falling flat for viewers and reviewers alike. Despite the collection's success with critics, King’s acclaimed ‘00s short story collection Everything’s Eventual has not produced as many adaptations as some of its predecessors, but the ones that were produced fared better with audiences. Despite boasting fewer screen adaptations than Night Shift, Everything’s Eventual can still boast an impressive feat in that most of the adapted stories earned better reviews than those of the earlier, more famous collection.
Autopsy Room 4
Adapted for television as part of the King-centric series Nightmares and Dreamscapes, "Autopsy Room 4" is a tense and terrifying story that could have easily proven difficult to translate to screen, but instead ended up just as nail-biting as its book counterpart. Like the earlier "Stanley Kubrick’s original treatment for The Shining), this one also features a stellar blackly comic twist ending.
The Road Virus Heads North
Another adaptation mounted for Nightmares and Dreamscapes, "The Road Virus Heads North" is a gruesome tale that follows the bloody history of a possessed painting. Picked up at a yard sale by a hero who clearly has never seen a horror movie, the paranormal pop art depicts a greaser sitting in his souped-up muscle car and leering at the viewer. Unfortunately for the protagonist, said greaser has a tendency to come to life and kills its owners. This creepy twist on The Picture of Dorian Gray features some solid scares, but unfortunately, the all-important prop painting is nowhere near as unsettling as King’s in-text descriptions. As a result, this one does not fall entirely flat but does disappoint as an adaptation of King's source story.
Riding the Bullet
Like the still-'90s miniseries version of The Shining) lends the project the reliably tense pacing he has mastered as a genre journeyman over the years, making this an underrated 2004 straight-to-DVD release despite Arquette’s hammy miscasting.
1408
The most famous story featured in Everything’s Eventual, "1408" follows paranormal investigator Mike Enslin as he checks into a famously haunted hotel room to prove there’s no truth to rumors of the place killing anyone who stays there. Of course, the hero soon discovers the rumors are very valid and has to fight for his life in an increasingly surreal supernatural setting. Arguably still the most underrated of King’s big-screen adaptations, 1408 benefits from a superb central turn from John Cusack. The movie rests on the shoulders of the star as - outside of a brief scene with Samuel L Jackson - the laconic actor is frequently the only face onscreen. Interestingly, the original ending of 1408 was a stronger, scarier coda that features an ambiguous sense of dread, while the darker, bleaker director’s cut ending is actually weaker than the one cinemagoers saw.
That said, regardless of the viewer’s preferred ending, it is hard to go wrong with 1408. The movie adaptation expands on and adds to the sparse original tale in ways that not only fit King’s style but also make the action creepier and more intense. Derailed director Mikael Hafstrom proves he has solid chops as a horror director, making this one the strongest adaptation from Everything’s Eventual and one of the more underrated Stephen King movies generally
